Hiking the Müllerthal Trail in Luxembourg
There certainly is no lack of awesome multi-day treks around The Netherlands, but sometimes the weather doesn’t want to cooperate. My boyfriend and I have decided to head out on a multi-day trek over the Easter weekend, however the forecast looks pretty horrendous. In The Netherlands it doesn’t look good at all and the same goes for Germany and most parts of Belgium. We head out to visit a local bookstore specialized in travel books and maps but don’t find what we need straight away. #FirstWorldProblems occur however a few hours later we decide to head out to Luxembourg and hike a section of the Müllerthal Trail in Luxembourg. The next morning we get up early and head out down south, off for some hiking!
About the Müllerthal Trail
The Müllerthal Trail is a 112 km long hiking trail in the Müllerthal Region, also known as Luxembourg’s Little Switzerland. The trail is made of three loops, each measuring about 35 km distance. Round 1 and 2 start in Echternach, round 3 starts in Beaufort. Apart from the three loops there are various Extra Tours that you can add to your hike, which gives you a large variety of hiking possibilities.
Hiking the Müllerthal Trail in Luxembourg: round 1
For this trip we pick round 1. Just because it’s simple and it’s easy enough to camp on this section along the way. From our hometown Arnhem it’s about a three hour drive to Echternach, where we arrive in the morning. Our first stop is at the local tourist office to buy a hiking map of the region and from here, we start hiking the Müllerthal Trail.
I’ve been hiking the Müllerthal Trail twice before, my boyfriend has not been here yet. Seeing the smile on his face when we reach the first few rocky sections makes me smile as well, within moments I love his enthusiasm for this place. The trail happens to be quite slippery because of the rainfall over the past couple of days. The leaves on the ground have become wet and cover the majority of the trail, which sometimes makes it a little impossible to find it. Even though the hills are not very high, the treks up and down are steep and make my heartbeat go up within minutes.
As it’s still early in the season, the trees are still empty and no leaves have appeared as of yet. At times it’s a little boring, at times it’s great because the sun can reach our faces easier when not covered by a roof of leaves above our heads. However there is not a whole lot of sunshine on the first day, on which we hike from Echternach to Born, where we camp on the Camping Officiel. Even though we brought food for the evening in our packs, we don’t feel like preparing it and grab a meal in their restaurant instead. A good decision because the food is delicious and it kept on raining all evening long.
The next morning we sleep in because it’s a vacation after all. Just past midday we hit the trail again. It’s misty and cold and just outside of Born we arrive back at the trail. From here the way is up, up and further up. After about one and a half hours we are up on top of the hills and enjoy an amazing 360 degree panorama, while the sun has started to shine. The rest of the day we hike on top most of the time and some 7 km before Echternach we leave round 1 as there are no campsites on this section anymore. Instead, we hike to Scheidgen and Consdorf on round 2. Here we camp at Camping La Pinède and end our day with more than 25 km in the pocket.
Day three takes us back to Echternach. We don’t really feel like walking the same way back to the trail and instead decide to stay on round 2 and hike back to Echternach from here. It turns out to be a good choice since this is one of the most spectacular parts of our three-day hike so far. We enter the Müllerthal and a rocky and steep hike takes us all the way back to Echternach. Just before we reach the city we get some amazing views down into the distance. Soon after, we arrive back at out car and our hiking adventure in Luxembourg has come to an end.
Practical information for hiking the Müllerthal Trail
From Utrecht (the most central city in The Netherlands) it’s about a 3.5 hour drive to Echternach. You can leave your car on various parking places, however make sure to double check that the lot you’ve left it at is in fact a free one. When you plan to camp along the way, some planning is necessary because there are not a whole lot of campsites and wilderness camping is now allowed in Luxembourg. We hiked the trail during Easter yet it still was pretty quiet. There is quite an altitude difference (for our standards) and so it’s a great place for newbie hikers who want to get in shape for some more serious mountain hikes.
Map for hiking the Müllerthail Trail
We bought our map of the Müllerthail Trail at the Echternach tourist office. You don’t really need the map though as the signage is pretty amazing and it will be hard to get lost. A digital map can be found here. Only once we got lost, but that was because someone removed one of the signs. When I got in touch with the folks at the Müllerthal Trail, the immediately got back to me, mentioning they’d replace it soon. We also bought this German guidebook about the Müllerthal Trail.
Hiking the Müllerthal Trail: yes or no?
I can definitely recommend hiking the Müllerthal Trail. As far as I’m concerned it’s one of the better multi-day hikes in the Benelux region and it’s also a great exercise for people trying to get in shape. You can easily hike it for a few days only, or even just a day, as there are plenty of other trails that connect one town with the next. Food and drinks can be bought in most towns along the way, depending on the season. More can be found on the official Müllerthal Trail website.
Plan your hike on the Müllerthal Trail
– We used this hiking guide before planning our trip.
– We camped in Born and Consdorf, both town have various overnight options. Check here for Born and here for Consdorf for prices and availability.
– Using public transportation instead of your car? Echternach can easily be reached by train. Overnighting tips in Echternach before and after your hike can be found here.
Questions? Feel free to leave them below. Hiking the Müllerthal Trail is part of my micro adventure series. Here you can read all about my past micro adventures.
Want to read more? You may also enjoy these posts:
– Hiking and biking in Hoge Veluwe National Park
– Ziplining from the Euromast in Rotterdam
– Cycling in Luxembourg City
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Thanks for sharing!
4 Comments
Ryan Biddulph
Seems like a fun hike to me! Love the idea of a less intense but hefty hike to prep you for bigger, hillier hikes. I work my way up in terms of grade and intensity to avoid exhaustion and burnout. Best way to do it. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Ryan
anto
Yep, that’s usually what I do since we have no real mountains near where I live … these are the best substitutions haha 😉
Gareth Mate
I live in the Netherlands and have been here a few times. It is a great place and you have captured the essence of it well.
The nearby Ardennes and Eifel regions are also very beautiful.
anto
Yes I love both of them, too. Haven’t been to teh Ardennes for a while though, really should go back someday soon again!