Schönwald im Schwarzwald Guide

Schönwald im Schwarzwald is a small village in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, in a high valley of the central Black Forest between Triberg and Furtwangen. It is a state-recognised climatic health resort, and the valley around it is divided into six partly wide hollows of meadows, pastures and single farms of typical Black Forest design.

Schönwald is counted among the highest closed villages in Germany, and its healthy mountain air earned it recognition as a premium-class climatic health resort. Everything here has centred around guests for over 100 years, and in 2015 the village was recognised as particularly family-friendly as a year-round holiday resort.

The Blindensee is a raised-bog lake in the middle of the forest near Schönwald, full of rare plants. You reach it by a boardwalk, and it looks best on a day without wind, when the sky is reflected motionlessly on the forest-black lake. It has neither inflow nor outflow, and because it lies in the middle of the bog like an eye it is also called Moorauge. Cotton grass, cranberry and round-leaved sundew grow around it, and the very rare Scheuchzeria is among the botanical treasures of the reserve. A legend says a cow drowned in the lake and reappeared weeks later in the Danube.

The Westweg trail runs right through the middle of the nature reserve and passes over wooden footbridges near the lake, with benches along the way for resting. A wind turbine near the reserve is clearly visible from the lake shore, and some visitors feel it disturbs the scenery.

The streams around Schönwald gather in the Gutach, which forms the Triberg waterfalls about 3 km north-east of the village. The Bregquelle, regarded as the main source of the Danube, lies similarly close, to the west of the village. Schönwald itself lies on the Rhine–Danube watershed.

Winter brings the Dobel Skilift, used by locals and tourists alike, beginner friendly and with a ski rental close by. The slope of the Rößle Skilift is rather steep for beginners, and dozens of km of cross-country ski trails surround the village. When snow conditions allow, a race on traditional Black Forest horn sledges is held every year at the Dobel ski lift. The Reinertonishof on Schwarzenbach, a local museum, also offers pony rides, carriage rides and sleigh rides during winter. High above the village, the inrun tower of the Adlerschanze is an eye-catcher from afar.

The Hochtal-Route is a circular tour that starts in the climatic health resort of Schonach, continues via Schönwald, and passes the Katharinenhöhe and the Blindensee before returning to the start. The Schönwald-Höhentour is a 31 km hiking and bike tour on the heights around the birthplace of the cuckoo clock, rated easy to medium difficulty.