The ''Mittelweg'' ("Middle Way") is a north–south

long-distance path A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents excep ...

which runs through the

Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...

from

Pforzheim Pforzheim () is a city of over 125,000 inhabitants in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, in the southwest of Germany. It is known for its jewelry and watch-making industry, and as such has gained the nickname "Goldstadt" ("Golden City") ...

to Waldshut. It is about 230 kilometres long and was established in 1903. Since then it has been maintained and sponsored by the

Black Forest Club The Schwarzwaldverein (Black Forest Club or Black Forest Association) was founded in Freiburg im Breisgau (Germany) in 1864, making it the oldest German hiking and mountaineering club. The Schwarzwaldverein has almost 90,000 members in 241 loca ...

. Its

waymark Trail blazing or way marking is the practice of marking paths in outdoor recreational areas with signs or markings that follow each other at certain, though not necessarily exactly defined, distances and mark the direction of the trail. A blaz ...

is a red diamond with a white bar on a white background.

Description

From Pforzheim the path initially runs over the plateau between the

Enz The Enz is a river flowing north from the Black Forest to the Neckar in Baden-Württemberg. It is 106 km long. Its headstreams – the Little Enz (german: Kleine Enz) and the Great Enz or Big Enz (''Große Enz'') – rise in the Northern B ...

and

Nagold Nagold is a town in southwestern Germany, bordering the Northern Black Forest. It is located in the ''Landkreis'' (district) of Calw (Germany/Baden-Württemberg). Nagold is known for its ruined castle, Hohennagold Castle, and for its road viaduc ...

valleys. Passing the

raised bog Raised bogs, also called ombrotrophic bogs, are acidic, wet habitats that are poor in mineral salts and are home to flora and fauna that can cope with such extreme conditions. Raised bogs, unlike fens, are exclusively fed by precipitation ( ombro ...

s of the

Northern Black Forest The Northern Black Forest (german: Nordschwarzwald) refers to the northern third of the Black Forest in Germany or, less commonly today, to the northern half of this mountain region. Geography The Northern Black Forest is bounded in the north b ...

it goes to

Freudenstadt Freudenstadt ( Swabian: ''Fraidestadt'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is capital of the district Freudenstadt. The closest population centres are Offenburg to the west (approx. 36 km away) and Tübingen to the eas ...

and continues through the

Central Black Forest The Central Black Forest (german: Mittlerer Schwarzwald), also called the Middle Black Forest, is a natural or cultural division of the Black Forest in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It generally refers to a region of deeply incised valleys from t ...

via the Fohrenbühl and St. Georgen to the Hochfirst. In the Southern Black Forest the ‘’Mittelweg’’ passes through the valleys of the Schwarza and Schlücht (western branch) or Mettma (eastern branch) and reaches the

High Rhine The High Rhine (german: Hochrhein) is the name used for the part of the Rhine that flows westbound from Lake Constance to Basel. The High Rhine begins at the outflow of the Rhine from the Untersee in Stein am Rhein and turns into the Upper Rhine ...

at Waldshut.

Route

Common stages: Pforzheim – Lenzkirch

1st Stage: Pforzheim – Bad Wildbad

* Distance: 23 km * Journey time: c. 5.5 hours

2nd Stage: Bad Wildbad – Besenfeld

* Distance: 31 km * Journey time: c. 8 hours

3rd Stage: Besenfeld – Oberzwieselberg

* Distance: 26 km * Journey time: c. 6.5 hours

4th Stage: Oberzwieselberg – Schiltach

* Distance: 25 km * Journey time: c. 6 hours

5th Stage: Schiltach – St. Georgen

* Distance: 30.5 km * Journey time: c. 7.5 hours

6th Stage: St. Georgen – Kalte Herberge

* Distance: 25.5 km * Journey time: c. 6.5 hours

7th Stage: Kalte Herberge – Lenzkirch

* Distance: 25.5 km * Journey time: c. 6.5 hours

Western branch: Lenzkirch – Waldshut

8th Stage: Lenzkirch – Häusern

* Distance: 20 km * Journey time: c. 5 hours

9th Stage: Häusern – Waldshut

* Distance: 23 km * Journey time: c. 5.5 hours

Eastern branch: Lenzkirch – Waldshut

8th Stage: Lenzkirch – Rothaus

* Distance: 13 km * Journey time: c. 3.5 hours

9th Stage: Rothaus – Waldshut

* Distance: 30 km * Journey time: c. 7 hours

External links

Black Forest Hiking Service
web service of the Black Forest Club enabling visualisation of the Black Forest trails on Google Maps with various overlays (trail network, signs, accommodation, ...) {{Long distance paths of the Black Forest Club Hiking trails in Baden-Württemberg Transport in the Black Forest