The Schwarzwald (Black Forest) in southwestern Germany is famous for dark evergreen canopies, handcrafted cuckoo clocks, and rich cherry gateau. While summer and autumn attract heavy hiking traffic, winter brings a peaceful quietude that makes you feel as though you’ve stepped directly into the pages of a Brothers Grimm fairy tale.
1. Summiting Feldberg: The Highest Peak
At 1,493 meters, the Feldberg offers the highest ski and winter sports slopes outside the Bavarian Alps. Wide groomed cross-country ski trails, snowshoe tracks, and panoramic viewing towers provide sweeping vistas reaching all the way to the French Vosges mountains and the Swiss Alps on crystal-clear winter mornings.
2. Triberg: Waterfalls & Giant Cuckoo Clocks
Germany’s highest waterfalls at Triberg freeze into giant ice stalagmites in deep winter. Illuminated in soft colors at night, the churning waters between frosted pine boughs are spellbinding. While in Triberg, visit the world’s largest cuckoo clock and cozy timber-framed cafes serving authentic Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte.
3. The Historic Roman-Irish Baths of Baden-Baden
On the northern edge of the Black Forest lies Baden-Baden, Europe’s premier 19th-century spa town. Spend a sub-zero afternoon in the Friedrichsbad, a 140-year-old temple of marble and tile featuring a 17-stage thermal bathing circuit that heats your body from within.
Scenic Driving: The Schwarzwaldhochstraße (B500)
This panoramic ridge road winds across mountain crests between Baden-Baden and Freudenstadt. When fresh powder coats the spruce trees along both shoulders, driving the B500 feels like gliding through a tunnel of silver and white.