Bernstein Tour

Dogs Unknown

E-Bikes Unknown

This ride starts in the quaint village of Gernsbach in the Murgtal (Murg River Valley). You'll quickly find yourself immersed in the dense Schwarzwald (Black Forest) along quiet forest roads. This cross country style ride will give your legs a great workout with a sustained climb including some steeper short climbs, before a well-earned long descent.

Unfortunately, there is no singletrack as this is part of the state of Baden-Württemberg which outlaws bikes on most trails less than 2 meters wide. The route climbs to the village of Loffenau, at about the halfway point up to the Bernsteinfels (694m; 2,277 ft) and some of the highest hilltops in the northern Schwarzwald. Just before you reach the peak, there is a great overview of the Rhein River valley.

This ride starts at the train station in Gernsbach. In general, the trains in Germany are very bike friendly. Most regional trains (IRE, RE, RB, S-bahn) have special cars or areas for bikes - look for the large bike symbol painted on the outside of the car. You'll need a separate ticket for the bike which should be about 5 Euro. Prohibitions may be in place during rush hour in/near major cities however. Some Intercity Express (ICE) trains also allow bikes, but you'll definitely need a reservation and separate ticket.

The ride starts conveniently at the train station in Gernsbach. After winding through town for a short distance, you begin the easy climb along the Laufbachtal forest road. This runs through the Laufbach Valley, and you follow the Laufbach stream a good bit of the way.

Just after you finally cross the stream, turn right onto a road which takes you into Loffenau. Loffenau has many buildings with the characteristic "Fachwerk" architecture that many associate with the Schwarzwald. Loffenau also represents the halfway point of the climbing.

From the center of town, begin climbing again on Dreizielsteinweg. The climbing after Loffenau includes several shorter, steeper sections. Fadweg takes you just below the summit of Bernsteinfels. There is a clearing in the forest at this point where you've got the great view of the Rhein River Valley off in the distance. It's just a little bit further up to the summit along Iltishaldenweg -> Breite Straße -> Bernsteinfels.

After the Bernsteinfels summit, it's pretty much all downhill. Loffenauerweg and several shorter connecting forest roads take you back to Loffenau. Then after making your way through Loffenau on some local roads, an easy ride down Igelbach follows the stream of the same name back to the starting point in Gernsbach.

Definitely grab the GPX from MTB Project for this one and/or use the MTB Project mobile app. There are numerous unmarked intersections in the forest.

If you want more miles, the Vier Wälder Tour starting from the same point climbs up the other side of the Murg River Valley.