St Peter’s Way has become our most popular tour this past season! The trail takes you from the high Black Forest mountains, all the way into Freiburg – the capital of the Black Forest. This is a trail for people who want to immerse themselves into the beauty of the Black Forest. St Peter’s Way offers scenic views, waterfalls, hikes along streams and remote mountain towns. On the last day the distance can be challenging due to length, therefore this is not necessarily a trail for first time hikers.
- We Handle All The Details and Logistics
- Luggage Transfer Included
- Hotels Included
- starting at 3 days, 4 nights
- Detailed Route Descriptions & Maps
- We are a phone call away, just in case
Moderate hikes and plenty of scenery
Partially unknown to tourists
St Peter’s Way offers a good combination of scenic views, forest and fauna, streams and waterfalls, remote mountain towns and family-run hotels. Although you may encounter a tourists or two at well known points of interest (we will point them out so you know what to expect), the trails of St Peter’s Way are mostly unknown – except to local hikers.
Some days can be challenging due to the rather long distances (18 km on the last day) – the trail is therefore not recommended if you have never hiked before.
If you prefer to hike with a guide at the beginning of St Peter’s Way you can add-on one of our hiking guides on the first day. This gives you a change to meet a local and get the insights on the area.
From the mountain top into the valley
To get to the trail head you will take the train from Freiburg into the the mountains. Here, a little below 1000 metres, you find your first hotel. Explore town prior to your first hiking day. (Good to know: If you are interested in some touristy sights, for example Lake Titisee you could visit them on your arrival day).
Day by day, the trails of St Peter’s Way slowly wind themselves through the mountains, along streams and passing by waterfalls. Each night you have the opportunity to enjoy local foods at restaurants we recommend.
Looking for a challenge?
If you are looking for a challenge we are giving you a chance on day 2.
Either choose the shorter trail of 9 km which is easy and offers gorgeous panoramic views.
Or choose a more challenging trail of 14.5 km which takes you into some difficult terrain (pictured below) to get to a waterfall. On this trail good shoes are neccessary and hiking poles are recommended. Be careful – on a rainy day this trail should be avoided altogether. If you want to add-on even more distance you can do a 4 km detour and eat lunch at a farmhouse. Those who know, come from far away to eat their homemade sausages.
More time available?
If you have more time available we recommend to add-on another day of hiking at the beginning. This will give you a chance to see Feldberg mountain – the highest mountain in the Black Forest. The additional hike is either 12 or 17 km in length (7 or 10 miles) and starts right in front of your hotel. Once you have reached Feldberg mountain a bus takes you back to the hotel. Great hike taking you by a mountain cabin for lunch.
Interested in combining your hike with a bicycling tour?
Starting 2025 we are also offering a combination of the St Peters Way Trail and 2 days of bicycling. Click here for more information on our Hike & Bike: St Peter’s Way .
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I highly recommend using Simone & Black Forest Tours. I hiked solo for 3 consecutive days and had zero issues the entire time. Simone has a great system & program start to finish that really takes away the stresses of it all. She had my all my lodging locked down with no check-in problems as they were expecting me. My luggage transfers were always there waiting for me. The inns themselves were nice and so were all the people at each place. The hike in The Black Forest was awesome and the app she creates for your hike is fool proof - pretty much impossible to get lost. Simone was also very responsive to any questions I had. I honesty cannot think of any negative feedback to give - just a wonderful experience. Again, I strongly recommend going with Simone and her company Black Forest Tours.
Our experience on the St Peters way was absolutely amazing. From the first day of communicating with Simone, the whole process was clear and smooth. The app made navigating really easy and gave us a sense of safety when in doubt. For travellers who are looking for adventures and the feeling of freedom, without the worries of planning, we highly recommend Black Forest tours. The hike is gorgeous and we really enjoyed the scenic landscape views as well as the diversity of the forest. All in all, the whole tour exceeded our expectations.
We had a fantastic experience on our self-guided walking tour of the Black Forest (St Peter's Trail). The tour was extremely well-organized; we had a booklet with detailed historical and practical information about the towns we'd be visiting, as well as maps of our hikes. Black Forest Tours also has an app, which we downloaded and used to guide us on the trails. I highly recommend using the app, we always knew where we were and, if we veered off the trail, we could see where we were in relationship to it and were quickly able to get back on track. The staff moved our luggage to the next hotel while we hiked, so when we arrived our belongings were waiting for us. All the hotels where we stayed were excellent. The rooms were stylish and comfortable and the bathrooms had all the desirable modern amenities. All our hotels had restaurants on-site, and the food and service were excellent. My husband and I were extremely pleased with our experience and would highly recommend Black Forest Hikes.
This Black Forest Tour trip with a three day hike in the forest was much more than we expected. Simone was so helpful in putting together the material which was available online and in our hotel room when we arrived the first day.
The selection of the hotels and places to stop were excellent, along with a comprehensive guide (printed and in an APP). My sister and I walked the three-day St. Peter's Way trail and it was wonderful. We used both the printed guide and the GPS APP and we were never lost or confused along the way. Simone pointed out some highlights to watch for, and we did, taking advantage of her expertise. Yes it did sprinkle a little one of the days on the hike (last day), but otherwise, the weather was bright and sunny and we were so lucky to have that.
The hotel staff at each hotel were very welcoming and charming, noting that we were with Black Forest Tours. It made us feel special and our luggage arrived each day at the next hotel without any problems.
We appreciated all the support that Simone provided, even though we did not have to use any emergency numbers that she gave us. As older women, one over 70, the walk was an absolute delight and within our means - we did use trekking poles which were recommended for anyone doing the hike.
We would highly recommend this tour to anyone, young or old - we truly felt like we were in the Fairy Tale land of the German Folk Stories.
And Simone's comprehensive detailed guides (printed and online with GPS) gave us the gift of traveling in confidence with no worries.
From Day 1 when my sister and I checked into our hotel, going through the maps/book in our welcome bag to the very end of our walk into Freiburg, our expectations were fully met. We enjoyed every step along the way. I found the book extremely helpful in guiding us along the path and I literally carried it in my hand the entire time. That along with the App, which we used to confirm our exact location whenever there was the slightest doubt, kept us from ever getting lost. All of the hotels and staff were wonderful to deal with, very kind and helpful. The breakfasts were delicious and dinners at the hotels in Hinterzarten and Sonne Hotel were delicious! A very memorable walk!
This was our first experience of a hike tour abroad and we were so impressed with this company. Every detail is so thought through and each and every aspect is very well run and carefully considered. Communication with Simone was outstanding so we always felt very reassured. We thoroughly enjoyed our hike through the Black Forest -maps, app and signage meant we felt very comfortable with the route and the hotels booked were all in great locations and very charming. We opted for a guided walk the first day which was helpful and very enjoyable. Would thoroughly recommend this efficient and personable company.
We had a great time walking the St Peter’s Way.
The information you provided by way of maps, booklet and the app were very useful. We used the app throughout and found it very helpful and foolproof especially on the alternative route on day 2.
The walks themselves were picturesque and gave a good impression of the Black Forest and surrounding countryside. We were lucky with the weather in that it wasn’t too hot and we managed to avoid the rain when it came.
The hotels were all of a good standard and we thought the the third was a standout venue. The people at all the hotels were very helpful and accommodating. The food on offer at each of the hotels varied but it was all of a good standard with the breakfast at hotel 1 and hotel 3 being of a high standard. We found each of the villages we stayed in charming in their different ways and had the energy to complete the walking tour of Freiburg using your app.
The baggage transfer went without a hitch.
All the hotels were perfectly situated for the walks. The only problem being that the lift in the hotel in Freiburg was not working but at least our luggage had been taken to our rooms on the second floor.
All in all a very enjoyable trip with great information provided by your company
Thanks Eric
Hi Simone,
We loved our Black Forest holiday!
The app was really useful. The printed guide was good for reading up on the hikes before we did them. Also useful for restaurant information etc.
The luggage transfer went really smoothly. The hotels were great.
Our favourite hike was the second one - we did the alternative route, which was spectacular.
I was worried the last day's hike might be a bit dull, but it wasn't at all! The arrival into Freiburg was magnificent! I liked how we were able to get right into the forest on some of the paths.
Thank you!
Hello,
My husband and I hiked the St Peter's Way part of the Black Forest, as arranged by Black Forest Tours. What a great way to first encounter the beauty and majesty of this wonderful area! The hotels were at least very nice and some amazing, one with a spa amenity that was very welcome to our tired legs. The folks along the way were friendly and we appreciated the quiet, with only seeing a couple of other hikers on our 3 days.
The suitcase transfer service made it possible to hike with just day packs for our lunches and rain gear. Black Forest Tours made the arrangements and picked the best trails for us to follow, which were easy to find and stay on with their mobil app that does not require cell service, just the standard GPS it seems most phones have these days. They pointed out points of interest, including some we would not have found without their careful guidance.
