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Black Forest: Overview

Schwarzwald
Bilberries under the trees
The Black Forest is Germany's largest and tallest low mountain range. It is located in the German South-West, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. To the West there is the Rhine valley, and on the other side of the valley the French Vosges.

The Feldberg is the highest peak at 1493 m above sea level. It is located in the Southern half of the range. Other high peaks in the South include the Herzogenhorn (1415 m) and the Belchen (1414 m). The highest peak in the North is the Hornisgrinde (1163 m), a 2 km crest. The top is an upland moor. With more than 2000 mm of precipitation per year it's one of the rainiest places in Germany. The Black Forest National Park (founded in 2014) includes the Southern Hornisgrinde, parts of the Murg valley and the Schwarzwaldhochstraße. Schwarzwald
Radio tower on the Hornisgrinde

Larger towns in the Black Forest include Freudenstadt, Villingen-Schwenningen and Titisee-Neustadt. On the Western side in the Rhine valley you can find Baden-Baden, Offenburg and Freiburg.

The longest rivers are the Enz with 105 km, Kinzig, Elz, Nagold and Wutach with about 90 km each and the Murg with a length of 80 km.

The region isn't only famous for the forests, but also for its cuckoo clocks, Black Forest cherry cake, ham, and its traditional costumes.

Traffic tends to be low, the exception being some through roads, notably the E531 from Offenburg past Hausach, Triberg, Villingen-Schwenningen to Donaueschingen. In the wider valleys good bike routes often avoid the heavy traffic.

Schwarzwald
Schwarzwaldhochstraße
The Schwarzwaldhochstraße (Black Forest High Road) from Baden-Baden is heavily frequented on weekends. Roads to popular tourist destinations (Titisee, Schluchsee etc) should also be avoided on weekends. A lot of climbing is possible on small roads with low traffic. But don't underestimate the elevation totals. And gradients above 10% are common.

The environs of Freiburg are popuar with pro cyclists. There are optmial conditions for road training, The flat Rhine valley, rolling hills and the tough climbs of the Black Forest.

Schwarzwald
There are many hiking paths.
Schwarzwald
Hornisgrinde
Schwarzwald
Waterfall near Heiligenzell.
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Dead tree / Lotharpfad.
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Old town of Gengenbach.
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Cows.
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Winding road.
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Dead trees on Hornisgrinde.
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Farm in winter.
 
German
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Bicycle tours
in the Black Forest

Overview
Tours:
Seelbach - Gengenbach - Offenburg
Lahr - Schuttertal - Ettenheimmünster
Lahr - Nordrach - Alexanderschanze
Tours to France:
Lahr - Illkirch-Graffenstaden
Lahr - Obernai

More bicycle tours
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The Baltic countries
Black Forest
(in German)
Schwarzwald
Benelux - Länder
Kreta 2014
Aquitaine 2010
Provence 2009
Savoie/Haute-Savoie 2008
Venedig/Jesolo 2009
Kalabrien 2007/2008
Italien 2007
Mostviertel und Voralpen 2010
Ostösterreich 2008
Ungarn 2008
Tschechien, Polen, Sachsen 2006
Donauradweg
Paris-Brest-Paris 2007



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Bernd Krüger, 2016
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