The B500 in the Black Forest region of Germany is perhaps the best-known European biking road. Unfortunately, it is also quite dull to ride.
The section at the north end, near Baden-Baden, is the most invigorating as it features some tight turns, but otherwise, it is what it was designed to be – a tourist road through the Black Forest.
However – and that is a very significant “however” – if all you take away from the B500 region of the Black Forest is the B500 itself, you will have missed 90% of why the region, and by association, the B500, is talked about so much.
My first visit here was on a Suzuki V-Strom 1050, and I was on a schedule that did not leave any time to explore, which is why I wanted to come back. Turn on the sunshine over a weekend, and there will be a continual stream of motorcycles twisting their way through the Black Forest roads, and it is those roads that are captured in the route below.
Starting at the south end of the B500 near Freudenstadt, the route follows the B500 until the outskirts of Baden-Baden, at which point it begins 110 mile (175 Km) long loop of the roads around the Black Forest, finishing in the town of Wolfach.
There are campsites nearby and numerous guest houses to choose from. I’m not sure of the free camping rules, but several campervans had obviously spent the night in the parking areas on the B500 when I rode past them this morning.
I stayed at the Hotel 3 Könige, which I picked at random from Booking.com (no affiliation). It’s a popular choice with bikers judging by the different nationalities in the bar the last few nights. There is also covered parking just in case the Black Forest decides to have one of its infamous rain showers.
When importing GPX files, your GPS or Phone navigation app will recalulate the route based on your navigation preferences. We add waypoints to hopefully minimise any differences, but it is always worth double-checking.
If you have a route that you would like to share, get in touch and with the Editor, and we will do our best to include it. Download, ride and enjoy. What could possibly go wrong? All the motorcycle touring routes are GPX 1.1 version files.
All of the motorcycle touring routes are provided “as is” without guarantee, liability or any assurances. The lawyers said we had to include that sentence. All we can tell you is that we had an excellent time planning and riding them.
The Black Forest Region Near the B500
Points To Ponder
The tightest section, and the one with the worst road surface, is from Baden-Baden to Forbach on the Großherzog-Friedrich-Luisenstraße.
There was everything from SV650s to Goldwings riding this section.
You can get passed other bikes, but follow-the-leader appeared to be the done thing.
Other than that one section, the road surfaces are the normal German high quality.
The roads can get narrow in the towns, occasionally accompanied by blind exits and often featuring oncoming traffic of all types – including busses – in the centre of the road.
If you ride this on a Sunday, then most of the cafes and bakeries will be closed. The one I stopped at was 120Kms into the route.
As planned, the route goes directly past the Traubwasserfall at 75 miles (120Kms) and the Allerheiligen-Wasserfälle (All Saint’s Day Waterfall) at 84 miles (135 Kms), which is also the easier of the two to walk to in biking boots.
