Gorge Trail Stage 1 – from Stühlingen to Blumberg

The official starting point of the Schluchtensteig trail and thus stage 1 is in Stühlingen at the Catholic church, Hauptstraße 2. From Waldshut, you can reach Stühlingen by bus line 7338 (55 minutes).
Parking is available in Stühlingen near the town hall. The starting point is a few minutes' walk away along the streets "Am Bahndamm, Eichwiesenweg and Hallauer Straße".
At the end of the tour, you can take bus 7338 from Blumberg back to Stühlingen.
Further information is available at https://www.schluchtensteig.de
If you would like to hike the entire Schluchtensteig trail, you can stay overnight in Blumberg at the Gasthaf Hirschen, Hauptstr. 72 https://www.hirschen-blumberg.de/

(S) With the Catholic church behind us, we turn left at the start sign. The signage here is very poor. We first follow the main road, leave it before the level crossing and continue on Bahnhofsstraße, parallel to the railway tracks. At the crossing, we cross the tracks.

(1) On the other side of the main road, we first follow the asphalt path to the left, parallel to the road.

(2) Inconspicuous and easy to miss, the Schluchtensteig hiking sign points us to a narrow path to the right into the forest, which we follow along the edge of the forest and the Wutach river. We pass the SV Stühlingen sports fields on our left, dive back into the forest with the Wutach river on our right and reach an embankment. We take the narrow path that turns right, where we find the first information board.

(3) We follow the narrow path, which soon leads us back to the unpaved forest path. We follow the markings, which after about 400 metres send us back onto a narrow path on the banks of the Wutach. We follow this path, are briefly directed onto the main path and reach a crossroads with a second information board.

(4) We take the middle path to the left, which leads us directly towards the road and railway tracks, cross them and then turn right parallel to the tracks.

(5) At the rear of the Weizen railway station building, we cross the asphalt path and follow the marked trail into the forest. The trail now winds its way uphill; we ignore all turnoffs.

(6) After approx. 2.5 km, follow the signpost diagonally to the right, the path now winds downhill to the railway tracks and you will reach the Wutachschlucht inn.

(7) We reach the back of the building, walk across the car park and the beer garden towards the Lausheim-Blumegg museum railway station. Here we cross the road and the railway tracks and turn immediately left, following the forest path. We have reached the Wutach again and follow the narrow path slightly uphill. We pass under the Wutach Viaduct with the railway tracks, then continue uphill until we reach a fork with an information board about the Wutach Viaduct.

(8) Here, follow the main path slightly uphill and turn sharply left onto the second path, following the signpost. The path now leads uphill again and then along the Wutachflühen at almost the same height. Deep below us is the Wutach stream.

(9) We reach the Mannheimer Felsen. Continuing along the path, we pass the Lunzifelsen.

(10) Then we reach a fork with a signpost.

(11) Here we take the left path, cross a stream with a small waterfall and keep right at the next fork, continuing uphill to a viewpoint.

(12) We leave the forest to the right and reach a hiking car park with a rest area.

(13) We walk to the right on the road, pass under the railway tracks again and follow the narrow, steep path at the edge of the forest to the left and up. The path leads briefly through the forest, then continues to the right to the Bielwasserhütte.

(14) We have now reached the top of the hill and follow the path slightly downhill, turning left at the next crossroads and then left again shortly afterwards. The path leads us downhill through a meadow landscape. The railway line is visible to our right but disappears into a tunnel. At the lowest point, we cross a path and walk uphill on the opposite slope, always following the path. Continue through the forest, up to the Buchberg. The path is well marked here, but the last section is quite steep again. You will reach the Ottilienhöhe.

(15) Take the path on the ridge to the left and walk the last few metres uphill to the summit of the Buchberg and the Buchberghütte.

(16) The trail initially descends steeply in short switchbacks, then becomes more leisurely and we hike downhill towards Blumberg. At the edge of the forest, we come to a forest road, which we follow to the right. At the next intersection, we turn sharply left, then right, always heading downhill. We reach the road, which we cross and come to a staircase.

(17) We follow the path slightly downhill and reach Friedhofsstraße. We follow this downhill, through two roundabouts, over the Schleifenbach stream to the main road.

(E) This is where the first stage ends at the Narrenbrunnen fountain.

Trails
Mostly narrow paths and trails, some steep, slippery, with roots.
Sure-footedness, a head for heights and appropriate footwear are essential.
In case of rain, the path along the Wutachflühen should not be used – there is a signposted alternative route.

Rest
(13) Two large tables with benches
(14) Bielwasenhütte – covered seating, barbecue area, tables and benches outdoors
(16) Buchberghütte – hut, barbecue area, tables and benches and fantastic views

Places to stop
(7) Wutachschlucht inn
Restaurant with kiosk and beer garden – there is a restaurant and hotel of the same name at the entrance to the Wutach Gorge
Near (E) Hirschen restaurant in Blumberg, Hauptstr. 72.

Public toilet
(5)

Sauschwänzlebahn: The tracks wind like a pig's tail over a 231 m difference in altitude on a 9.6 km straight line or 25 km route

(8) Wutach Viaduct
The 107.5-metre-long and 28-metre-high Wutach Bridge is located in an area that caused civil engineers a lot of concern due to geological landslides.

(10) Lunzifelsen
Part of the Wutach Gorge: High rock faces in this part of the Wutach Gorge

(12) Viewpoint
From here you can look back into the Wutach Gorge

(15) Nature cinema
Benches with fantastic views, approx. 300 metres from the signpost

(16) Buchberghütte
Alpine panorama on a clear day