Hello. I'll be in Basel next month, and wanted to take a day trip into Germany (via train). I'm assuming the closest region would be the black forest region. Any advice on an itinerary? Being realistic about the amount of time I have, I'm just looking to see a new place, get a feel for a different country, etc. Any thoughts are welcome! Thanks in advance!

What about the Alsace? Colmar is in a distance of 70 km or a train ride of one hour.
But, hey, there is an ICE which will take you from Basel to Freiburg in about 45 min.
http://www.bahn.de/-S:-ptVOR9:ecBKq9...n_buchen.shtml

There are regular trains from Basel SBB (Swiss station) via Basel Bad (German station) for Freiburg. Freiburg itself is a pleasant, vibrant city with a fine medieval quarters and lots of outdoor cafes - enlivened by student population. You can change train at Freiburg for Höllentalbahn that climbs through a narrow gorge to two pristine lakes - Titisee and Schluchsee.
Find connections through http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en
Don't forget to take your passport - there are still regular passport checks between the two countries.

HH:I'm actually going to the Alsace another day (thanks for the idea though!).

Alec: Thanks for your recommendation as well. I will look into that.

anyone else have any experiences they would like to share?

Another vote for Freiburg. The city is definitely worth a visit and easy to reach from Basel in less than one hour.
www.freiburg.de contains more information on the city.

From Basel, it's easy to jump over to Mulhous. The big star of this city is the automobile museum. This place resides about 100 Buggattis (sp?). Okay, maybe there's a litte less cars but the selection of the Buggattis is impressionable.

The story of this museum is worth reading too. I think this is a Natinal Museum now.

Blackduff