Hiking in Baiersbronn

Few places in the Black Forest have made hiking so thoroughly their own as Baiersbronn. Around Obertal, Mitteltal and the valleys of the Murg and the Tonbach, a network of some 550 kilometres of waymarked paths runs through forest, meadow and high ground. That includes short strolls along the Rechtmurg as well as multi-day hikes in stages.

The region confidently calls its network the Baiersbronner Wanderhimmel, its hiking heaven, and the name is less a slogan than a description. Lace up your boots and within a few minutes you are in the forest, choosing between the Genießerpfade, the Himmelswege, the Heilklimawege and the long-distance Seensteig. What follows is an overview of the finest routes, and a few tips for starting out straight from the hotel.

What sets hiking in Baiersbronn apart is not only the number of trails but the order behind them. The Genießerpfade, the gourmet trails, are certified premium circular routes of between eleven and a good fourteen kilometres that deliberately pair landscape with a place to stop and eat. The Himmelswege, among them the 2-Seen-Tour, the Höhen-Tour, the Holzmacher-Tour and the Mönch-Tour, run for between eleven and twenty-one kilometres away from the roads. Then there are five numbered Heilklimawege, health-climate trails for measured walking in the bracing air of the higher ground, discovery trails for families and a selection of easy-access routes.

Your first port of call for maps, route advice and current trail closures is the Wander-Informationszentrum, the hiking information centre, at Freudenstädter Straße 40 in Baiersbronn.

If you only have time for a day's hike, pick one of the four Genießerpfade.

Baiersbronner Tonbachsteig. 14.3 kilometres, around 4.5 hours, roughly 480 metres of ascent. The longest of the four loops climbs out of the Tonbach valley to clearings and lookout points.

Baiersbronner Panoramasteig. 13.9 kilometres with around 530 metres of ascent. The name says it all. Hardly any other loop strings together so many views across the valleys.

Baiersbronner Satteleisteig. 11.2 kilometres and 338 metres of ascent, the gentlest of the four tours and a good choice for the first hike of your holiday.

Baiersbronner Sankenbachsteig. 12.5 kilometres, around 4.5 hours. The highlights are the dark Sankenbachsee in its glacial cirque and the Sankenbach waterfall.

All four loops are waymarked throughout, run mostly on natural paths and pass at least one place to stop for refreshment on the way.

The flagship for multi-day walkers is the Baiersbronner Seensteig, just under 90 kilometres in five stages and certified as a Qualitätsweg Wanderbares Deutschland, a German mark of quality for hiking trails. More than a third of the route runs on unspoilt paths, a remarkable figure for a long-distance trail.

The Seensteig takes its name from the dark glacial lakes that the Ice Age carved into the north-facing slopes. The Buhlbachsee, Ellbachsee, Wilder See and Mummelsee lie strung out along the route. Guests in Obertal are especially well placed, as the quiet Buhlbachsee is just around the corner and can also be walked as a short half-day tour.

To the west, Baiersbronn borders directly on the Black Forest National Park, the first protected area of its kind in Baden-Württemberg. Here the forest is allowed to become wilderness again. Fallen trunks stay where they lie, and bogs and forest reserves develop without human intervention.

For walkers, the Lotharpfad is particularly rewarding. On boardwalks and ladders, it crosses a swathe of forest felled by Storm Lothar, and there is also the loop around the Wilder See at Ruhestein. If you would like to delve deeper, join one of the ranger-led tours run by the National Park Centre. We have devoted a separate article to the subject.

Stopping for refreshment is as much a part of hiking in Baiersbronn as gaining height is of the climb. Spread across the valleys are huts serving food and drink that make good destinations, such as Sackmanns Panoramahütte, the Pudelsteinhütte, the Ellbachhütte or the Walterhütte right in Obertal. Many routes can be planned so that the break for a bite to eat marks the turning point. First the climb, then a snack with a view, and finally a leisurely descent back into the valley.

Many routes start right at the door of the hotel in the Rechtmurg valley, and the forest is a few minutes' walk away. If you would rather explore the region with local knowledge at hand, join a guided hike with hiking guide Willi Seid, who has known the paths of the northern Black Forest for decades. For those heading out on their own, the hotel has detailed route suggestions ready, along with equipment to borrow, hiking rucksacks and walking poles included.

Hiking in Baiersbronn is not a question of the season. In spring the meadows in the valley glow, in summer the firs give shade, autumn colours the slopes, and in winter many paths are groomed as winter walking trails. Besides, the sauna for afterwards is never far away.