Day 1: Arrival

Arrival by own arrangement by car to the first hotel of the hiking tour in Stühlingen or Blumberg. Arrival by train to Waldshut-Tiengen or Donaueschingen and by public bus or taxi to the first hotel. Free parking at the hotel.

Day 2: Hike from Stühlingen to Blumberg

The Schluchtensteig begins at the church in Stühlingen, in the immediate vicinity of the German-Swiss border, leads along the Wutach, and winds up steeply through the Wutachflühen to the Buchberg, with up to 100 metre-high rock faces on the left and right of the trail. From above there are views deep down into the trails already hiked, as well as wide panoramic views to the Feldberg and the Swiss Alps to the south. From the Buchberg on to Blumberg, where the stage ends (ca. 540 m ascent, 19 km, 5½ hours).

Day 3: Hike from Blumberg to the Schattenmühle

Today’s challenging stage starts with an impressive nature show: with many cascades, the Schleifenbach flows down into the steep valley. The hiking trail first leads through a pleasant valley landscape to Achdorf, but the picture soon changes just after the Wutach Sawmill at the mouth of the Gauchach: the Wutach Gorge becomes narrower and wilder, the trail is now damp and slippery. Up and down, at times alongside the water, then high up on narrow pathways, the Schluchtensteig leads you through this 13 km, somewhat adventurous section, before ending at the Schattenmühle, where you can have a well-deserved rest (ca. 380 m ascent, 20 km, 6 hours).

Day 4: Hike from Bonndorf to Schluchsee

After a short, gradual ascent, the Schluchtensteig now once again reaches meadows and fields, before returning to the Wutach and twisting along the side of the mountain to the Stallegger Bridge, where one of Germany’s oldest hydroelectric plants has been generating power since 1895 (with a brief interruption from 1980-2000).

After the confluence of the Gutach, the hike goes through the Haslachschlucht, reaching the spa town of Lenzkirch a short time later. The hiking trail then ascends through a pine forest and reaches Fischbach, a high-altitude district of Schluchsee (ca. 600 m ascent, 18 km, 5 hours).

Day 5: Hike from Schluchsee to St. Blasien

From the small mountain village of Fischbach, the Schluchtensteig makes a brief ascent to reach the Bildstein, a fantastic viewpoint across the Schluchsee, then descends to the shore of the Schluchsee, following it for only a while. From Unterkrummenhof, a prettily-located Black Forest inn, the Schluchtensteig makes a long, but not steep ascent to the Krummenkreuz, at 1,148 m the highest point of the whole hiking tour. Muchenland is reached soon afterwards, a high valley with isolated farms.

A short time later the hiking trail reaches the hamlet of Blasiwald-Althütte. High pastures with cranberry and blueberry bushes line the path, which now descends steeply to the Windbergschlucht, soon reaching the end of the stage in St. Blasien, which is dominated by its magnificent cathedral (ca. 550 m ascent, 20 km, 6 hours).

Day 6: Hike from St. Blasien to Todtmoos

From the spa town of St. Blasien, the hiking trail climbs immediately to the Lehenkopf at a height of 1,039 m – the view from the wooden tower certainly compensates for the challenging ascent. Forest and meadow landscapes soon alternate, dotted with isolated farms, and the Schluchtensteig passes the hamlets of Horbach and Ibach, before taking a zig-zag course to the Hohwehraschlucht, a small forest gorge that leads directly to the spa town of Todtmoos (ca. 560 m, 19 km, 6 hours).

Day 7: Hike from Todtmoos to Wehr

The final stage of the Schluchtensteig now mostly follows the Wehr, at first gentle and pleasant, but beyond Todtmoos-Au the Wehra Gorge begins, and the trail changes, leading past rocks and in some places quite Alpine in nature. The rock faces reach heights of up to 200 m, and the Wehra now rushes down powerfully to the Wehra Reservoir. Shortly afterwards, the Schluchtensteig reaches the town of Wehr, where today’s stage, and thus the entire, beautiful hiking tour, ends after a total of 120 km (ca. 460 m ascent, 22 km, 7 hours).

Day 8: Return home

Return home by rail (Wehr-Brennet or Schopfheim Railway Stations) or return to your car in Stühlingen or Blumberg by public bus and train (free of charge).