On the trail through the Schwarzwasser and Sense valleys

Starting from the small village of Hinterfultigen, follow the hiking path over Krommen onto the Schwarzwasser-Sense Gorge Trail. Right at the start, there is a wonderful view of the Schwarzenburger and Freiburg regions, as well as the Seeland and the Jura. Once on the gorge trail, the view of the rock layers of the deeply incised Schwarzwasser Valley soon impresses. Shortly after the Moos farm, the path steeply descends the rocky gorge slope to the Bütschelbachstäg bridge. Following the also deeply cut Bütschelbach, you reach the Schwarzwasser after a few minutes, a tributary of the Sense. Now you walk along the bank through the Schwarzwasser Valley with its characteristic sandstone cliffs and floodplain forests. The river and the path draw large bends from one side of the valley to the other; small bridges facilitate crossing between the banks. At the old Schwarzwasser bridge, you cross the river for the last time, from where you can see the fantastic rock formations in the water. At the confluence of Schwarzwasser and Sense, the route turns around a rock head. During the warm season, this is a popular spot for picnics, river bathing, or rock climbing. The path then follows the Sense, which cuts its way through the 15-kilometer-long Sense Valley after the confluence. Mostly close to the bank, the route continues through Gäu and Sensematt to Thörishaus village.

Background: From the Kalte Sense and Warme Sense springs the Sense, a border river between the canton of Bern and the canton of Fribourg that flows into the Saane at Laupen. The Schwarzwasser is the most important tributary of the Sense and the namesake of the Schwarzwasser Valley, which represents an easily accessible piece of geological history – from the molasse sea to the power of the ice age meltwater streams.