BikePark Winterberg

BikePark Winterberg, rebranded "The Mother" for the 2024 season, is a large uplift-served gravity bike park at 776m in the Rothaar Mountains, part of the wider Erlebnisberg Kappe adventure park with its own climbing forest, zipline and toboggan run. Seventeen trails across four difficulty grades run over a mix of built lines, natural trails and freeride lines, served by three lifts, plus a free beginner and kids course that needs no ticket. It's about half an hour's drive from Willingen Bike Park, making the two easy to combine into one trip.

The Trails

Seventeen trails run across the slopes around the summit of Erlebnisberg Kappe, at 776m in the heart of the Rothaar Mountains, in four difficulty grades. The grounds themselves are free to explore, but riding the trails and lifts needs a valid ticket, scanned automatically at the lift-station turnstiles; the free Beginner and Kids Parcours is the one exception.

The easiest trails are the free Beginner and Kids Parcours, the Schneewittchen Trail and the Fairy Trail, all wide, flowing descents for newer riders. The next grade up brings Kyrhill, a family-friendly run with optional side hits, the SRAM Flow Country line, the longest run in the park, with berms and rollers, and Fly By, a rollable beginner jump line. The intermediate tier is the biggest: the Slopestyle Area and its big-air jumps, the jump lines Jolli Jumper and North Shore's timber features, the built drops and wallrides of Freeride, plus three natural, unshaped enduro trails with plenty of root sections, Forrest Stump, Rocky Waldboa and Shreddy Mörphy. The hardest grade covers Jump Line's large doubles and gaps, the iXS Downhill race track with its rock gardens and technical sections, and the steep, natural Blackline 1.0 and Blackline 2.0, both with roots, steps and tight turns.

Cross Country

Beyond the lift-served park, Winterberg is also a stop on the free Trailpark Winterberg, a roughly 40km network with around 20km of singletrail around the Bremerberg, part of the wider Bike Arena Sauerland project of some 1,700km of signposted mountain bike routes across the region, stretching as far as Willingen's own Green Trails network. Hire bikes for this network are available in town, separately from the gravity bikes used inside the bike park itself.

Admission and Prices

A day ticket costs from EUR 46 for adults, EUR 34 for youth and EUR 25 for children, with cheaper half-day tickets and a season pass from EUR 390 also available. The free Beginner and Kids Parcours needs no ticket. Bike hire at the park runs from EUR 99 a day for an adult gravity bike, EUR 49 for youth and EUR 19 for kids, including a full-face helmet and protective gear. Prices are correct as of September 2026 but subject to change, so check current rates on the venue's website before you book.

Guides, Shuttles and Hire

The bike park's own three chairlifts, the Panoramabahn, the Kappe-Sessellift and the Schneewittchen-Sessellift, carry bikes up to the mountain and are included in every lift ticket, so there's no separate shuttle to arrange inside the park. For coaching, hire and riding the wider trail network around town, these operators are worth knowing:

• Bikeverleih Poppenberg: adult and children's mountain bike and e-bike hire for the Trailpark Winterberg and wider Sauerland network, not approved for use in the gravity bike park itself, based at In der Büre 32, Winterberg.
• Pro-Biker: mountain bike and e-mountain bike hire, workshop repairs and route advice for the Sauerland trail network, based at Fichtenweg 20a, Winterberg.
• School of Skillz: independent one-to-one coaching, group riding-technique courses and multi-day MTB camps for children through to adults, based in Winterberg and also running camps abroad.
• ShredAcad Bikeschool: the bike park's own school, running beginner and advanced bike park courses, private coaching, kids' courses and multi-day bike camps, with courses from EUR 119 including a bike park ticket.

Prices are correct as of September 2026 but subject to change, so check current rates with the operator.

Women's Groups and Sessions

The bike park's own ShredAcad Bikeschool runs a Bikepark Ladies Only course, a five-hour session covering bike setup, riding position, cornering and jumps for women and girls new to the park or looking to build confidence.

The park has also held women-only Ladies' Hour lift sessions in the past, over the Mother's Day weekend and on special Women's Days, so check the bike park's events page for any coming up.

Getting There from the UK

Winterberg has no airport of its own, but Dortmund, Paderborn/Lippstadt and Kassel are all within about an hour and a quarter by road, and Düsseldorf, Cologne Bonn and Frankfurt, further away at around two hours, carry a wider range of routes from the UK.

By rail, take the Eurostar to Brussels, then an ICE train on to Cologne, changing onto regional services towards Dortmund and Bestwig for the branch line to Winterberg's own station, about 15 minutes from the bike park by bus or on foot. It's a long day's travel by train, so check Eurostar's and ICE's current bike-carriage and reservation rules before you book, since both need a bike space arranged in advance.

Driving from Calais or the Channel Tunnel is around 565km, a little over six hours on motorways through Belgium and the Netherlands or western Germany, none of which charge cars a motorway toll. Riders in the north of England may find it easier to shorten the drive with a ferry instead: Hull to Rotterdam or Harwich to the Hook of Holland both leave the rest of the journey to Winterberg on Dutch and German roads only.

When to Go

The bike park runs roughly late April to early November each year, with lifts and trails operating daily through the season. Early and late season can bring cooler, wetter conditions on the Rothaar Mountains' exposed upper slopes, so mid-summer generally rides driest. Outside the season the lifts and trails close entirely while Erlebnisberg Kappe switches over to its winter ski operation. Winterberg draws its biggest crowds at weekends through the German school summer holidays, so a weekday visit, or the shoulder weeks either side of the main season, usually means shorter lift queues.

Where to Stay

Winterberg town, a few minutes from the bike park by car, has the widest choice of places to stay: hotels, guesthouses and apartments across a range of budgets. On-site at Erlebnisberg Kappe, Hostel Erlebnisberg Kappe and Campingplatz Winterberg (see Beyond the Trails below) put you right at the park gates for a multi-day trip. Many local accommodation providers include a SauerlandCard or Sauerland SommerCard with a stay, which gives free regional bus and train travel and discounts on Erlebnisberg Kappe's other attractions, though it doesn't replace a bike park lift ticket.

Beyond the Trails

BikePark Winterberg sits within Erlebnisberg Kappe, a wider adventure park built for rest days and mixed groups. The Panorama Adventure Bridge runs 20 metres above the treetops with sweeping views over Winterberg and the Sauerland, including the Slopestyle course below, and has five playful elements like swaying bridges and swinging platforms along the way. The Climbing Forest has over 70 stations across seven courses of varying difficulty, up to 11 metres high, with kids aged 11 and over able to climb independently. The FlyLine zipline glides 1,000 metres through the forest at 11 metres height, right above the bike park, and is open to all ages. There's also a 700 metre summer toboggan run, adventure golf, trampolines, mini excavators and kids' cars, Kappi's Playground for younger children, and the Kappe Express train tour through Winterberg. The Panorama-Rundweg walking loop is a pleasant stroll too, though it crosses several bike trails, so walkers should stay alert to riders.

Hostel Erlebnisberg Kappe is a few minutes' walk from the bike park, with 49 rooms sleeping up to 150 guests, a bike cellar with tools for small repairs, a drying room, a sauna and its own bar, plus a discount on bike and safety gear rental for guests. Campingplatz Winterberg sits right next door for tents and campervans, with pitches, sanitary facilities and laundry. Wild camping and sleeping in vehicles in the bike park's own car parks isn't permitted.

Food comes from the Panorama Café-Restaurant, which has a sun terrace, plus a kiosk for snacks and drinks and vending machines around the site. Self-service tool stations and an air pump are available at the Bikestation, and the workshop there can help with brakes, gears or suspension even if you're not on a rental bike.

Facilities

• Car park (Bremberg P2, P3 and P4, and Kappe)
• Toilets
• Panorama Café, snack bars and vending machines
• Bike wash (10 bays across three locations)
• Bike hire
• Bike shop at the Bikestation (gloves, goggles, helmets, protectors, tyres, spares and more), plus a workshop using SRAM, RockShox, Schwalbe and iXS parts, a tool wall and an air pump
• Showers
• Lockers at the Bikestation (bring your own lock, or hire one on site)
• Uplift via three lifts

Getting Here

BikePark Winterberg, Kapperundweg 3, 59955 Winterberg, Germany. Parking is at the Bremberg car parks (P2, P3 and P4) or the Kappe car park. The park runs daily from late April to early November, with trails and lifts typically operating 9:30am to 5:30pm through the summer and shorter hours from October. Over winter, Erlebnisberg Kappe switches over to the Winterberg ski area and the bike trails close for the season, so check the official site for exact opening and closing dates each year.

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