Our friend Raymond Chabanier - mountain guide and guide at Grand Angle - tells you the wild beauty of the Black Forest in winter. A very lively, warm country, rich in traditions, the Black Forest offers ideal conditions for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. Read below his illustrated travel story to be transported to the heart of this mountain massif in south-western Germany from the comfort of your home!
Schauinsland ridges © Raymond Chabanier
Welcome to Freiburg im Breisgau!
The classic gateway to the southern Black Forest, here is Freiburg im Breisgau (Freiburg-in-Brisgau)! Ach, wie schön!! (How beautiful!!)
Nestled at the foot of the massif, along the Rhine Valley and facing Colmar in Alsace, Freiburg deserves a closer look. A modest-sized city (approximately 230 000 inhabitants) but how pleasant to stay in, this city has many assets: a magnificent medieval historic city centre, though rebuilt from the rubble of the 2th World War, a lively pedestrian area crossed by numerous channels where clear mountain water flows, its famous Gothic cathedral - spared from bombing - and a few local bars and breweries with sometimes uninhibited atmosphere!
City of Freiburg-in-Brisgau in the Black Forest and its Freiburg Cathedral © Adobe Stock
Eco-conscious Freiburg (eco-district built in 1996 with passive energy houses and car-free streets), university Freiburg (university dating from the Renaissance), Freiburg renowned in Germany for its very mild climate and the quality of its surrounding vineyards, and finally Freiburg, enthusiast of winter sports. I wouldn’t dare call Freiburg a ski resort, yet from its district to the south of the city, Günstertal, a cable car connects it to the Schauinsland summit (1284 m) and propels residents directly onto the cross-country ski runs of the Notschrei-Schauinsland domain.
Here we are, in this famous Black Forest
Terrain with rounded slopes conducive to snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, we focus on the southern part of the massif: the High Black Forest, and more particularly around Feldberg which, at 1498 m altitude, is the highest point of the massif.
You can practise trekking there or enjoy the comfort of a base camp stay at Hotel Das Rössle, in the Bernau Valley, ideally situated at the crossroads of multiple routes. It is a hotel with cosy luxury without being ostentatious, where you feel completely at home: “sehr gemütlich” (very comfortable, convivial and welcoming), as the saying goes. Unpretentious and magnificent too, its vast wellness area, which guarantees well-being and relaxation after a day spent in the open air and in the snow.
Ascent of Herzogenhorn (1415 m) © Raymond Chabanier
Snowshoeing in Bernau Valley © Raymond Chabanier
Feldberg summit plateau © Raymond Chabanier
But the High Black Forest is so much more…
Fabulous panoramas
Cross-country skiing or snowshoeing offers other sensations and discoveries to explore among the famous dark and deep spruce forests under the snow. If the Black Forest supposedly owes its name to Roman troops who, upon seeing this very dark massif in the distance for the first time, supposedly named it Silva nigra (Black Forest), it nonetheless remains that the moorlands of the ridges and exposed peaks provide us with light and vast panoramas.
Ascent to Feldberg & Herzogenhorn Summit © Raymond Chabanier
It is during the crossing of Feldberg (remember, the highest point of the massif at 1498 m altitude), or that of its close neighbour the Herzogenhorn, which at 1415 m altitude makes it the second highest summit of the massif, that one is struck full force by the gigantic panorama of the Alps from west to east.
In very good visibility, you can distinguish Mont Blanc, all the Swiss Alps, and even the Austrian and Bavarian Alps. To our south, the horizon is barred by the highest peaks of the Bernese Oberland and its famous triptych that are the three pyramids: Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. All around us, the Jura, the Vosges (a massif twin to the Black Forest by its geology), the Swabian Jura, the Rhine Valley and, of course, our playground which stretches towards the north while regularly losing altitude.
Swiss Panorama and Bernese Alps & Skiing below Feldberg © Raymond Chabanier
On the way down, we like to take a tasty and warm break in a refuge or one of the inns that punctuate the route, such as the Raimartihof farm-inn, located at the foot of Feldberg and near Feldsee, a perfectly round glacial lake nestled in its setting of wooded cliffs.
The Raimartihof, a rustic old farm-inn at Feldsee © Raymond Chabanier
Remarkable villages
All that remains is to glide or snowshoe to discover the bottoms of the high valleys where villages nestle, some of which offer real gems: St Blasien is adorned with a cathedral with an enormous dome (the 3th largest in Europe by its dimensions, no less! just after St Peter’s in Rome and Les Invalides in Paris). Menzenschwand, with its magnificent and imposing wooden farms, is situated in a glacial valley that begins at the foot of Feldberg and Herzogenhorn. Titisee is a lakeside resort on the shore of the eponymous lake, where you will find plenty of cuckoo clocks.
Snowshoe trail towards Bernau in the Black Forest © Raymond Chabanier
Grand Angle offers you the best of the Black Forest on snowshoes or cross-country skis
On snowshoes, your guide favours off-trail walks on virgin snow; cross-country ski routes alternate groomed runs and off-piste itineraries.
Below Herzogenhorn © Raymond Chabanier
In fact, we are always seeking passages and routes that allow for the discovery of the Black Forest in what it has best to offer: long passages through coniferous forests, ridge lines that stretch out, summits with extensive panoramas, cosy valleys, visiting “so typisch” villages (So typical)…
No question either of skipping a little stop in a “Konditorei” (Tea salon) with fabulous cakes, including the famous (renowned AND excellent) “Schwarzwälder Kuchen” (Black Forest cherry cake)… any more than a stop in a “Gasthof” with its imposing ceramic stove, warm welcome and comforting glass of “Glühwein” (mulled wine) ! Who said you eat badly in Germany? In any case, in the Black Forest, on a gourmet’s word, you eat well.
Traditional German wrought iron restaurant sign © Raymond Chabanier
“Schwarzwälder Kuchen” (Black Forest cherry cake) © Pixabay
The Black Forest, a land of traditions
Regarding beverages, Germany is a country of beer and the Black Forest is a country within the country. Local breweries offer a wide selection of beers of impeccable quality, always governed by a quality charter dating from the Middle Ages and never modified. The liquid gold flows freely, just like Glühwein, during the last week of the Alemannic carnival.
These carnival days, whose dates depend on Easter, are a highly packed period with festivities, parades, balls and other processions of costumed brass bands. Renowned in Germany for its pagan origins, the Black Forest carnival of St Blasien has renewed connections with traditions inherited from the Middle Ages. Each valley, each village has its own costume and its own ritual, which multiplies the occasions to celebrate…
Alemannic carnival parade at St Blasien © Raymond Chabanier
Imagine yourself, after a beautiful day outdoors in the snow, skiing or snowshoeing, ending it in front of a colourful costumed parade, with a thunderous brass band! Like everyone else, we then shout in unison “Nari! Naro!”, which is the rallying cry and celebration shout.
Traditional Alemannic carnival costumes © Raymond Chabanier
The height of these festivities with the burning of the witch on Shrove Tuesday evening marks the end of the celebrations. Our imagination is then swept away into distant legends and superstitions.
Burning of the witch during Alemannic carnival evening © Raymond Chabanier
The final word
Schwarzwald, Black Forest, white forest: while it is easy to play on words, it is much more fun to come and venture into this charming territory, where there are many routes and where we can easily adapt them depending on the quality and quantity of snowfall.
Heights of Menzenschwand © Raymond Chabanier
View of Feldberg © Raymond Chabanier
A change of scenery is guaranteed, and yet just a stone’s throw from France, just steps away from Switzerland. I never tire of these snowy landscapes that I have been traversing for a long time, to the point that I have become addicted to this country and its people.
Es ist wie meine zweite Heimat! (It’s like my second home!)
Some unusual friends! © Raymond Chabanier
Planning a winter adventure in the Black Forest on snowshoes or cross-country skis?
Grand Angle offers you similar stays such as:
- Villages and Peaks of the Upper Black Forest
- #Crossing the Upper Black Forest by Cross-Country Skiing
- Snowshoes and Fitness in Upper Black Forest
- All our travel catalog for Germany in winter
Text and photo credit © Raymond Chabanier
Article written by
Raymond Chabanier
Mountain leader and pilot!
Eclectic! You'll find him from Salzburg to Verona, Madeira, the Vaucluse and Switzerland! He's a geographer, an aeroplane pilot, a curious person and a gourmet. Read more
