IllustrationCome for the meeting of flower-rich cattle pastures, old trees and steep wooded valleys that gives the southern Black Forest its character.
Come for the meeting of flower-rich cattle pastures, old trees and steep wooded valleys that gives the southern Black Forest its character. Start by choosing one small part of this 632-square-kilometre biosphere reserve: Dachsberg for a playful children's walk, Todtnau-Brandenberg for waterfalls and possible chamois sightings, or Schauinsland for mountain views and a paved interpretive trail.
The open slopes tell an important part of the story. Generations of grazing have kept the communal Allmendweiden open, while browsing cattle have shaped the broad, irregular pasture beeches called Weidbuchen. Woodland, hay meadows, streams and villages fit around these working pastures. Looking at a tree's shape or a meadow's flowers can be as rewarding as searching for an animal.
This is the Biosphärengebiet Schwarzwald in the southern Black Forest. Nationalpark Schwarzwald, with its Ruhestein visitor centre farther north, is a separate destination. Here, useful first stops include the biosphere information points at the Schauinslandbahn mountain station, Dachsberg town hall and Bernau's Kurhaus. Pick up a map where available, then give your chosen walk time rather than trying to cross the whole region in a day. Take the ultimate field guide with you: use the Snappit app to identify birds, plants, and animals on your trip.
Established in 2016 and recognised by UNESCO in 2017, the biosphere reserve brings conservation together with farming, local products and village life. Its communal grazing tradition is still visible in the Allmendweiden and the small Hinterwälder cattle associated with them. Elsewhere, protected forest core zones allow trees to grow old and decay without timber harvesting. These different approaches explain why a working pasture and an untended woodland both belong to this landscape.
For younger children, start the Dachsweg at Dachsberg-Halle, Schulstraße 1, in Wittenschwand. Grimli the badger and his friends introduce a story with play and climbing stops. The story route is 1.5 km; there is a separate 1.5 km pushchair-and-winter variant, while the additional 2 km Wandelrunde is unsuitable for pushchairs. Choose the signs for the variant you actually want.
For wildlife interest, walk the Gamsbeobachtungspfad from the Fahler Wasserfall to the Kneipp water-treading area in Brandenberg. This roughly 3.1 km one-way route descends about 220 m, crossing waterfall bridges before passing woodland and open slopes. Use the public telescope at the finish to scan for chamois. Arrange your return before setting off: this is not a circuit.
From Freiburg, Schauinsland makes a satisfying mountain day. The app-based Tour für alle is an approximately 3 km paved out-and-back with seven stops. Its slope means wheelchair users need a companion. The 3.4 km classic alternative includes steep, uneven ground near the summit. A pasture beech, the mining story and scientific observation stations give children things to investigate along the way.
Check the chosen trail's local notices and the mountain weather before travelling. Winter snow and ice can change the character of even a short walk; the Dachsweg's winter variant does not promise an ice-free surface. Avoid exposed or wooded routes in storms.
The Schauinslandbahn and its mountain restaurant are scheduled to close for maintenance from 16 November to 4 December 2026, and again from 22 February to 19 March 2027. Check the operator's current dates and daily operating status before relying on the cable car. The Hasenhornturm near Todtnau is closed until further notice; do not add a tower climb to your day.
Plan accessibility for the individual outing. At Dachsweg, use the signed pushchair variant; it offers smaller versions of the ant and squirrel stations. The extra Wandelrunde is not pushchair-suitable. For a wheelchair visit, ask Dachsberg tourist information about the route and your particular needs before travelling.
Schauinslandbahn has ramps to its buildings and cabins, plus a changing-place toilet with a hoist at both stations. Contact the operator about your equipment and assistance needs. The paved Tour für alle requires a companion for wheelchair users because of its gradient. The classic summit variant has steep, uneven paths unsuitable for ordinary wheelchairs. The chamois trail involves a substantial descent and waterfall bridges; choose it for walkers comfortable with that terrain.
Look for the broad crowns and joined stems that record a tree’s long relationship with grazing animals.
A short story trail gives younger walkers a reason to pause, play and look closely.
The Brandenberg telescope lets you watch the slopes without approaching the animals.
An app adds mining, climate and landscape stories to a mountain outing.
Start at Dachsberg-Halle, Schulstraße 1, Wittenschwand. Follow the badger story through its play stations; take the separate 2 km Wandelrunde only if everyone wants a longer outing.
The story route and the pushchair route are separate choices. Ask Dachsberg tourist information about conditions and suitability before planning a wheelchair visit.
Start from the same Dachsberg-Halle parking area and follow the pushchair-and-winter variant. The ant and squirrel experiences are available in smaller versions.
Use the pushchair signs and omit the additional Wandelrunde. Ask Dachsberg tourist information about current conditions if your equipment has specific requirements.
Start by the Fahler Wasserfall parking area on the B 317. Finish at the Kneipp water-treading area in Brandenberg, where the public telescope looks towards the chamois slopes. Arrange transport between the two ends.
Plan this as a walking trail, allowing for the long descent and waterfall bridges. Ask the local tourist office before considering it with a pushchair or mobility aid.
The named route starts at the information pavilion by the mountain visitor parking area, visits seven app stations and returns the same way. Do not accidentally follow the classic summit variant on the return.
Wheelchair users need a companion on the Tour für alle. Check the cable-car operator’s detailed access information separately.
Build the morning around one Dachsweg variant and stop when the children have had enough. If Dachsberg town hall is open, its biosphere information point adds context without another long walk.
Take tram, bus and cable car, visit the mountain-station information point and follow the Tour für alle at your own pace. Leave a comfortable margin for the final cable-car descent.
At a pasture beech visible from a public path, ask children to sketch the crown. Compare its broad outline with a woodland tree, then imagine how grazing could change a sapling’s growth.
Choose a tree, a flower and a landscape view from your walk. Take photographs without picking anything, then compare them with the biosphere discovery card at home.
For a more detailed introduction, browse the reserve’s ranger programme and book the specific outing in advance. Check its distance and age guidance; the published ranger walks are not pushchair tours.
At Resenhofweg 2 in Bernau-Oberlehen, the Holzschneflermuseum Resenhof offers a woodcraft-focused indoor visit. Its ticket also includes Forum erlebnis:holz. Opening is seasonal and mainly in the afternoon; the museum closes 17 November–25 December and does not accept card payments. Check its service page before making the journey.
The displays and digital interpretation at a local biosphere information point work well as a brief introduction. Check the host building’s hours; a town-hall installation is not an all-day visitor centre.
Look at the pasture beeches from the path: their wide crowns and fused-looking stems are part of the attraction. Weidbuche describes a grazing-shaped European beech, not a separate species.
In the mountain woods, try comparing a fir with a nearby beech. Their different foliage helps explain what mixed woodland means. Photograph the tree without pulling down branches or removing needles.
Treat a flowering arnica as a close-looking, no-picking subject. Stay on the path, include the leaves in a photograph when visible, and leave identification for later rather than trampling around the plant.
Use the public telescope at Brandenberg’s water-treading area, or watch quietly from the marked trail. Animals can be distant or absent from view. These are free-living descendants of historical releases; do not approach or feed them.
Pause on a safe public bridge or beside an existing streamside path. Watch the water and exposed stones without moving down the bank. A dipper would be a bonus, not a reason to inspect cavities or nests.
A woodland pause may bring a call before a view. Look from the path and let the bird come into sight; do not follow it to a tree hole or play recordings to attract it.
If a salamander crosses your path, stand back and let it move on. Photograph it where it is, without touching it, turning over logs or entering a spring to look for more.
At a flower beside the path, wait for a butterfly to settle rather than following it into a meadow. A clear photograph can be checked later; there is no need to catch or handle it.
These plants and animals occur in the biosphere landscape, with chamois specifically associated with the public Todtnau trail. They will not all occur along every outing, and seeing wildlife is never guaranteed. The Dachsweg characters are story figures, not promised animal encounters.
Keep dogs leashed and stay on marked paths. In core zones, collecting plants or fungi, fires, camping, geocaching and drone flights are prohibited. Do not approach animals for photographs. Old woodland also brings a risk of falling branches and trees.
Keeping a pasture open can be conservation work. Without continued grazing, shrubs and trees can reclaim these slopes and change the habitat for meadow species.
The Gletscherkessel Präg preserves the landscape left where six glaciers once converged. It is another area to explore on a separate, properly planned walking day.
Young beech shoots repeatedly browsed by livestock can grow into a wide bush; stems that escape browsing can eventually form a much larger tree.
Use a clear, settled day for Schauinsland and a dry, comfortable walking day for the waterfall descent. In winter, shorten plans and check surface conditions locally. Any cable-car trip needs a fresh operating-status check, especially near maintenance periods.
Useful information points include Dachsberg town hall, Rathausstraße 1; Bernau Kurhaus, Am Kurpark 5; and the Schauinslandbahn mountain station, Schauinslandstraße 390. Their host buildings set the opening hours. The free biosphere leisure map is available through information points and partner businesses.
From Freiburg, rail connections to Kirchzarten or Titisee lead to buses into the reserve. From Basel Badischer Bahnhof, travel via Zell im Wiesental. For Schauinsland use tram 2, then bus 21; drivers should distinguish the valley station at Bohrerstraße 11, Horben, from the mountain visitor parking area. Valley-station parking is charged.
Schauinslandbahn has no tactile guidance system for blind and visually impaired visitors; contact the operator about assistance. The interpretive app offers audio, easy-language and German Sign Language options. Neither these features nor cable-car access remove the walking-route gradients.
Each card links to a full Explore page with photos, traits, and fun facts.
Start with the big picture, then zoom in to explore individual wildlife observations around this place.
Choose a starting point
Navigate to your trailhead, not simply to the name of the whole biosphere reserve.
Bring binoculars
A distant chamois is best enjoyed where it is; never follow it onto a slope.
Plan the return
Check both bus journeys before starting the one-way chamois trail.
Pack for pauses
Bring water, a snack, sturdy footwear and a layer for cooler mountain conditions.
Keep to the paths
Lead dogs on a leash, take litter home and leave flowers, fungi and animals undisturbed.
Core-zone rules
No collecting, fires, camping, geocaching or drone flights; stay on marked paths and watch for falling branches.
Download before departure
Load the Schauinsland app and route information before you need them outdoors.
Museum backup
Resenhof in Bernau opens seasonally, mainly in the afternoon; bring cash and check its calendar.
Recent snaps will appear here as new observations are added.
Maryland, US
You might spot White-Tailed Deer and Eastern Gray Squirrel.
View guide →
District of Columbia, US
You might spot Eastern Gray Squirrel, Duck, and House Sparrow.
View guide →
Illinois, US
You might spot American Robin, Canada Goose, and House Sparrow.
View guide →
Virginia, US
You might spot Spotted Lanternfly and Northern Cardinal.
View guide →
Take the discovery with you
Identify the wildlife you spot, learn as you go, and keep a collection of the adventure.
