The Köterberg is the highest hill for miles around, a broad, bald dome rising to just under five hundred metres on the border between Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia, and from the top the view over the Weser Uplands is wide and green. Forest, farmland, and small villages fold into one another toward the horizon, and on a clear day you can see for fifty kilometres or more. A television tower and a small cafe mark the summit, and in the evening the sunset is lovely.
The hill is popular with glider pilots and paragliders, who use the winds that rise against its slopes, and on a fine day colourful canopies drift above the meadows. In winter, a short ski lift runs on the northern slope when snow is deep enough. The hill is also part of the area known as Lipperland, a region with its own dialect, its own history of small principalities, and a long tradition of farming, linen, and brick-making. The villages around it, such as Polle, with its castle ruins above the Weser, are worth a detour.
The ride up is the pleasure. From the villages below, the road climbs in a series of curves through meadows and woodland, with a good surface and a moderate gradient, and the top opens suddenly into a broad, grassy summit. The bends are tight enough to be fun, and the traffic is light on most days. At weekends in fine weather, the car park fills, and the road is busier. Beware of loose gravel at the edges, and of wet leaves and mud after rain, and watch for cyclists on the climb.
Schieder-Schwalenberg, about nine kilometres away, has stations, shops, and cafes, and Polle is smaller. The summit cafe offers coffee and cake, with the view as a free extra. Bring a jacket, because the wind at the top is stronger than in the valleys, and the temperature can fall quickly. Late afternoon is the best time for photographs, when the light is warm and the haze softens the horizon.