There are hiking routes (such as the Hermannsweg) along the hill chain which stretches 80 km in east-west direction.

To the south of the hills are large sand areas originating from melting glaciers during past ice ages.

In 1969 the city was expanded with the addition of Helpup, Währentrup and Lipperreihe as part of the "Gebietsreform" movement.

Oerlinghausen is home to an airfield which is one of Europe's largest gliding centres as well as the well known Archäologisches Freilichtmuseum Oerlinghausen (archaeological open-air museum) featuring reconstructions of a variety of dwellings spanning from 10,000 BC to 1000 AD.

Niklas Luhmann and Richard Grathoff, two of the key sociologists who made the Bielefeld University one of the premier institutions for sociology in Europe, have also lived in Oerlinghausen for extended time periods.