The Black Forest region is one of Germany's most popular tourist destinations. Like Bavaria to its east, the Black Forest combines great outdoor scenery with unique local customs, products, and fare. It is also the heart of Germany's timber and woodworking industry that generates much of Black Forest has Many Beautiful Views the region's economy beyond tourism.

In this part of Germany, the forest is everything, and therefore the forests are carefully managed. Each year, carefully selected plots of land are cleared of trees and replanted, under the watchful eye of forest rangers. The timber comes from a variety of pine tree that literally grows straight up without creating many branches, so the logs are very well suited for making lumber. Driving through, it seemed like every town had its own lumberyard and sawmill. In between would be piles upon piles of cut logs being watered down and readied for the mill. Trucks carrying huge loads of logs were commonplace.

This forest acquired its name due to a large concentration of pine trees which causes it to look quite dark from a distance. Additionally, the nearby mountains can cast their shadows over the valleys and further serve to darken it. However, the town at the center of the Black Forest in Germany, Freudenstadt, has made a claim that it actually receives the more hours of sunshine than any other town in nation.

The city of Baden-Baden is sometimes referred to as the gateway to the Black Forest, as it sits among the foothills near Autobahn 5 not far from Strasbourg, France. Baden-Baden is best known for its therapeutic bathhouses. Closer to the center is the town of Triberg, home of Germany's largest waterfall and a great place to buy cuckoo clocks or try Black Forest Cake. In between is the region's most scenic roadway, route B500, otherwise known as the Black Forest High Street.