All you need to know about the hike to the stunning Burgbach Waterfall in the Black Forest in Germany. Including GPX-file and hiking maps.
Details Burgbach waterfall hike
Distance: The total distance for this hike is 9 kilometers (loop hike)
Elevation gain: The total incline was 500 meters
Moving time: According to Strava my moving time was 2 hours and 10 minutes (total time was 3h 10min)
Difficulty: I would rate this as an easy hike.
Address start: Wolftalstraße, 77776 Bad Rippoldsau-Schapbach, Germany
Price: Free
Use the pinned location below so you can navigate straight to where the hike starts.
How to get to Wanderparkplatz in Bad Rippoldsau-Schapbach?
The Burgbach waterfall is located in Bad Rippoldsau in the North of Germany’s Black Forest about 20 minutes driving from Freudenstadt. As to my knowledge the only way to get there is by car. If you want to reach the trailhead by public transportation you could take bus 7266 and stop at Dollenbach. Google maps doesn’t seem to know about this bus stop but here’s the timetable from the official traffic community website of the district of Freudenstadt.
Hiking Map and GPX-File
Generally speaking for all hikes, the easiest way is to download a GPX file that you can view on a gps device, a smartphone or smartwatch. It will tell you step-by-step how to walk. It also includes an elevation profile of the hike which can help you to decide if this hike is for you or not.
Download the GPX file right here: Hike-Burgbach-waterfall-Black-Forest-Germany.gpx
In the video below you can get an idea of all the things we did during our stay in the Black Forest in Germany.
Burgbach Waterfall
The Burgbach waterfall is one of the many waterfalls in the Black Forest. It has a single drop of 15 meters and its total height is over 30 meters which makes it quite impressive to see both from a distance and from up close. If you think about the Black Forest you probably think about dark forests, right? Well this waterfall delivers exactly that, a beautiful dark lush green forest. When we visited the Burgbach Waterfall in November there weren’t too many people around which added to its magic! If you decide to follow the hike to Burgbach waterfall via Klosterle Schleife as described in this article you will have the stunning waterfall as your final reward!
If you prefer to skip most of the hiking you could follow the hike described here in the opposite direction and you will reach the Burgbach waterfall in a little less than 1 kilometer (one-way). Do know that you will miss out on some of the beautiful viewpoints along the way.
Bad Rippoldsau-Schapbach
Bad Ripploldsau-Schapbach is a small village located in the North of the Black Forest in Germany. It is especially known for, surprise surprise, the Burgbach waterfall. There are also other things to do here such as:
- Visit the Glaswaldsee which is a lake formed by melted glaciers during the last ice-age.
- The Kastelstein is a natural monument that consists of several red sandstones piled on top of each other.
- As the name suggests (Bad in German means bath) there is also a spa and open-air bathing place.
- Visit the bears and wolves wildlife park.
If you’re staying in the Black Forest for a few days you should definitely check out the Feldberg Steig, which is a hike that covers the highest peak of Germany’s Schwarzwald. Read all about it here: HIKE FELDBERG STEIG IN BLACK FOREST GERMANY
My experience hiking to the Burgbach waterfall
As our time in the Black Forest was limited I decided to research some of the waterfalls that were less touristy and could be combined with a hike because let’s face it, visiting a waterfall after a hike is always more rewarding than if you just walk 10 minutes, visit the waterfall and leave again. That’s also the reason that I decided to walk the Klösterle Schleife in the clockwise direction with the Burgbach wasserfall as a final reward.
The hike starts by crossing the main road from the parking and following the trail that runs parallel with the road. Pretty soon after that an ascent starts until about 2 kilometers. During this ascent you already get some pretty views through the trees into the valley of the Wolf river.
The walk is mostly inside the forest looking down into the Wolf river valley. At around 3 kilometers after a small descent you reach the village Bad Rippoldsau-Schapbach where you could drink/eat something. In November when we were there almost everything seemed to be closed though. You make your way through the village passing by the church and kloster, hence the name Klösterle Schleife which means monastery loop.
When leaving the village behind an ascent of about 150 meters spread out over about 3 kilometers mostly through the forest starts. It was at this section that it started raining pretty badly when we did the hike to the Burgbach waterfall in November.
After around 7 kilometer into the Klosterle Schleiffe you reach the Burgbach Felsen (or Burgbach rock) which is a viewpoint that gives you an epic view over the valley of the Burgbach river. We took shelter for a while there and waited for the rain to stop but it never did.
After visiting the viewpoint you have to do a steep ascent where you mostly walk next to a huge rock. Just around the corner of this huge rock is the Burgbach waterfall.
There are only a few steps left to reach the Burgbach waterfall, you can see it from the distance already. The waterfall surrounded by old trees and rocks covered in moss makes for the perfect Black Forest experience.
We enjoyed the waterfal for a while before heading back for the last kilometer towards the car parking.
Let me know in the comments or through my Instagram if you enjoyed this hike!
