Germany Guide
The Black Forest
The Kinzig and Gutach valleys
The Kinzig and Gutach valleys are quintessential Black Forest landscapes; they're also the birthplace of all the most eccentric folk costumes, and cuckoo clocks are sold here by the tonne. From Baden-Baden the region is most attractively accessed along the twisty and scenic Schwarzwaldhochstrasse, which leads to the northeastern end of the steep-sided and densely forested Kinzig Valley, the horseshoe-shaped hub of the Black Forest's largest valley system, which is dotted with a series of picturesque small towns. Particularly appealing are the monastery and brewery town of Alpirsbach, and the quaint gathering of half-timbered houses at Shiltach. For generations this remote valley made its money logging and farming and its modest and fairly sleepy communities celebrate this heritage with various evocative museums, including the open-air Schwarzwälder Freilichtmuseum, one of the region's premier sights, just up the feeder valley of the River Gutach. Further up the Gutach Valley is Triberg, the Black Forest's most tourist-oriented town, packed with cuckoo-clock shops and coach parties and probably worth avoiding unless you're after a chirping time-piece – in which case you'll certainly want to visit the good, nearby clock museum at Furtwangen too.
Train lines run along the bases of both the Kinzig and Gutach valleys, and are supplemented by a bus network, making getting around the valleys easy. Following the 91.5km Kinzigtalradweg, a marked cycle-route from Offenburg to Lossburg, is one way to absorb some of this region at the pace it deserves.