Discover Öfingen: Hiking, a fortified church and a weather studio

When looking for a hotel for a stay in Öfingen, it helps to have your preferred focus in mind: the Himmelberg Loop is a clearly defined hike, while the Stifterweg is a longer route connecting several districts. Church architecture and meteorology add two distinct interests to the nature-related themes.

Hiking routes of different lengths

The signposted Himmelberg Loop is 10.45 kilometres long and takes about three hours. It is an easy circular hiking trail, starting at the bus stop on Bühlstraße in Öfingen, and can be walked in either direction. The starting point is accessible by public transport operated by the Schwarzwald-Baar transport association on bus routes 7279 and 7280. If you plan to travel by bus, check the timetable in advance.

Natural trails lead through an attractive hedgerow landscape. The loop offers views across the Baar to Feldberg and the Upper Black Forest, as well as to the Swabian Alb; in clear weather, visibility extends as far as the Swiss Alps. Visibility into the distance therefore depends on the weather.

At about 33 kilometres long, the Stifterweg is on a different scale from the three-hour loop. It is marked throughout, connects all six districts and the town centre of Bad Dürrheim, and passes through Öfingen. Its southeastern section also runs through Öfingen. For the broader destination of Bad Dürrheim, the following also applies to the Stifterweg: it is not too difficult to walk, but its use as a cycling route is limited. This makes it possible to distinguish between a loop with a stated timeframe and a longer route connecting the districts.

Fortified church and weather instruments

The Protestant parish church of St. Nicholas and St. Margaret is a well-preserved fortified church in a walled cemetery. Its features include Late Gothic architectural elements. The walled cemetery and the architectural forms give the church its own distinctive architectural character.

A variety of weather instruments can be viewed at the Öfingen Weather Studio. These include old hygrometers, barometers, condensers and precipitation gauges. The collection is one of the Weather Studio's established features; individual exhibits may change. Those interested in weather observation and measurement technology will find a different focus here from the hiking trails and church architecture.

The wider destination of Bad Dürrheim

Bad Dürrheim holds the designations “Sole-Heilbad” (saltwater spa) and “Heilklimatischer Kurort” (therapeutic climate health resort). These designations apply to the wider destination of Bad Dürrheim.

The biodiversity trail “Discover the Diversity of the Baar” starts at the spa gardens there. The approximately five-kilometre circular route passes through various landscape features of the Baar, as well as meadows, fields and forests. Starting at the spa gardens and following a circular route gives this nature attraction a different character from the Stifterweg, which passes through Öfingen.

The Solemar in Bad Dürrheim offers a variety of water attractions, and the Black Forest Sauna has six themed saunas. The Salinensee in Bad Dürrheim is a lake with a water fountain. These attractions belong to the wider destination and complement the local hiking and cultural themes of Öfingen.

For an overview of the wider destination: Bad Dürrheim.