Lauterbacher Wandersteig

This trail has it all: the new "Wanderbares Deutschland" quality trail only runs for 34 kilometres at altitudes between 568 and 879 metres. Nevertheless, the climbs on the "Lauterbacher Wandersteig" add up to a good 1,350 metres in altitude. Near Schramberg on the eastern edge of the central Black Forest, the new trail circles the deeply incised Lauterbach Valley and the wide high valley of the Sulzbach. It incorporates striking red sandstone formations and the "sea of rocks" near the ruins of Hohenschramberg Castle, impressing with views of pastures, Black Forest farms and small farm chapels. At 879 metres, the Mooswaldkopf is the highest point of the tour. Its 25 metre-high viewing tower offers views as far as the Vosges mountains in the west, the Swiss Alps in the south and the Swabian Alb in the east. If you want to hike the trail in two stages, you can find accommodation for one night at around ten hosts along the route. Information and hiking map from the Lauterbach tourist information centre, tel. 07422 949730, www.lauterbach-schwarzwald.de