Daytrip From Freiburg Into Black Forest--Waldkirch Best Choice?

I stayed in Gengenbach in the Black Forest for 4 nights several years ago and absolutely loved it. This is a quintessential, picture-perfect German town filled with historic half-timbered houses.and has a beautiful Altstadt, with quite a few restaurants and cafes to choose from. Gengenbach is right on the main train line, so you could head from Freiburg to Offenburg on the fast train, then pick up the Black Forest Railway and take it through to Gengenbach and even travel down to a couple of other villages if you wanted. Gengenbach itself has a lot to see and do there, however, including the nearby Vogtsbauernhof (open-air museum) that is a joy to visit and easily accessible by train.

In Gengenbach, the town church (Saint Marion) is quite beautiful, and the medieval gates to the city are really interesting. The Benedictine Abbey is also worth a visit, and behind it are some cloistered gardens that were a joy to wander through. This was one of my favorite places. It was peaceful and inviting and I could have stayed for hours. There were little signs of inspiration scattered around, and some children from a nearby kindergarten playing on one side.

Also don't miss a walk through Engelgasse and Höllengasse streets (near the TIC). Here you will find cobblestones and half-timbered houses, flower pots and cats resting on doormats and quaint dolls in the window. I felt like I had walked back in time when I strolled through these quaint and narrow streets.

There is also an easy hike you can take that will get you above the town with some absolutely beautiful views of below. The hike ends up at a church called St. Jakob auf dem Bergle that sits above town. The TIC in town will have maps showing you how to get there. it was a really nice hike and as I said, the views are just lovely. And it has the added benefit of being part of the Camino that mostly travels through Spain and parts of France. 😊

Please look into what is actually open mid-March. As you stated weather can be big a factor. A snowy morning in higher elevations is possible. I know nothing of Waldkirch. I have walked around the Titisee in October and stayed above it in Saig and enjoyed it. Titisee is more central to the Schwarzwald and near the Feldberg Mountain. A walk around the lake would be nice with a stop at an open cafe or hotel. Staying at the touristic end only would be something I could not recommend.

Thanks for the info, all.

I think we will venture from Freiburg to Gengenbach for our daytrip. But train schedules for March 2027 aren't out yet, and if possible I'd like us to take the route without a change at Offenburg. I've heard that exists, but I won't know for sure until the schedule comes out.

Has anyone ever changed at Offenburg? It's listed for November as 11 minutes, but I don't know if that will be a tight squeeze or not. And I suppose if we miss it we can catch the next one by in 30 minutes.

the trains will be very similar to the current pattern.

There are trains which go north and south from the Swiss border (actually into Basel) via Freiburg im Breisgau and Offenburg and points north, and there are trains which go east and west between Offenburg (and to the French border) and Gengenbach and into the towns and villages of the Black Forest.

There are also trains which come south from Karlsruhe and turn left (via Offenburg) towards Gengenbach and onwards southwesterly through the Black Forest all the way to the Bodensee (Lake Constance).

But - unless something significant has recently changed that I'm not aware of - no trains go north from Freiburg im Breisgau and turn right towards Gengenbach.

Offenburg is a significant town but a reasonably small station. Connections are easy there and a normal way of travel. With no luggage 11 minutes is a lot of time - and as you say there will be another along after if your inbound is too late or you move too slowly.

YouTubes have shown it's anything but that--beautiful rolling hills
and a lot more open than I had originally thought.

Gengenbach is one of the nicest towns to visit in this region, but getting there by train via Offenburg is not at all what you are looking for in terms of scenery. It's a boring train ride across the flat plane created by the Rhine River.

You should first take the Hell Valley Railway line to Donaueschingen which climbs through forest and mountains to Donaueschingen (the source of the Danube River.)

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:H%C3%B6llentalbahn#/media/File:Verlaufskarte_H%C3%B6llentalbahn_2.png

This direct train ride takes you from 928 ft. (Freiburg) to 2267 ft. (Donaueschingen) in 1 hr. 30 minutes.

Route info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B6llentalbahn_(Black_Forest)

From Donaueschingen there are direct trains every 2 hours to Gengenbach (elevation maybe 500 ft. or so.) (There are also additional journeys which require one connection in between Donaueschingen and Gengenbach.) Your train will use the most scenic railway in the Black Forest, the Schwarzwaldbahn (German for "Black Forest Railway,") and the trip takes 1 hr. 15 minutes.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Verlaufskarte_Schwarzwaldbahn_%28Baden%29.png

Route info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Forest_Railway_(Baden)

If you don't wish to linger in Donaueschingen, you will have a 30-minute transfer period in Donaueschingen. No sweat. Sample schedule for Freiburg > Donaueschingen > Gengenbach:

7:42 - 10:53
9:40 - 12:53

Then you'll have a few hours to enjoy Gengenbach and have a nice meal, after which you take the boring train ride back to Freiburg via Offenburg. Once back, you can say you did the best you could possibly do to tour the Black Forest in a single day.

There never has been a direct train ride between Freiburg and Gengenbach AFAIK, and I've been visiting the Black Forest off and on for over 30 years. I would not expect the 2027 schedule to be any different. When he schedule does come out, I doubt you will find much change if any as far as routes, transfers, and travel times are concerned.

At the station, buy a Baden-Wuerttemberg Ticket (day pass) for two persons (€36) and all your travel is covered. It is valid all day long on any regional trains and/or other means of local transport:

https://www.bwegt.de/tickets/bwtarif-tickets/baden-wuerttemberg-ticket

Great stuff, Russ. I'm investigating this right now. This is mid-March, so of course we could scrap it with inclement weather. But short of driving rain, the adventure of this will keep us going. What else have we got to do?! It is quite a bit longer, but maybe like you say we'll take the 'scenic' route there and the plain route back to Freiburg. Good thing is that on a Monday in March we shouldn't have to purchase any of this in advance, no?

This is mid-March, so of course we could scrap it with inclement
weather. But short of driving rain, the adventure of this will keep us
going.

The two railways I mentioned are frequently listed among the most scenic train rides in Germany by various sources, including Raileurope. In March, whether it's rainy or not, it's usually cold enough that most visitors don't want to spend an entire day outddoors unless they're hiking, etc, which you will not be doing, so IMO this train-ride detour is the kind of activity (or lack thereof, since looking out the window doesn't take much effort) that is perfectly suitable for the season. And Gengenbach, while a very nice place, will not demand that much of your time. It's quite a small town. So I think you can just plan on the longer train ride, if it sounds good to you.

But planning definitely does not involve pre-purchasing tickets. Both the Freiburg > Donaueschingen journey and the Donaueschingen > Freiburg journey are regional-train-only trips. The regional trains do not involve seat reservations, and the train pass I recommended is not valid for the other type of trains (the "long-distance" trains,) which do not serve these routes anyway. So although it is possible to buy tickets in advance, it is entirely pointless for regional trains, no matter if it's high season or low season. Just buy your pass on the day of travel, and travel on whichever day suits you.

One word of caution... Because Offenburg sends off long-distance trains to Freiburg as well as regional trains, you must be careful on the Offenburg > Freiburg leg. Board only a regional train, NOT a long-distance train (ICE, EC, IC) as the pass will be invalid... which means you're traveling without a valid ticket... and you are eligible for a fine of €60 each plus the purchase full-fare tickets to Freiburg! You can find regional trains only at the DB search page by selecting "mode of transport" and then "local transport only" (which is DB code for regional trains.)

Yup, that sounds right up our alley. I'll be checking our the DB site shortly. I would say the main allure of traveling in & around the Alps late winter would have to be the trains for the scenery. The day before we reach Freiburg, we'll have left an overnight in Brig, Switzerland to take the Lotschberg Mountain Railway to visit Spiez for a few hours, then on to Freiburg. So we are definitely seeking out the best rides wherever we can.

Some of my friends think I have rocks in my head for wanting to travel where there could be snow. Well, first of all, there are fewer tourists (except I suppose in the Swiss ski areas), which means fewer lines/queues, easier to get in restaurants and hotels. And...what a spectacle to see the Alps & the Black Forest maybe snow-covered, while we're in a nice, warm train car. I got hooked in late-winter 2015 on a normal Paris to Lucerne to Florence route. So time to do it again!