The Wutach is a river with an identity crisis, and that is why the gorge it cut is so spectacular. Once a headwater of the Danube, it was captured, in geological terms quite recently, by a short, steep tributary of the Rhine, and since then it has been tearing a deep trench through the limestone and granite of the southern Black Forest. The result is a gorge well over a hundred metres deep, wild and wooded, and the longest and deepest in the region. Geologists come to study the river capture; walkers come for the moss, the ferns and the sound of water.
The gorge is a nature reserve, and the best way to see it is on foot, on a trail that winds along the river for many kilometres. The best sections have narrow ledges, wooden walkways and short ladders, and the terrain is wet and slippery. Because the walls are steep and shaded, the microclimate is cool, and rare plants and orchids grow in the damp. Dippers and grey wagtails are among the birds on the water, though you will be lucky to see them.
The roads around the gorge are another matter. The B315 and the lanes around Bonndorf, Löffingen and Lenzkirch pass through open plateau, forest and farmland, with long curves, easy gradients and good views, and they are among the better secondary roads in the Black Forest. The area is quiet outside summer weekends, and in autumn the larches and beeches turn gold. Watch for walkers and cyclists, and for tractors in the farming season. Near Blumberg, the Sauschwänzlebahn, a steam railway known as the Pig's Tail Railway for its looping route, runs on summer weekends over viaducts and through tunnels.
Bonndorf, less than two kilometres away, has about seven thousand people, with petrol stations, bakeries and inns, and it is the natural base. The gorge's car parks are small and fill early in the day on sunny weekends, so arrive early. At around six hundred and fifty metres above sea level, the air is fresh, and spring can arrive late.
Black Forest cake and a plate of smoked ham are the local rewards, and a cold beer at the end of the day is hard to resist.