Naturpark Südschwarzwald

Begin beside Café Waldvogel in Feldberg-Ort. Pick up the trail leaflet with its puzzle at Haus der Natur, or download the English information before leaving. Follow the story stations at the children’s pace.

Unsuitable for pushchairs. Enquire about a borrowed child carrier at Haus der Natur.

Start and finish at Hinterzarten railway station. Follow Bahnhofweg towards Titisee and turn into Neuweltweg beyond the fire station, then follow the signed circuit. At the cross-moor route junction, continue on the outer loop.

The outer circuit is the easier access option. The optional boardwalk crossing is difficult to wheel and requires a strong companion for wheelchair users; it is not needed for the outer loop.

Start and finish at Wanderparkplatz Boll. Follow the signed circuit via Bad Boll, the waterfall and the gorge’s rock gallery; stay on the prescribed route around the valley.

For sure-footed walkers comfortable with heights. No pushchairs or wheelchairs; children need close supervision.

Begin at Haus der Natur for information and a trail leaflet, walk Wichtelpfad, then return to the exhibition if everyone still has energy. The indoor visit also lets you shorten the outdoor plan if the weather deteriorates.

Arrive at Hinterzarten station, walk the outer circuit and leave time for plant photographs. Keep the boardwalk optional: the morning still works without it. Finish back at the station rather than adding a second distant destination.

At Hinterzarten, take one picture of woodland and another of the open moor from the path. Ask children what changes: plant height, shade, wetness or how far they can see. Compare the photographs over your picnic.

On Wichtelpfad, let each child choose a story station and describe the sort of forest Anton would need. At the end, ask which parts of the walk made shelter, food or quiet space seem important.

At Haus der Natur, compare the real trees you have seen with the large fir trunk and forestry interpretation indoors. The climate station, virtual history book and Talking Ranger offer different ways into the story, so children can choose the part that interests them.

Look for small sundew leaves from the boardwalk where they are visible, using the interpretation panels to help. A close-up is a bonus, not a reason to step off the timber or reach into the moss.

Compare the low bog vegetation with the surrounding forest. Photograph bilberry leaves or fruit where visible from the path, and leave berries for the animals rather than collecting them.

Bog cranberry is one of the small plants that rewards a slower visit. Use the moor panels to help identify it and photograph only plants you can see without leaving the designated route.

At the moor’s wooded edge, include a spruce and the open wet ground in the same photograph. Comparing where trees grow and where they give way to low plants helps make the habitat change visible.

Watch the river from a safe place on the path. The dipper’s white breast can stand out against dark water and rocks; it can disappear underwater to feed. Never follow it onto river stones or towards a nest.

A salamander may cross a damp path, but wet conditions also make the gorge slippery. If one appears, give it room, keep your hands away and photograph without moving it. Never choose unsafe weather for a sighting.

Look for the spring woodland carpet from the path during the open walking season. Take a photograph rather than picking leaves: plants in the reserve must be left intact, and this is not a foraging route.

Later in the growing season, look for perennial honesty among the taller woodland plants. Record leaves and any flowers or seedpods in the same frame when possible; there is no need to pull a plant closer.

You may encounter these wild plants and animals in the named moor or gorge, although they will not all appear on one walk. Sightings are never guaranteed. The Wichtelpfad figures and Haus der Natur displays help explain wildlife; they do not show where to find living animals.

Hinterzarten’s moor sits on a low watershed. Water leaving westwards runs towards the Höllental; water leaving eastwards heads towards Titisee. The modest-looking wet ground therefore sends water into two different valley systems.

Bad Boll was once a spa resort. Most of its buildings have gone, and the land has belonged to Baden-Württemberg since 1991. The small chapel gives your gorge walk a human-history stop as well as a natural one.

Across the Wutach gorge system, the river cuts from the Black Forest’s crystalline rocks into sandstone, limestone and younger layers. Changes in rock, moisture and exposure help explain why the plants vary so much over a relatively short distance.

Use settled weather for the gorge and leave enough daylight for the ascent out. The moor’s little plants deserve an unhurried dry-weather visit; boards and gravel need care after rain or frost. During the cold season, use an open indoor attraction rather than treating these summer routes as winter walks.

Haus der Natur is at Dr.-Pilet-Spur 4 in Feldberg, with information, an exhibition and accessible toilet. On the Hinterzarten route, there is a public toilet at the parking area below the Földi-Klinik. In the gorge, plan around facilities at access points and bring what you need for the walk.

Hinterzarten’s station is the moor walk’s start. For Feldberg use the Feldberger Hof bus stop or Parkhaus Feldberg. For Wutach, plan specifically for Boll; check the date, stop and last return in the current journey planner. The 2026 seasonal gorge-bus PDFs only cover 11 April–4 October, so their printed departures must not be reused for later dates.

Hinterzarten’s outer route follows firm woodland track with gravel sections. The cross-moor boardwalk is harder to wheel and needs a strong companion if you use a wheelchair. Discuss assistance and ground conditions before choosing that detour, and stay with the outer loop if it suits you better.