The lake takes an hour. The mountains, waterfalls and towns around it take a long weekend — and that is where the Black Forest really opens up. These are the nine places we would build an itinerary around, each with its own guide covering what to do, how to get there and which tours cover it.
Things to See at & Around the Mummelsee
Nine places that turn a lakeside stop into a proper Black Forest journey.
The lake & the Hornisgrinde
The lake & the Hornisgrinde Mummelsee
The legendary lake of the northern Black Forest
A dark, fir-ringed cirque lake at 1,036 m, scooped out by an Ice Age glacier below the Hornisgrinde. Walk the 800 m loop, hire a pedal boat, hear the legend of the water sprites and eat Black Forest cake on the terrace of the lakeside hotel.
The lake & the Hornisgrinde Hornisgrinde
The rooftop of the northern Black Forest
At about 1,164 m the Hornisgrinde is the highest summit in the northern Black Forest — a broad, windswept plateau of raised bog and dwarf pine right above the Mummelsee. A boardwalk crosses the moor, and on clear days the view runs across the Rhine plain to Strasbourg and the Vosges.
Along the Black Forest High Road
Along the Black Forest High Road Black Forest High Road (B500)
Germany’s classic ridge-top drive
The Schwarzwaldhochstraße runs about 60 km along the ridge from Baden-Baden to Freudenstadt, mostly between 800 and 1,000 m. It is one of Germany’s oldest scenic routes, and the Mummelsee sits halfway along it — the natural stop on any drive.
Along the Black Forest High Road Black Forest National Park
Wilderness in the making
Baden-Württemberg’s first national park, founded in 2014, covers around 10,000 hectares along the High Road on either side of the Mummelsee. Its visitor centre at Ruhestein, the wild Wildsee lake and the storm-forest trails show a forest being left to itself.
Along the Black Forest High Road Allerheiligen Waterfalls & Abbey
Gothic ruins above a roaring gorge
Twenty-five minutes from the lake, the roofless Gothic church of a 12th-century Premonstratensian abbey stands in a green valley near Oppenau. Below it, the Lierbach stream tumbles through a narrow gorge in a chain of cascades reached by stairs and footbridges.
Day trips further afield
Day trips further afield Baden-Baden
The Belle Époque spa town at the start of the High Road
Roman baths, a glittering casino, the Lichtentaler Allee and two great thermal spas: Baden-Baden is where the Black Forest High Road begins and where most Mummelsee visitors sleep. It is part of the UNESCO “Great Spa Towns of Europe” site.
Day trips further afield Triberg Waterfalls & Cuckoo Clocks
Germany’s famous falls and the home of the cuckoo clock
In Triberg the Gutach river drops around 160 metres through a wooded ravine in a series of cascades, among the highest falls in Germany. The town is also the capital of the cuckoo clock, with giant clocks you can walk inside and workshops still carving them.
Day trips further afield 
Day trips further afield Strasbourg
France is an hour away
Across the Rhine from the Black Forest, Strasbourg’s Gothic cathedral, half-timbered Petite France and famous Christmas market make it the most popular add-on to a Mummelsee trip — and the best-served starting point for tours to the lake.
A sensible three-day plan: Day one, Baden-Baden — the spa, the Lichtentaler Allee and a night in town. Day two, drive the High Road: the Mummelsee early, the Hornisgrinde, then Ruhestein and the Allerheiligen waterfalls. Day three, south to Triberg and Titisee, or across the Rhine to Strasbourg.
Plan your day at the lake
Make the Mummelsee the highlight of your Black Forest trip
The legendary lake sits halfway along the Black Forest High Road, 40 minutes from Baden-Baden and about an hour from Strasbourg. Compare day trips and guided tours and book in a couple of taps.