Albbruck: Hiking Trails, Nature and Village Culture

Hiking trails in different formats

The 83.3-kilometre Albsteig premium hiking trail begins in Albbruck and follows the Alb upstream to its source on the Feldberg. The route is designed for different timeframes: depending on your fitness, you can hike it as a challenging tour over three days or a leisurely tour over five days. This division helps you assess the long-distance hike in terms of your own fitness and preferred pace. Albbruck is the starting point; the trail ends at the source on the Feldberg.

If you would rather take a route that returns to Albbruck, there is another option: the 13.2-kilometre Albbruck circular hiking trail passes through Schachen, Tiefenstein and Hohenfels before returning to Albbruck. The Albbruck village trail, in turn, connects the main village with the five districts along a route divided into several sections. This gives you a clearly defined circular hike and a trail with several sections as two different options.

Another trail connection is the Studinger Steg between Hohenfels and Schachen. From there, a steep path descends into the Albtal gorge. The climb westwards offers views once again over parts of the Hotzenwald and Switzerland. The descent, gorge and views give this trail its own character; you can take this sequence into account when planning your route.

Nature in the Mühlbachtal valley

The Mühlbachtal nature trail is in the Mühlbachtal Schachen nature reserve and runs for about 1.5 kilometres through the Mühlbachtal valley. Eight stations cover the origins, uses and importance of forests, open land, copses and waterways as habitats for animals and plants. The trail combines a manageable, clearly described distance with several nature topics. If you are particularly interested in habitats, you can focus here on different landscape features rather than making a long-distance hike the centre of your trip.

Churches, a mill and village traditions

Albbruck has the Catholic St. Josef Church and the Protestant Christuskirche. The Church of the Holy Cross in Birndorf is also a distinctive destination for those interested in village churches: it is an imposing village church with a history of almost a thousand years and features Romanesque architecture. The differently designed capitals of its two rows of columns are particularly striking. This architectural detail gives the church a specific feature that sets it apart from a simple place name.

In Unteralpfen, the Einungsmeister mill represents another kind of local history. A large waterwheel turns on its western side, and a working mill mechanism is located in the basement. The waterwheel and the mill mechanism describe two distinct parts of the mill: the prominent wheel on the outside and the functional milling equipment inside the building.

The village festival in Eisenbahnstraße in Albbruck is also part of local tradition. It is held regularly on the first weekend in September. If you would like your stay to include local traditions, this recurring event is another reason to consider your travel dates.

More places to consider when planning your trip: Höchenschwand, Waldshut-Tiengen, Häusern, Hohentengen am Hochrhein, Altenburg, Küssaberg, Sankt Blasien and Herrischried.

For the general travel overview: Waldshut.