Hornisgrinde from two sides

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This route leads, more or less twice, to Hornisgrinde, the highest mountain in the northern Black Forest (1,163 meters). First, it is approached from the west, more precisely from Sasbachwalden in the Rhine Valley by cycling a large part of the toughest climb in the Black Forest. Upon reaching the Schwarzwaldhochstraße still 250 elevation meters are remaining to the summit, which we will, however, only tackle on the second approach. Therefore, this tour does not turn right towards Hornisgrinde, but left to follow the Schwarzwaldhochstraße for about five kilometers. This road runs more or less along the north-south oriented ridge of the mountain range. At Hundseck, the route leaves the "Hochstraße" to make the descent to the east, which ends at Raumünzach in the Murg Valley. This valley is followed upstream for almost 5 kilometers along the Bundesstraße B462 until Schönmünzach. There this tour turns right to climb back to Hornisgrinde. This climb is much easier than the ascent from the west. The eastern side of the ridge is much less steep than the western side, and in addition, the elevation difference to be overcome is smaller. The ridge is reached at Seibelseckle. From here, the route continues along the Schwarzwaldhochstraße to the Mummelsee, from where the climb to the summit is completed with one and a half kilometers on a car-free, pleasantly steep road. In total, the ascent from Schönmünzach bridges 750 meters of altitude.

The return ride to the west is largely a descent, first back to Seibelseckle, then continues along the Schwarzwaldhochstraße to Ruhestein, which is followed by a steeper descent towards Allerheiligen. One kilometer before this monastic site, we turn right to descend further to Ottenhöfen. This is followed by the third climb of the tour, to Blaubronn (280 meters of elevation gain). The ride is concluded by cycling via Kappelrodeck back to the starting point in Sasbachwalden.

Disadvantages of the route are the section along the Schwarzwaldhochstraße, a road with many fast-driving cars and motorcycles, and the section along the busy B462 in the Murg Valley. The latter one can be avoided by cycling along the paved Murgtalradweg on the other side of the river. However, you do have to cross the river in Raumünzach via a 200-meter-long unpaved road.

Apart from the busy roads mentioned, the route is quiet to very quiet and offers plenty of beautiful scenery. The climb from the Murg Valley to Seibelseckle is magnificent and partially completely car-free. The descent from the junction at Allerheiligen to Ottenhöfen is also beautiful and typical of the Black Forest. For cyclists, the finish of the climb to Hornisgrinde lies about 500 meters before and 8 vertical meters below the summit, as the asphalt ends there. At this point, a restaurant is located, with a magnificent view to the west of the Rhine Valley and the Vosges Mountains beyond. From here one can also reach the highest point of Hornisgrinde with a short, easy hike. Finally, what also counts for many cyclists is making the climb to the highest peak of the northern Black Forest.