A bikepacking adventure for beginners – Black Forest Cycle Route in Germany

If you’ve always wanted to get a taste of bikepacking, but you’re not sure if sleeping outside is your thing, then this is the right Collection for you. At the end of each stage, you have the option of staying at a natural campsite or in simple accommodation or a hiker’s cabin nearby. It’s an ideal adventure for bikepacking beginners.

The Black Forest Cycle Route takes you from Karlsruhe, across Germany’s highest low mountain range, to Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg in five stages. You explore lush meadows, deep forests and crystal-clear lakes, getting to know the region and its mountains in depth. As there is a good amount of climbing, you should be in good shape for this Tour. However, you don’t need to worry about your riding technique as you mostly ride along lonely farm roads that are paved or covered in fine gravel. Very occasionally you may come across a rougher gravel section. A light mountain bike with some suspension or a gravel bike would be a perfect steed.

Although the long-distance cycle route is very well signposted with a red rhombus and black bicycle symbol, I recommend downloading the route onto your navigation device or mobile phone anyway. Some signs are hard to see, especially on fast descents.

As you may have noticed, this Collection has a few more kilometres and metres of altitude than the officially stated 375 kilometres (233 miles) and 7,500 metres (24,600 feet) of altitude. That's because I've included a few detours to highlights that are well worth seeing. These include the Feldberg summit with its magnificent 360° panorama as well as the deep green Feldbergsee lake or the enchanted Nonnenmattweiher pond, to name just a few epic Black Forest classics. You can recognise these detours by the short ‘out-and-back’ lines on the route. If you're not in the mood for extra kilometres, you can simply leave them out.

Both the start in Karlsruhe and the finish in Lörrach are located at Deutsche Bahn stations, which makes your arrival and departure easier. So now nothing stands in the way of your first bikepacking adventure.

So what are you waiting for?