Things to Do in Black Forest

Triberg Waterfalls loop

Germany's highest cascade drops 163 m through a gorge of emerald moss and silver birch. Spray freckles your face. The roar swells at each of six platforms. The air tastes of mineral-rich water.

Mummelsee sunrise paddle

A legend-haunted cirque lake sits at 1,036 m. Rent a wooden rowboat. Watch sun lift mist off dark water. Pine trunks creak around you. Silence rings so loud you hear your own heartbeat bounce off the hull.

Schwarzwälder Freilichtmuseum Vogtsbauernhof

Sixteenth-century farmsteads were hauled here from lonely valleys. Inside you'll smell rye bread on wood-fired hearths. Rough linen scratches your fingers. Costumed interpreters saw shingles the old way. Sawdust drifts across sunlit barn floors.

Feldberg ridgeway hike

From the 1,493 m summit evergreens roll like a corrugated sea. In May alpine gentians poke through melting snow. Ravens ride thermals overhead. The wind carries a faint taste of Switzerland, only 20 km south.

Alpirsbach monastery beer tasting

Benedict monks brewed here until 1806. Today the Klosterbraueri ferments a dry, peppery klosterbock. You'll smell it before the glass lands. Oak beams groan under centuries of hymns while you sip.

Titisee-Neustadt: lakeside promenade, easy train access, mid-range spa hotels

Triberg: cuckoo-clock central. Guesthouses with carved balconies above the waterfall.

Schluchsee: quiet, higher altitude. Family apartments circle Germany's largest reservoir.

Baden-Baden fringe: grand spa town at the forest's edge. Upscale villas, casino nights.

Alpirsbach: half-timbered farm stays. Brewery next door. Good base for Gäu route hikers.

Feldberg-Bärentkopf: ski-hostel style pensions. Snow-sure Dec-March. Budget dorms available.