The Gengenbach–Alpirsbach Black Forest Trail () is a long distance path through the

Central Black Forest The Central Black Forest (), 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 the Rench valley and southern ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The 51-kilometre-long east-west route is sponsored and maintained by the Black Forest Club. Its waymark is a blue diamond on a yellow background.

Route description

The trail begins in Gengenbach in the lower Kinzig valley and runs parallel to the river and across the

Northern Black Forest The Northern Black Forest () 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 by a line from Karlsruh ...

. In three stages it crosses the valleys of the Nordrach,

Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...

and Kleine Kinzig. In addition the east-west route crosses the three great long distance paths of the Black Forest Club: the '' Westweg'', '' Mittelweg'' and '' Ostweg''. At the end point in Alpirsbach it reaches the Kinzig valley again. The uphill and downhill sections are mainly on hiking trails, level sections (especially on the second stage) follow forest tracks that are usually gravelled.

Day tours/stages

First stage: Gengenbach – Nordrach (Moosmatt)

Overview

* Distance: 16 km * Journey time: c. 4 hours

Route description

The departure point is the upper gateway of Gengenbach. The path merges for about a kilometre with the Ortenau Wine Path running uphill through the village. After the first ascent the trail runs for several kilometres along the ridge (often on footpaths) and then climbs again steeply to the saddle between Mooskopf and Siedigkopf. The viewing tower on the Mooskopf (c. 200 metres from the path) offers a panoramic view; on the Siedigkopf a monument to Hurricane Lothar was built from three

silver fir Silver fir is a common name for several trees and may refer to: *''Abies alba'', native to Europe *''Abies amabilis'', native to western North America *''Abies pindrow ''Abies pindrow'', the pindrow fir, West Himalayan fir, or silver fir, is ...

logs (c. 400 metres off the route). Immediately by the path is a monument to Grimmelshausen. The path runs from here mainly on forest tracks initially steeply uphill and, before the final descent, leads into the Nordrach valley to the (unmanaged) hiking hostel of Sonnenhaus. Near Moosmatt it reaches the Nordrach. Here there is a restored charcoal burning pile (Kohlenmeiler), which had been working until 1945.

Second stage: Nordrach (Moosmatt) – Schapbach

Overview

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

Route description

The ascent out of the Nordrach valley climbs steeply to the Rautsch Hut on a footpath. From there the route continues to climb up a forest track and reaches the Heidenkirche blockfield via the Rosbedunnen Saddle. After a short descent the path runs along the slope to the Löcherbergwasen between

Harmersbach Harmersbach (; below its confluence with the ''Nordrach'': ''Erlenbach'') is a river of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It passes through Zell am Harmersbach, and flows into the Kinzig in Biberach. Until 1806, the Harmersbach valley held the uniqu ...

and the

Rench The Rench is an eastern tributary of the Rhine in the Ortenau in Central Baden, Germany. It rises on the southern edge of the Northern Black Forest at Kniebis near Bad Griesbach im Schwarzwald. The source farthest from the mouth is that of ...

valley. From here the route runs almost on the level along the ridge above the Zuwalder valley and reaches the Westweg on the Littweger Heights. Passing the Hansjakobstein the path runs gently downhill, later more steeply into the valley of the

, which it reaches just before Schapbach.

Third stage: Schapbach – Alpirsbach

Overview

* Distance: 15 km * Journey time: c. 4 hours Convent Church Wittichen

Route description

The route leaves the Wolf valley on a steep ascent, reaching the saddle called “Das Tor” along a forest track . From her to the Emil Hut (‘’Emilshütte’’) via the Bocksecken it merges with the Mittelweg along a footpath. The descent follows a forest track into the valley of the Little Kinzig and past the former abbey of Wittichen. In Vortal it crosses the Little Kinzig. The ascent from here to the Sattellege is very steep. On the last few kilometres the prath runs above the Kinzig to Alpirsbach.

External links

Black Forest hiking service
web facility of the Black Forest Club for visualising the Black Forest trails on Google Maps with various overlays (trail network, waymarks, accommodation, …) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gengenbach-Alpirsbach Black Forest Trail Hiking trails in Baden-Württemberg Transport in the Black Forest