Triberg Waterfalls — Attraction in Verwaltungsverband Raumschaft Triberg

I came to Triberg with my three young kids ages 6, 4, and 2, and knew I had to see the waterfall here. Unfortunately, I found information lacking on their website and on Google Maps about the best way to access the falls with three young kids. Essentially, you can get to the falls from a few different parking lots, each with different lengths of walking time. The main entrance is from the downtown area, which you can get to be walking down the path between Landgasthoff Zur Lilie and Hotel Pfaff, with close paid parking at Parkhaus Wassfalle; the walk from the lot to the base of the falls is about 10 minutes for small children; you can take the trails higher to look at higher portions of the falls. This entrance has the largest "kasse", though each entrance from the other parking lots also have a small kasse which are monitored by people during the falls' opening hours. There is also a somewhat delapitated playground near the main entrance downtown, which my kids enjoyed though its main feature was closed and it just felt dingy to me, though the forest setting was nice.It is also easy to get to the Greifvogel Eulenpark from the main downtown entrance, though it was closed the day we went there. The other lots are Scheffelplatz (which is about halfway up the falls) and Adelheid (which I haven't been to but based on Google Maps looks to be at the highest level of the falls and a bit of a walk past that).

As for our visit, we went around 8:45am on a Monday morning, and the falls were just opening (I believe at 9, though I had found the opening hours impossible to find online). There were no visitors besides us until about 9:20, at which time it started to get quite busy. Again, it was a quick walk tpo the base of the falls, and then we continued up the trails about 10 minutes to have a snack at a small but beautiful gazebo with benches and were content; we headed back to our car at that point, though we walked towards the Scheffelplatz entrance then headed down to the playground, rather than going back the way we came. I definitely recommend going early in the morning as it was much nicer for picture taking, not to mention more peaceful. The water, however, is not at all interactive - you cannot get close to the water at any point that we saw, let alone get into any of the pools at their bases. If you want that kind of experience (or even if you don't), you MUST go to Todtnau falls, which is a harder hiking endeavor (though my kids were able to do it with the promise of ice cream) but completely accessible, unmonitored, and free.

We found the falls to be beautiful, but slightly anticlimactic after having been to Todtnau. Go early in the morning on a weekday for best results, and bring snacks if you want to extend the visit. If you have kids, definitely worth visiting the adjacent playground even though it could be much improved by...

(Wheelchair/disability) Here is to express my disappointment regarding my recent visit to Triberg Waterfall as a wheelchair user. While I appreciate the beauty of the site, my overall experience was frustrating due to accessibility challenges, issues with ticketing, and a lack of consideration from staff.

Firstly, the accessibility entrance near the clinic is not convenient for wheelchair users without a car, as the steep inclines make it difficult to reach the ticket counter independently. This was already an issue before even entering the site.

Secondly, the ticketing process was frustrating. The cashier at the accessibility entrance was polite but only accepted cash. As I did not have cash, my carer had to leave me and walk all the way to the main entrance to purchase tickets. He specifically informed the cashier with red hair that I am in a wheelchair, yet she still charged the full price for both of us. This mistake forced my carer to leave me alone again and return to the main entrance with my disability card to request a correction.

When he did so, the same cashier insisted he should have mentioned it earlier—despite the fact that he already had. She refunded only €0.50 and refused to refund my carer’s ticket, even though the pricing information outside clearly states that an accompanying person is entitled to free entry. This completely ruined the experience, as I was left in an uncomfortable position while my carer had to go back and forth unnecessarily.

To make matters worse, when I personally addressed the issue before leaving, the same cashier displayed a dismissive attitude and insisted we should have clarified earlier. However: I could not go to the main entrance myself due to the steep hills. My carer clearly informed her twice that I was in a wheelchair. She continued speaking in German with me and my carer previously, making the situation extremely inconvenient uncomfortable and not professional. Nobody speaks their native language during inconvenient situation unless they have something bad to say.

What made this experience particularly upsetting was the lack of acknowledgment of my disability. I am obviously over 50% disabled, as I require a wheelchair and cannot walk. Yet, despite seeing me in my wheelchair, the cashier still failed to recognize my entitlement to a disability discount and a free ticket for my carer. This made me feel discriminated against and unwelcome.

Given the already limited experience for wheelchair users due to the natural landscape, I would expect better accessibility considerations, clearer communication about ticket policies, and most importantly, respectful treatment from staff. I kindly request a proper review of these issues to ensure that disabled visitors are treated fairly...

Triberg is a stop on the main railway line through the Black Forest between the major cities of Karlsruhe and Konstanz and has frequent regional train services. Visitors arriving by train should note that the railway station is located down a moderately steep hill from the main town - a bus service connects with the train schedule.

Those looking to arrive by car will find Triberg at the junction of the B33 (connecting Villingen-Schwenningen with Hausach) and the B500 (which heads south towards Titisee and, eventually, Freiburg).

Triberg is very much a tourist destination for day-trippers. Around a quarter of a million tourists visit the village each year but only a small proportion of them stay overnight. It is true that the main attractions in the village can be 'ticked off' within the space of one day, but the village's central location and ease of access to other Black Forest sights means that visitors should not discount using it as a base for a break in the region.

The early history of Triberg is pretty much a mystery with only a few burial sites and stone mounds offering any information about the historical development before the 12th century. It is known that a knight from the Ulm area, an Adelbert von Ellerbach, opened up the entire Gutach valley around 1100.

He built a castle in a prominent location in today's Gremmelsbach district, which is now considered as the starting point of the village as a settlement.

Another fortification, Triberg Castle, was built a little later near the present-day site of the Kurhaus. It was destroyed in the 17th century.

Triberg itself was almost completely obliterated by a devastating fire in 1826. The new Triberg was laid out in a classicist architectural style by Karlsruhe architect Friedrich Weinbrenner with a long straight wide main street with substantial houses on both sides and the striking town hall.

With its location deep in the Black Forest, Triberg became an official 'Kurort' - a place for people to recover in a healthy climate - and could boast the first electric street lighting in the...