Silkeborg: Lakes, Trails and Culture

Silkeborg offers a variety of ways to plan your days here: walks by the water, hiking trails, nature watching and cultural history. If you’re looking for a hotel in Silkeborg, you can consider which aspects of the city are of particular interest for your trip. The trails vary in length and character, while the museums and nature attractions each have their own focus.

Walks and hiking trails around Silkeborg

The lakes around Silkeborg—including Silkeborg Langsø, Almind Sø and Julsø—are ideal for peaceful walks by the water. The walking path along Silkeborg Langsø is seven kilometres long and easy to follow, although it is not signposted. A network of paths runs around the eastern part of the lake. At Ørnsø, the family-friendly Ørnsøstien trail covers about 3.5 kilometres through varied natural surroundings. The distances provide a useful comparison: the Langsø walking path is longer, while Ørnsøstien is shorter.

At Ørnsø, you can watch geese, coots and ducks. Kingfishers and herons are also often seen on the lake shores; sightings are seasonal and not guaranteed. If you’d like to add another trail to your plans, Almindsø has a certified family trail recognised as a quality trail by the Danish Hiking Association.

The Trækstien follows the Gudenå through a green landscape. You can divide the route into sections according to how far you want to walk. The Silkeruten offers a different kind of wayfinding: it has three official starting points with parking and information boards about the route. Maps and brochures for hiking trails in and around Silkeborg are available to download; some of the PDFs are older.

Nature experiences and cycling

AQUA Akvarium & Dyrepark is a large, family-friendly centre for experiencing Danish nature. One of the experiences described there is otter feeding: together with an animal keeper, visitors prepare the food and then feed the otters. Check whether this experience is available before booking it.

Silkeborg also offers a specific option for cyclists: Nordskoven has a mountain bike training area of about ten hectares at Korsdalshus. Cycling is allowed throughout the area on the forest floor; the usual rules for cycling in forests apply. The Silkeborg Østerskov route starts at the AQUA car park on Vejlsøvej. Bus route 4 runs from Silkeborg Trafikterminal to AQUA. If you’re planning to take the bus, check the timetable before setting off, as services may change.

Art, paper and history

Silkeborg’s cultural attractions range from art collections to papermaking. Between 1953 and 1973, Asger Jorn donated nearly 5,500 works by around 150 different artists to the city. The donation took place over a period of two decades. KunstCentret Silkeborg Bad holds around 4,000 works by more than 200 Danish artists and a few international artists. The works date from the 1830s to the 1990s.

Papirmuseet is Denmark’s specialist museum for paper and papermaking. It is located in the former production rooms of the old Silkeborg Papirfabrik and is at once a living museum, a workshop producing handmade paper and a knowledge centre. Alongside the art collections, it also brings the city’s industrial history into focus. The Tollund Man has been housed in Hovedgården since 1952.

Silkeborg Slot is part of Silkeborg’s older history. Its roots go back to the Middle Ages; over time, the castle alternated between being owned by nobles, bishops and kings. It stood on a projecting headland where the Remstrup Å—this stretch of the Gudenå—flows into Silkeborg Langsø. This link between the river, the lake and the historic site adds another perspective on Silkeborg alongside its present-day trails and nature attractions.

Discover more destinations: Kjellerup, Them Kommune, Ans, Ry, Svejbæk, Skygge, Virklund, Linå.

Go to the main travel overview: Silkeborg Municipality.