Dobel: Adventure Trails, Views and Cross-Country Skiing
Accommodation in Dobel
In Dobel, adventure trails lead to geological puzzles and historic traces, alongside circular cycling routes and cross-country ski trails of varying lengths and difficulty levels. The forest history adventure trail in particular combines nature observations with discoveries for children. If you would rather explore rocks and geology, the GeoTour offers another way to get outdoors.
Hiking Trails and Geological Discoveries
The forest history adventure trail is around 5 km long and designed as a family-friendly circular route. Information boards, a prize draw and interactive play elements accompany the route. Along the way, you can observe rocks, trees and plants; four activity stations add to the hike for children. Nature observations and playful stops sit side by side, while the route retains its character as a circular walk.
The 6 km Dobel GeoTour offers a longer circular route with a thematic focus. Puzzles and an information brochure lead to the Volzemer Steine rock formations and introduce the subject of rocks and geology. The Volzemer Steine can also be reached via the Engel-Weg-Dobel, the Forest History Adventure Trail, Annis-Abenteuerweg Dobel and the Westweg. Dobel is the Westweg’s first stage destination.
The local history adventure trail can be completed as a circular route of around 8 km. Themed information boards tell the story of Dobel’s development and provide historical dates, geological findings and further insights. This gives it a different focus from the GeoTour: local history takes center stage here, while the GeoTour focuses on rocks and geology.
Historic Traces and Views
Only a few fragments with Late Gothic stylistic features remain of Dobel’s Marienkapelle, built and consecrated around 1460. The present-day church was built in 1744 to replace the dilapidated little Marienkapelle. Anyone interested in the town’s history can see these as two distinct milestones in Dobel’s church history.
The former Dobel water tower was built in 1937 and used to supply water to the higher-lying districts. Today, it is an observation tower offering sweeping views in every direction. On clear days, the panorama stretches from the Vosges to the Odenwald. Alongside the trails and their information boards, it offers a viewpoint whose history is linked to Dobel’s former water supply.
Cycling Tours of Different Lengths
The easy Kleine Mannenbach-Schabhausen Loop is 19.5 km long. It goes past Pfützenhäusle, around Reischacher Berg, to Eyachmühle, via Dreimarkstein and Bad Herrenalb-Neusatz, and back to Dobel. The Rund um Dobel cycling loop is longer at 32.1 km: it runs through forests, past a small pond and along valley meadows, briefly passes through the urban area of Bad Herrenalb, then returns to Dobel via Weithäusle, with views of the Eyach Valley.
The Dobel branch of the Black Forest Association’s cycling group is another way to explore the area by bike. It meets every Monday from April to October, and the group rides together around Dobel. The two circular routes described here differ mainly in their length and course.
Cross-Country Ski Trails in Winter
Dobel has three groomed meadow loops, each about 2 km long. Their gentle gradients and short circuits make them especially suitable for beginners. Of the three forest trails, the approximately 3.5 km Zäunle Trail is also suitable for cross-country skiing beginners; it is groomed when there is sufficient snow.
Other trails are for cross-country skiers looking for more distance or a greater challenge: the Hummelstein Trail is about 5 km long and intended for intermediate skiers. The 6.2 km Klötzbucke Trail is intended for experienced cross-country skiers. You can choose a trail according to its length and stated difficulty level.
Discover More Places
If you’d like to discover more places: Ostelsheim, Rohrdorf, Gechingen, Calw, Althengstett, Egenhausen, Haiterbach and Neubulach.
Back to the main travel overview: Calw.
