This operates from April 28 to October 28 and serves all local villages and starting points for the Wutachschlucht trails. Timed to coordinate with train arrivals at Löffingen and Döggingen stations, the bus runs twice each morning and evening or weekends and during public holidays, making hikes through the Wutach-, Gauchach-, and Enge-gorges even easier to plan. Now the full extent of these beautiful wild river valleys is accessible also to visitors without a car. Those who have obtained a KONUS- or RVF regional visitor card can travel free, otherwise tickets are available on the bus. Another hikers’ bus, already in operation for several years, serves the south side of the Wutach gorge, and the timetables of the two bus routes co-ordinate well.

For example, train travellers can now hike from Döggingen through the Gauchach gorge and towards the Wutach to Bachheim, Reiselfingen, to the Schattenmühle or on to Göschweiler, with convenient access to a station at any point along the route.

The bus provides access to all major hiking points on the Löffingen side of the gorge.

Tour Suggestions:

Option 1: Take the hikers’ bus from Löffingen station to Unadingen, Altes Posthaus (old posthouse). Hike through the Gauchach- and Enge-gorges to Bachheim, then at the Drei-Schluchten-Halle pick up the bus which will return you to Löffingen station (about 7 km).

Option 2: Take the hikers’ bus from Löffingen station to Göschweiler or the Schattenmühle. Hike through the Wutach gorge to Bachheim (about 9.5 km) or continue on along to Unadingen, Altes Posthaus (about 15 km).

Option 3: From Rötenbach station, hike through the Rötenbach gorge and then the Wutach gorge to the Schattenmühle (about 8 km), or continue on to Reiselfingen (13 km) or Bachheim (17.5 km). Then travel back with the hikers’ bus to a pick-up point or train station.

Further tour suggestions and descriptions, and detailed bus timetables, can be found at www.loeffingen.de or www.sonnenwinkel.net.

This beautiful princely seat, located between the Black Forest and Lake Constanz, can be reached in ten minutes by car or train.

Donaueschingen, cultural and economic center of the Baar region, and source of the mighty Danube, awaits your discovery. Join a tour of the picturesque castle and visit there the magnificent cultural treasures of the Fürstenberg princely collection, including the picture gallery and the display of rare and curious minerals. Then enjoy in peace and quiet the beauty of its spacious park where you can find the official source of the Danube. Or saunter through the charming town center and appreciate the pleasing harmon of its Art Nouveau buildings and the interesting main church of St. Johann.

Donaueschingen is also the starting and finishing point of the Danube Cycle Path.

Flying for Fun / Sport Flying:

The town offers sightseeing and charter flights, and gliding. You can also take flying lessons leading to acquisition of a pilot’s license.

International Events:

These include the International Horse Show (CHI), and the Donaueschingen Contemporary Music Festival.

Titisee: Only about 20 minutes away by car, the lake here offers a bathers’ paradise. For information see

www.badeparadies-schwarzwald.de

Triberg:

Here you can visit Germany’s highest waterfall, where the waters of the Gutach plunge in a series of stupendous cascades down seven giant granite steps, a grand total of 163 m to the valley below.

Schonach:

Don’t miss the world’s largest original Black Forest cuckoo clock, which is fifty times normal size, measuring 3 by 3.6 m across and one meter deep. The giant mechanism occupies a neat little decorated house; an entire outside wall forms the clock face.

Furtwangen:

See here the source of the Breg, one of the parent streams of the Danube. Here also the Brend tower provides a splendid view of the Feldberg peak. Or you can visit the Hexenlochmühle German clock museum, which traces the development through the ages of man’s varied ingenious methods of measuring time, from simple sundials through to the latest atomic clocks. The museum’s comprehensive display covers the history, art and technology of timekeeping.

St. Georgen:

St. Georgen’s traditional sound reproduction industry has accumulated a fascinating and informative collection of related devices, now housed in a dedicated museum. The exhibition covers the whole story, from Edison’s 1877 phonograph, through gramophone and record-changers of various types and eras, to present-day Hifi stereo systems. The “Schwarzes Tor” local history museum is also well worth a visit. Or you can see the source of the Danube’s other parent stream, the Brigach, and visit the Brigachmühle.

The Vogtsbauernhof Black forest open-air museum in Gutach is only about 45 minutes away by car. Sightseeing visits bring to life the cultural history of the entire Black Forest, offering impressive farmyards, mills and timber-saws from the 16th and 17th centuries, and craft demonstrations.

Take a guided tour: a program for young and old will transport you through from the vanished past worlds of everyday life and work, up to the present day.

The Wutach valley “Sauschwänzlebahn” historic railway is located in Blumberg – Weizen, only about 20 minutes away by car. The line, built in 1887 – 1890 as a strategic link, has now been restored as a historic steam locomotive ride. It runs for 25 km through the wild romantic Wutach valley and the geologically interesting Mühlbach valley. Its unique technical features make it a fine example of the great art of engineering: Germany’s only spiral rail tunnel, magnificent bridges, viaducts and curving tracks contribute to its special appeal. Don’t forget also to visit the railway museum and working model factory.

The ride lasts 30 minutes each way, with departures from 01.05 to 22.10. – see timetable.

The Solemar Baths in Bad Dürrheim, Europe’s highest altitude saltwater-bath and curative climate spa, is about 20 minutes away by car. Here you can sample the only medicinal salt baths in the Black Forest: The spa offers eleven different indoor and outdoor pools with salt concentrations ranging from 3 to 5 % and temperatures from 28 to 37°C. Enjoy the cascades, jet massage, sauna, salt grottoes, solaria and the special Black Forest sauna.

The Black Forest is probably the ideal starting point for a biking tour. Its diverse and varied landscapes, with many stretches of track well away from main highways, are conveniently located within easy reach of France and Switzerland, offering perfect conditions for an unforgettable biking experience.

This is a fascinating museum village, with 25 historic buildings collected from all over the Schwäbische Alb, Black Forest, Lake Constanz and Hegau regions. Information can be found at

www.freilichtmuseum-neuhausen.de