We are driving from Stuttgart through the Black Forest to Colmar tomorrow and am trying to decide whether to do the extended Black Forest drive between Baden-Bardn and Freiburg as outlined in Rick Steve's book or to do a shortened version (Baden-Baden to Offenburg and then on to Hausach. Can anyone tell me the timing for Rick's Extended drive between Baden-Baden & Freiburg (for some reason I'm thinking 3 hours but I don't see that in the book now that I'm re-reading it). Thinking I may save some time doing the shortened version by using A-1 between Baden-Baden and Offenburg. Any thoughts???
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
Offenburg is not that far from Baden-Baden. It is from there that you have the choice of autobahn down (up the river, down on the map) to Friburg or the longer route through Hausach, to Triberg (Schwarzwaldbahn), Furtwangen, and Friburg.
ViaMichelin gives the time for the Triberg route as just over 2 hours, 1¼ hours longer than straight to Freiburg, but that doesn't include any stops. If you're not going to stop to enjoy the scenery, why take the longer drive.
I've done Hausach to Triberg twice by train. It's so nice to be able to enjoy the scenery, not watch the road.
There would also be the possibility of Baden-Baden, up the Murg to Freudenstadt, then down the Kinzig through Alpirsbach, to Hausach. I don't have Rick's book handy. Is that the route you are suggesting? Baden-Baden to Freudenstadt to Hausach is not the most scenic route. I'd rather do Offenburg to Hausach, to Triberg to Freiburg.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
I also don't see any drive times in the book description, so I assume he meant you to spend most of the day on the "extended" drive, including stops at the museums. I enjoyed the clock and open-air museums. Tell your next hotel that you may arrive late. (Lee:) This is the route:
Head south from Baden-Baden on B-500, a.k.a. the Schwarzwald-Hochstrasse, which takes you along a ridge through 30 miles of pine forests (and becomes B-28--take it east, signs to Freudenstadt). Eventually you’ll reach Freudenstadt, the workaday capital of the northern Black Forest. Wind your way through the sprawl of Freudenstadt, and hop on B-294 southbound toward Triberg. Just after Wolfach and before Hausach, turn south onto B-33/E-531 to Gutach, where you’ll visit the Vogtsbauernhof Black Forest Open-Air Museum. Next, continue south on B-33/E-531, turning off to visit Triberg. Leaving Triberg, head south on B-500 to Furtwangen and its impressive German Clock Museum. From Furtwangen, continue south on B-500. From this road, you have two options for joining up with different scenic areas (both described earlier, under “Short and Scenic Black Forest Drive from Freiburg”): Turn off for St. Märgen, then St. Peter. From here, you could take the slower and higher-altitude route to Freiburg via Mount Kandel and Waldkirch. For a more direct, but still scenic approach, continue a bit farther south on B-500 to Hinterzarten, where you can turn right onto B-31 and follow the claustrophobic Höllental (“Hell’s Valley”). Either option brings you to Freiburg’s backyard.