4 rather than 5 nights in the Black Forest (July 2017)?

"Can Baden-Baden be seen in a half day..."

It's not a place that I found time-consuming - or all that interesting for that matter. It's not very "Black-Foresty" if that makes sense.

It's a 40-min. train trip to B-B from G'bach station by train. But then you'll need to board a bus to get into town, which takes about 15 min. plus stopover time at the station, so you're looking at 1+ hrs each way. I suppose you could stop over in Baden-Baden on the way if you want to see it. Your train probably stops there.

I found Freiburg more interesting overall. It's about an hour from Gengenbach by train only.

I would probably just spend Day 1 in Gengenbach.

Alternatively, with any extra time you have you might explore a couple of nearby Kinzig Valley towns. The only one on your list right now is Gengenbach. Wolfach, Schiltach, Alpirsbach and Haslach, all of which can be reached by direct train from G'bach, are further upstream from Hausach and can be reached by direct train from G'bach. Here's a map.

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinzigtalbahn_(Schwarzwald)#/media/File:Verlaufskarte_Kinzigtalbahn.png

Wolfach:
https://www.black-forest-travel.com/wolfach/
http://www.dorotheenhuette.info/index.html?&L=1

Schiltach:
https://www.orte-bw.de/grafik/uploads/12503_2010_1040.JPG
https://www.schiltach.de/en/Home?setActiveLanguageId=2

Haslach (only 10-12 min.s from Gengenbach, not on map but just west of Hausach)
http://www.haslach.de/site/Haslach+ROOT/get/params_E949037648/247699/header_fachwerkaltstadt.jpg
https://www.black-forest-travel.com/haslach/

Thanks for replying.

I'm not particularly interested in seeing Baden-Baden myself but one of our group is intent on seeing the Faberge Museum so I guess we will spend a half day there.

"The station has no lockers however."

Are you sure about this? It lists the station as having lockers here: http://www.bahnhof.de/bahnhof-de/Baden-Baden.html?hl=Baden-Baden There are also lots of posts of various forums (like this one: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/germany/luggage-storage-at-baden-baden-germany-train-station) stating there are lockers at the station). Have they been removed?

Sorry - Niall is absolutely right. Baden-Baden- has lockers. I misspoke - probably had Gengenbach's station in my head.

We stayed 5 nights in Gengenbach and could have stayed longer. One day just exploring the town. Other days were spent in Strasbourg, Triberg, Schiltach, and the Vogtsbauernhof Museum (a collection of old farmhouses, some dating back to the 16th century). We never made it to Baden Baden or Nagold (both on our list but not enough time)

Hello Niall,
You can easily spend 5 nights in the Black Forest and still feel like you have not seen it all. Especially in July when the weather is nice and all the attractions are open! So yes - I would definitely keep the additional night. The Black Forest is ideally located and you can do daytrips in all directions from there. Plan on touring the Alsace region one day, the town you are staying at/surroundings another day. Then head to the touristy part of the Black Forest (Triberg). And spend another day touring the less-touristy areas. I think Baden-Baden can easily be done in half a day - maybe on your way to the place you are stayinga t? I have never been at the Faberge museum myself but had visitors who said their expectations were not fulfilled. Make sure the museum is open on the day of your planned visit.

I was disappointed by the Black Forest and enthralled by the Mosel Valley. So my vote would be to drop whatever you can in the Black Forest and spend those days in the Rhein/Mosel Valleys.

I love the interior of the northern Black Forest (Bad Herrenalb, Freudenstadt, Alpirsbach, Calw, Bad Wildbad). I haven't been to Gengenbach or Hausach, but they look like my kind of place also. I was in Baden-Baden and was not impressed.

You just have to find the right Black Forest places.