Naturpark Südschwarzwald - Naturpark Südschwarzwald visitor guide showing a virtual tour of 'Naturpark Südschwarzwald' linked to an interactive map with local and travel information. 360° panoramas from Baden-Wuerttemberg.

Naturpark Südschwarzwald (Southern Black Forest) covers the highest part of Schwarzwaldes (Black Forest) in Baden-Württemberg and is one of the top travel destinations in Germany. The Nature Park in the Southern Black Forest retains a balance between the desire to protect the natural environment while recognising and involving the settlements of those who have lived in the region for centuries. Covering some 370,000 hectares, this is the largest Naturpark in Germany.

The landscape of the Southern Black Forest is glacial, with Schluchsee, Titisee being among the deep glacial lakes and the mountains being rounded off by the last ice sheet that covered the area. The highest peaks include Feldberg, Belchen and Stübenwasen.

Founded in 1999 the 'Naturpark Südschwarzwald Association' helps promote the interests of the Southern Black Forest with the collaboration of five local districts and the 103 towns and villages within the area. This involves protection of the environment and biodiversity, development of hiking trails and activities for the popular tourist destination, promoting local industries like the 18 cheese producers that now for the Käseroute (Cheese Route) in the area, and much more. Among the larger towns are Bernau im Schwarzwald, Feldberg, Todtnau, and Sankt Blasien.

Naturpark Südschwarzwald (Southern Black Forest) - Tourist Attractions

The Southern Black Forest has plenty to offer visitors, from picturesque villages and towns, beautiful lakes and mountains. Among the top tourist attractions in the Southern Black Forest region are:

• Badenweiler - popular, car free, spa resort town on the southern edge of the Black Forest. Within the town are the Kurpark, a park with subtropical plants, the Kurhaus and remains of a Roman Baths and remains of the 11th century Schlossberg.
• Gutach Open-Air Museum (Schwarzwalder Freilichtmuseum) - with re-constructed mills, farmsteads and more.
• Bernau im Schwarzwald - very pretty town with a Kurpark, nearby Resenhof Museum and many pleasant walks.
• Herzogenhorn - at 1415m this is the second highest peak within the Southern Black Forest, easily walkable from the pretty village of Bernau-Hof.
• Scenic Drives - there are a number of scenic drives around the region, including the road connecting Straßbourg with Herrenberg via Freudenstadt, Nagold and the road from Rastatt to Freudenstadt via Gernsbach.
• Höllental (Valley of Hell) - 9km long valley turning at times into a narrow gorge with slopes up to 600m high on either side, making for a dramatic drive and good hiking and the Höllentalbahn train route that passes through 9 tunnels and numerous viaducts including the 22m long and 42m high Ravenna viaduct.
• Wutach Gorge - carved by the Wutach river which is formed by the Haslach and Rötenbach rivers, the gorge contains many rare plants, birds and butterflies. It is accessible via a 13km hiking trail.
• Belchen Mountain - at 1414m this is the third highest mountain in the Southern Black Forest, but considered by many to be the most beautiful.
• Schauinsland - reaching 1284m, this is part of the Feldberg with good views of the Vosges beyond the Rhine valley and the Swiss mountains even further away.
• Stübenwasen - reaching 1386m this is the 5th highest mountain in the Southern Black Forest and is mostly walked by those en route to Feldberg (Field Mountain).
• Feldberg - reaching 1493m this is the highest mountain in the region, with a 21-meter-high tower with a radar station on the top.
• Glacial Lakes - the largest of the glacial lakes are Schulsee and Titisee.

There are tourist information offices that support the Southern Black Forest in the following towns.

Hauptgeschäftsstelle Freiburg Tourist Information Office
Ludwigstr. 23
79104 Freiburg
Tel.: +49 761 896460
mail@schwarzwald-tourismus.info

Pforzheim Tourist Information Office
Am Waisenhausplatz 26
75172 Pforzheim
Tel.: +49 7231 147380
touristik@schwarzwald-tourismus.info

Villingen-Schwenningen Tourist Information Office
Schwenninger Str. 3
78048 Villingen-Schwenningen
Tel.: +49 7721 846464
service@schwarzwald-tourismus.info

The heart f the Southern Black Forest is about 195km south of Pforzheim (northern edge of Black Forest), 100km from Lhar (eastern edge of Black Forest) and 90km west of Zimmern ob Rottweil.