The Westweg

Map P 53: location of Eberhard-Essich-Hütte, should be marked just after crossing Größelbach below Sagkopf.

P.80: The alternative route mentioned in route notes is now in place , nevertheless, in bad weather conditions the original route would be more comfortable / preferable .

Information for backpackers January 2016

If you want to walk the route carrying all supplies, it is possible, but there are sections where you don’t actually come across villages or shops and have to go out of your way to find them. There will always be little guesthouses and restaurants, which will be open unless you hit them on one of their days of rest.

It is usually possible to camp out in the shelter huts encountered along the route. There are no toilets or showers and there may not be access to water, but they provide a roof and sometimes even a little stove.

The Westweg is a long-distance walk for those who like to rest in comfort at night, rather than a hard-core wilderness trek. In spite of that, although it is not far from civilisation, the route avoids actual contact with towns and villages for quite a lot of the way. So finding supplies is not that easy. The key consideration is to make sure you take enough water and beware of ticks.

The following information may be useful.

Stage 1 Pforzheim-Dobel: shops along the way, and in Dobel, at the end of the stage. Best camping option is near Dobel at the hut pictured on page 30, which is at Dreimarkstein.

Stage 2 Dobel-Forbach: no shops en route, only the huts mentioned in the route description, which may be serviced on weekends, and a restaurant (higher end) at Kaltenbronn. At end of stage in Forbach all services are available. Best camping hut is the one after Prinzenhütte (it doesn’t have a name) below Draberg (pictured on page 66).

Stage 3 Forbach-Unterstmatt: no villages or shops en route, although there are guesthouses and hikers hostels (mentioned in the appendix), the stage ends at Unterstmatt, where there are a couple of little guesthouses but practically no services or shops. There are no shelter huts nearby. Hochkopf, just above Unterstmatt is a nature reserve, so no camping allowed. But just a bit further along past Unterstmatt there is Ochsenstall Walker’s Hostel (Naturfreundehaus).

Stage 4 Unterstmatt-Alexanderschanze: shops (tourist trap) at Mummelsee and huts along the route, but otherwise no shops. Guesthouses/services at Ruhestein. No good shelter huts along the way, but reasonably cheap accommodation at Zuflucht. The village of Kniebis is off the trail, past Alexanderschanze (about 3km) - shops and services available.

Stage 5 Alexanderschanze-Hark: no shops or services, not even guesthouses along the way until one gets to the end of the stage. There is a shelter hut at Littwegerhöhe, pictured on page 90 - but this would make the stage pretty short. You could also continue on past Hark to the Schwarzwaldverein Hut at Brandenkopf or camp at a little picnic/shelter hut just before that, at Spitzbrunnen.

Stage 6 Hark-Hausach: Hohenlochenhütte is only serviced at weekends and bank holidays and the ground around it is quite uneven, so not the best place to camp, although the views are beautiful. Spitzfelsenhut above Hausach would be better although exposed (the hut may not always be open). No shops en route, but there is a farm/restaurant at Kappelhof, past Hohenlochenhütte.

Stage 7 Hausach-Wilhelmshöhe: no shops or villages. There is a hotel/guesthouse just below Karlsfelsen and a bed and breakfast just before the end of the stage. The stage ends at Wilhelmshöhe, which is a simple guesthouse, but to get to the nearest shops you have to go 2-3km out of your way, to Schonach. There are no good camping huts along the way, just picnic tables.

Stage 8 Wilhelmshöhe-Kalte Herberge: plenty of guesthouses/restaurants, but no shops or villages on the trail. No real good shelter huts either. Furtwangen – off the trail – offers the best chances of finding a shop.

Stage 9 Kalte Herberge-Titisee: several guesthouses/restaurants along the way. There is a shelter hut at Weißtannenhöhe and a walkers hostel just before you get to Titisee (Berghäusle). Titisee has all services, shops and restaurants. There is also a campsite halfway around the lake (East route), but is is more for RV campers.

Stage 10 (Western route) Titisee-Feldberg-Notschrei: plenty of guesthouses/cafes and such around Feldberg, even a shop at Feldbergerhof (out of your way if you are walking the western route), and there is a simple little guesthouse just before Notschrei. No real good camping huts.

Stage 10 (Eastern route) Titisee- Feldberg: shop in Bärental, also at Feldberg. There is a hut before you get to Caritas house, but I don’t think it is open. Simple accommodations around Feldberg Ort.

Stage 11 (Western route) Notschrei-Haldenhof: hotels along the way (Notschrei/Wiedener Eck), snacks at Belchenhaus. There is a shelter hut at Richtstatt, just before Haldenhof. No actual shops. Haldenhof is a guesthouse.

Stage 11 (Eastern route) Feldberg-Weißenbachsattel: no shops or villages along the route. There is a shelter hut on Hochkopf (rather, a tower, which offers shelter, but don’t shelter there during a thunderstorm). End of the stage is Weißenbachsattel - there is a slightly more pricey guesthouse there. Cheaper accommodation at Todtmoos-Weg, 2km further along. Weg is a little village but no shops. Todtmoos is the next nearest safe bet for supplies.

Stage 12 (Western route) Haldenhof-Kandern: no shops or villages directly on the trail. Up on the Blauen is a cafe (which may soon offer accommodation too)and there are some shelter huts on the way to Kandern. Lange-Ebene Hütte is closest, but may not be open. Hexenplatzhütte is. Vogelmatt has a restaurant but not much in the way of shops (just farm shops -like little stalls selling apples or whatever is in season). Kandern has all services, even a supermarket.

Stage 12 (Eastern route) Weißenbachsattel-Hasel: the trail touches a few little villages but there are few shops, although they have little restaurants (e.g. Schweighof). You can camp out at Hohe Möhr (tower) although there is no real hut. Hasel does have some basic services and shops.

Stage 13 (Western route) Kandern-Basel: the trail passes little villages, cafes and restaurants along the way, but few shops - even on the approach to Basel.

Stage 13 (Eastern route) Hasel-Degerfelden: the trail passes closer to civilisation, but villages are very small and almost no services are available, except cafes/guesthouses/restaurants. It does pass through Oberminseln, but again nothing much there - you have to go to Mittel-Minseln (just off the trail) to find shops. No hotels in Degerfelden and no decent camping huts nearby either. (Nearest accommodation is in Rheinfelden).

Stage 14 (Eastern route) Degerfelden to Basel: the trail does pass the edge of some villages. To find shops you have to go into the villages themselves. Restaurant and limited services at Rührberg.

Keep in mind that restaurants often close one or two days a week and that shops are likely to be closed at lunchtime.

Another tip: upload the GPX data and check it out on Google maps - you’ll see exactly where the trail runs and how far away nearby villages are, and cafes, restaurant and hotels/guesthouses are often marked, and sometimes shops. You can even look at it in aerial view and get a better idea of the terrain.