The Schwarzwaldhochstraße (Black Forest High Road) is a roughly 60 km (37 mile) stretch of the B500 federal highway from Baden-Baden to Freudenstadt, running along the ridge of the northern Black Forest at between 800 and over 1,000 metres (2,600 to 3,300 ft). It is not an alpine pass and it does not pretend to be — no hairpins, no 2,000 m summits, no seasonal gate. What it offers is an hour and a half of fast, sweeping, well-surfaced ridge road with the Rhine plain dropping away to the west, and it is open all year, which makes it one of the few genuinely good European motorcycle roads you can ride in April or October without checking a snow report.
What the road is like
The B500 here is a two-lane federal road built for touring rather than transit. It starts in Baden-Baden, climbs quickly out of the spa town, and then spends most of its length on or near the ridge line, passing below the Hornisgrinde — at 1,164 m the highest mountain in the northern Black Forest — before descending to Freudenstadt.
The corner character is long-radius sweepers rather than tight switchbacks. Sightlines are generally good, the surface is well maintained, and there are frequent pull-ins with views over the Rhine valley towards the Vosges in France on a clear day. It is the kind of road where you settle into a rhythm rather than fight for one. Riders who arrive expecting alpine drama find it underwhelming; riders who come for a relaxed high-speed cruise with a view get exactly that.
The name has been around since 1930, when it was first used for the Hundseck to Unterstmatt section. The stretch between Ruhestein and the Alexanderschanze was built between 1938 and 1941, and the whole run from Baden-Baden to Freudenstadt only became continuously driveable in 1952.
Route at a glance
| Length | About 60 km (37 miles), Baden-Baden to Freudenstadt |
| Road | Part of the B 500 federal highway |
| Altitude range | 800 to over 1,000 m (2,600 to 3,300 ft) |
| Nearby high point | Hornisgrinde, 1,164 m (3,819 ft) |
| Signature stop | Mummelsee, a cirque lake at 1,028.5 m, directly on the road |
| Completed | Continuous route from 1952; name in use since 1930 |
| Riding time | 1.5 to 2 hours end to end with stops |
Open the Baden-Baden to Freudenstadt run in Google Maps — check it routes over the B500 rather than around it, then send it to your navigation.
The stops that are actually worth stopping for
Mummelsee
The Mummelsee is an almost circular cirque lake formed in the last ice age, sitting at 1,028.5 m directly beside the road. It is 270 m long, 170 m wide, about 3.7 hectares in area and 18 m deep, and it takes fifteen minutes to walk round. There is a hotel, a large car park and, in summer, a great many people — it is the single busiest point on the whole road. Early morning it is a genuinely atmospheric place; at 14:00 in August it is a coach park with a lake attached.
Hornisgrinde
The 1,164 m Hornisgrinde is the northern Black Forest's high point, sitting just above the road near the Mummelsee. A short access road and a walking trail take you onto the plateau, which is open moorland rather than forest — an unusual landscape for this region and worth the detour if the weather is clear.
Ruhestein and the southern half
South of the Mummelsee the road passes Ruhestein and runs through the Black Forest National Park area before dropping towards Freudenstadt. The forest closes in more here and the views open less often, but the corner rhythm is better and the traffic is usually lighter.
Making it into a proper day
Sixty kilometres is ninety minutes, which is not a day out. The way locals ride this area is to use the B500 as the spine and hang loops off it on the smaller Landstraßen that drop into the valleys on either side — the Achertal and Renchtal to the west, the Murgtal to the east. Those valley roads are narrower, more technical and considerably emptier than the ridge, and they climb back up to the B500 at several points, so you can build a 200 km figure-of-eight without ever repeating a stretch.
Two obvious extensions. South of Freudenstadt the B500 continues towards Triberg and the central Black Forest, which is a different and generally twistier road. West of Baden-Baden you are twenty minutes from the Rhine and an hour from the Vosges in France, where the Route des Crêtes d'Alsace runs a similar ridge line on the other side of the valley — riders often pair the two on a long weekend.
If you want a single anchor point, Baden-Baden works well: it has accommodation at every price level, sits at the northern end of the road, and puts both the ridge and the valley loops within an easy morning.
Conditions, restrictions and practical detail
Season. The B500 is a federal highway and is maintained through the winter, so unlike an alpine pass it does not have a fixed closed season. That does not make it a winter motorcycle road: at 1,000 m it holds snow and ice when the Rhine valley 900 m below is clear, and in the winters of 2020/21 and 2021/22 visitor traffic to the snow was heavy enough that access roads had to be closed. Practically, the motorcycle season here runs from about April to October, with the caveat that early and late in that window you can meet ice in shaded sections. As of August 2026 there is no scheduled seasonal closure; check the Baden-Württemberg road information service for current works and conditions before you set out.
Roadworks. This is the closure that actually catches riders out. The B500 sees regular multi-week resurfacing programmes on individual sections, announced by the Regierungspräsidium Karlsruhe, and a full closure between two junctions means a long detour on small valley roads. Check for current Sperrungen before you plan the day around it.
Noise and speed enforcement. Motorcycle noise is a live political issue across the Black Forest, and the regional authorities have introduced tightened speed limits on some routes specifically to reduce it. Speed limits on and around the B500 vary by section and are enforced. Assume the posted limit is real, and treat the quiet-hours sensitivities in villages along the route as something to respect rather than test.
Weather. The ridge attracts cloud. Fog on the high sections when the valleys are clear is routine, and it can cut visibility hard on a road where the corners are fast. Rain is frequent year-round — this is one of the wetter parts of Germany.
Tolls and zones. Germany has no car or motorcycle vignette for the Autobahn, and the B500 is free. Many German cities operate an Umweltzone (low-emission zone) requiring an environmental badge, though motorcycles are generally treated differently from cars — check the current rules for any city you plan to enter, as they change.
Fuel. Fill up in Baden-Baden, Bühl, Achern or Freudenstadt. Fuel directly on the ridge road is limited, and the valley towns are a descent away.
Gear notes for a ridge road
The Black Forest problem is not altitude, it is fog and repetition. The B500 crosses a dense network of smaller Landstraßen, and the good riding is in stringing several of them together into a loop rather than running the B500 out and back. That is a planning job: building a proper circuit with a route planning workflow and carrying it on a handlebar riding system display means you can commit to a turning without stopping to check, which matters on a road where the next junction arrives quickly at 100 km/h.
The second is visibility in cloud. Ridge fog here arrives without warning and a display you can read in flat grey light is worth more than one that only works in sun. Riders on the JADO S6 get the map plus front and rear cameras running, which on a road with fast-closing traffic and frequent tourist stops is the more useful half of the package. If you want the reasoning on camera coverage rather than a single forward view, our dash cam guide covers it.
Tyre pressure is less dramatic here than on a high alpine col, but the temperature swing between the Rhine plain and the ridge still moves the numbers, and cold damp tarmac at 1,000 m is unforgiving of a soft front. Our tire pressure guide is the background, and a TPMS sensor is the live version.
If you are heading further east afterwards, the Vršič Pass in Slovenia and the Romanian Transfăgărășan are the natural next targets on a longer European trip.
FAQ
How long is the Schwarzwaldhochstraße?
About 60 km (37 miles) as the section of the B500 between Baden-Baden and Freudenstadt. Allow 1.5 to 2 hours end to end with stops, longer if you build it into a loop.
Is the B500 closed in winter?
It has no scheduled seasonal closure — it is a maintained federal highway. But it holds snow and ice at 1,000 m when the valleys are clear, and heavy winter visitor traffic has previously forced access roads to be closed. Treat April to October as the realistic riding season.
Are motorcycles banned on the Schwarzwaldhochstraße?
No. Motorcycle noise is a recurring political debate in the region and tightened speed limits have been introduced on some Black Forest routes for that reason, but the B500 is open to motorcycles. Posted limits are enforced.
What is the best stop on the road?
The Mummelsee at 1,028.5 m, directly beside the B500, with the Hornisgrinde plateau just above it. Go early — by midday in summer it is the busiest point on the whole route.
Do you need a vignette or environmental badge?
Germany has no motorway vignette and the B500 is free to ride. Many German cities operate low-emission zones with their own rules, so check before entering a city centre.
