Help - Black Forest
 

We're a family of 4 (2 kids 9 and 11) and will do a 3 or 4 days trip to the Black Forest (starting february 8). We will go by car, from Basel airport.
What are the cities we should sleep? we wanted to sleep in different places each day. We would like to see snow and sled a bit for the kids, and see all the best points in the black forest.
Also, is it TOO cold? Should we take snow clothes or a hot coat and termic underware with snow boots would be enough?
Is the black forest worth seeing at this time of year?

Thanks

You’re asking questions impossible to answer…
“Is it TOO cold?” Predicting the temperature and the state of snow is a fool’s game. My mother was born and raised in the Black Forest and shared childhood stories of snow so deep they had to climb out the second story window to shovel a path to open the door. Family members continue to post pictures of impressive snow falls.

Your style of travel, with different stays each night, is not my own. I’ll be visiting family at Easter and we’ll spend 4 nights in Freiburg, a beautiful and small university city with an incredible cathedral, lovely shops and a terrific market. We’ll also take a day trip by train to Strasbourg, France to sip wine and experience Alsace for an afternoon and dinner.

Have you spent any time in Basel? I haven’t been in years, but remember a terrific zoo and pretty city. You could easily bounce between the three locations I listed, if that’s your thing. I’ve visited the Black Forest many times but, generally, it’s been between March - July. I’d expect cold, unpredictable weather in early February and pack accordingly.

First, we live in Basel, so admittedly that makes us biased, but nonetheless it's a great city with plenty for kids to do. Direct trains to lots of places. And if you spent a few days in Basel, you wouldn't need the car for your whole trip.

Popular towns include Freiburg, mentioned above, Gengenbach and at the north end of the BF, the spa town of Baden-Baden. Of these three, Gengenbach has the most Black Forest-y feel that many visitors look for.

We were in Freiburg in December 2022 and tbh, were very disappointed. We wondered why we bothered to leave Basel. The train station was a hot mess, with massive construction going on and poor signage. The supposed five-star hotel we stayed at left a lot to be desired in decor, ambiance and service -- especially in comparison to the true 5-star hotel we'd stayed at in Baden-Baden the previous three nights. The only things we really enjoyed in Freiburg were the great bedding store a block from the hotel and an absolutely terrific Japanese restaurant in the same general area.

YMMV, this was just our experience.

May be you have a look a the snow heights at the differnet winter sport resorts in the Black Forest.
https://www.hochschwarzwald.de/erleb...k%20Skigebiete
Click on "zum Schneebericht" at you will see that actually, only Feldberg has open lifts. All other areas don't have enough snow.
But that may change until February.
According to the local weather forecast, temperatures will remain around 0 and plus 8 degrees centigrade until the end of the month and then go down to about minus 3 to plus 3 degrees centigrade at the beginning of February.

You may find this article interesting, but bear in mind DB are having a lot of strikes at the moment.

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2...lway-in-winter

I'm glad I came across this. We will be staying in Alsace region of France and I'm considering a day trip to Gengenbach. The town certainly looks very charming, but I'd also like to see a true representation of the Black Forest whether it is between Alsace and Gengenbach or a bit beyond Gengenbach. Any suggestions for a scenic drive in the Forest?

following... for day trip ideas to the Black Forest from Strasbourg, preferably without a car...