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EMTB hut tourThrough the Black Forest to the Bader Alm by e-bike

Gitta Beimfohr

 · 07.10.2022

EMTB hut tour: through the Black Forest to the Bader Alm by e-bikePhoto: David Schultheiß
Dive into the wild north of the Black Forest for two days. Past schnapps fountains, along the panoramic 1000-metre trail and finally back to Sasbachwalden on permitted bike trails. Spend the night at the Bader Alm - a natural idyll with a journey back in time to the last century.
The climbs in the northern Black Forest like to be steep. So on longer tours, you'll be glad of every watt that you don't have to put in yourself.Photo: David SchultheißThe climbs in the northern Black Forest like to be steep. So on longer tours, you'll be glad of every watt that you don't have to put in yourself.

MTB trails on the Hornisgrinde

It's not often that we feature a Black Forest story in the magazine, as there are only a few regions in Germany's largest low mountain range where trail lovers are officially welcome. However, the northern Black Forest around Sasbachwalden is definitely one of them. Here, an MTB club was able to assert itself against the two-metre rule years ago. The result was the MTB Arena with a permitted, almost six-kilometre-long, very fun trail descent from the 1164-metre-high Hornisgrinde.

Strictly speaking, the MTB Arena Sasbachwalden consists of two trails that merge into one another. "Trail Two" is the name of the first, easier section with berms and jumps. It leads into the more challenging, natural "Alpirsbacher Schwarzwald-Trail". Just under six kilometres in total!Photo: David SchultheißStrictly speaking, the MTB Arena Sasbachwalden consists of two trails that merge into one another. "Trail Two" is the name of the first, easier section with berms and jumps. It leads into the more challenging, natural "Alpirsbacher Schwarzwald-Trail". Just under six kilometres in total!

But this trail is just the final highlight of this two-day tour through the northern Black Forest. The tour starts in Sasbachwalden and climbs through the vineyards and orchards to Kappelrodeck, where it then enters the forest - which actually appears more fairytale-like and enchanted than dense and dark. Past large, moss-covered boulders and small witches' huts, over panoramic high plateaus and cherry water-intensive refreshment stops, you wind your way further and further south. You finally reach civilisation in the village of Oppenau in the Renchtal valley. From here, it is only a few kilometres to the secluded Bader Alm.

Bader Alm: Spend the night in another time

Once you have reached the gate to the Bader Alm, you will find a striped swimming costume on your bed. The first step is to relax in the wash tub, which is scented with a poisonous green spruce needle essence. This is followed by a scrub and massage, then it's time to relax at the dining table.

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Away from the tarmac road network, in the middle of nowhere near Oppenau in the Renchtal valley, you come across this alpine village with beds for 20 guests, a washing tub and a small fish pond.Photo: David SchultheißAway from the tarmac road network, in the middle of nowhere near Oppenau in the Renchtal valley, you come across this alpine village with beds for 20 guests, a washing tub and a small fish pond.Mariano Bosch and his father converted the old estate into this gem a few years ago. As a trained chef, the 28-year-old now looks after the open-air kitchen.Photo: David SchultheißMariano Bosch and his father converted the old estate into this gem a few years ago. As a trained chef, the 28-year-old now looks after the open-air kitchen.

Second day of the tour: via the 1000 metre trail back to Sasbachwalden

The next morning, you can let it roll downhill for almost four kilometres from the Bader Alm before the route climbs steeply from Maisach. You climb from 350 metres to 1000 metres - you know this because just before the Schliffkopf, the 1000-metre trail bears its name. Again and again, the dense forest opens up for a panoramic view over the Rhine plain and the summits towards Baiersbronn: Zinkenköpfle and Sandköpfle, Hoher Kopf and Hechliskopf. At the Ruhestein pass, you can stop at the National Park Centre (once the border between the Grand Duchy of Baden and the Kingdom of Württemberg). Parallel to the Black Forest High Road, the route continues towards Mummelsee and finally back to Sasbachwalden on the trails Pfad Zwo and the Alpirsbacher Schwarzwald Trail.

The Alpirsbach Black Forest Trail really picks up speed again with this panoramic section. Some of the key sections are tight, rocky and root-ridden.Photo: David SchultheißThe Alpirsbach Black Forest Trail really picks up speed again with this panoramic section. Some of the key sections are tight, rocky and root-ridden.

E-MTB tour Black Forest: Tour data and GPS download

Stage 1: Sasbachwalden - Bader Alm

  • Distance: 32.4 kilometres
  • Uphill: 1139 metres in altitude
  • Downhill: 792 metres in depth

Stage 2: Bader Alm - Sasbachwalden

  • Distance: 39.5 kilometres
  • Uphill: 1005 metres in altitude
  • Downhill: 1352 metres in depth

Downloads

GPS data: EMTB hut tour Bader Alm

Gitta Beimfohr

Gitta Beimfohr joined the BIKE travel resort during her tourism studies when the Strada delle 52 Gallerie on the Pasubio was closed to mountain bikers. Since Gitta crossed the Alps twice at racing speed, she has favoured multi-day tours - by MTB in the Alps or by gravel bike through the German low mountain ranges.

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