The Lower Reiat Region North of Schaffhausen near Hegau, Germany

Wednesday April 29, 2026 -- Today the skies were overcast and it rained in many places in most of the country except for the far north, but we still wanted to take advantage of an outing on this day off.

It had been a long time since we had been in the Schaffhausen region, where the northernmost point in Switzerland is located (near Bargen, which we had visited on a hike in June of 2022, on what turned out to be a rainy day....), so that is where we headed, and this time we really had the best weather.

This is an interesting area as the country border with Germany is very convoluted, and we walked in an area (called the Lower Reiat) bordered by Germany on three sides. The region is also interesting in that it is a volcanic landscape. We started in the northernmost town (Opfertshofen) accessed by a bus from Thayngen, and as it turns out, the bus ride there and that town were the most interesting part of the hike, as much of the 12-km walk was on forest trails with only a couple of views, including a short look at the privately-held Herblingen Castle. Along the way we also passed a couple of marsh ponds, saw baby ducks, and encountered a pine marten on the trail. 

It wasn't one of my favourite hikes, as some forest stretches are welcome but not too much. On the other hand, we had great weather for this outing. And on the way there and back, we passed the lovely Rhine Falls, the largest falls by volume in Europe. 

Side note: From the Internet (SchweizMobil and MySwitzerland.com) is the following description of the region: "Where the forested Randen gently merges into Hegau with its distinctive lava domes, is the Reiat. The Biber rivulet has carved its way deep into the ground. The four villages, Bibern, Hofen, Altdorf and Opfertshofen were once owned by lords and clergy. In this idyllic, quiet corner of Switzerland there is a colourful interplay of fields, meadows, vineyards and mixed forests."

PART I: Trip North and Bus Ride through the Reiat Region

On the way north from Zurich, the train passes over the Rhine River at Eglisau. This is looking West. 

And just before reaching Schaffhausen, we pass the might Rhine Falls, the largest falls by volume in Europe (Not the best photos because of morning light. It is now 10:38). 

From Schaffhausen a train ride to Thayngen, the northernmost stop before the train crosses the border into Germany. From Thayngen we had a lovely 20-minute bus ride through the Reiat Region of this northern part of the country. 

A map of where the bus travels between the train station in Thayngen and our starting point in Opfertshofen. I sat in front next to the driver (there were few people on the bus) and found this to be one of the best parts of our day's excursion! This is, by the way, very close to the northernmost point of the country. 

The style of houses here in this northermost part of Switzerland. 

There were still quite a few trees in blossom, so we also enjoyed that, as well as the lovely yellow fields of rapeseed, which I was really hoping to see this spring. 

Still some orchards with blossoming trees!

As the bus passes through the village of Bibern (same name as the Biber River which flows through here in the Biber Valley), we can see on the hill the town of Opfertshofen, which is the end of the bus line and the start of our hike, although the bus first continues through a village called Altdorf. 

Final ascent by bus to Opfertshofen end of the line, but this village that we see is actually across the border in Germany. It is called Wiechs. 

PART II: Village of Opfertshofen and the start of our hike toward Schaffhausen

As our bus reaches the end of the line in Opfertshofen at 11:25, we get a look northwards over the most recent village we just passed through, Altdorf. (The bus stop there is called "Altdorf, Dorf", or translated: "Old Village, Village")

And here is our first view of one of the volcanic domes in the Hegau Region, which is actually in Germany. (I don't know what this one is called, but there is probably a fortress ruins at the top). 

We then took quite a while meandering through the cute village of Opfertshofen. 

In particular, the village church is a historical building dating from 1639. It is apparently a popular site. 

We walked around the large church grounds for a view into the neighbouring farmlands... 

Little church in Opfertshofen

Little church in Opfertshofen, built in 1639, enlarged in 1832, renovated in 1955. 

We had a good laugh here. First of all, this style of house totally does not suit the village look. But a sign on the wall caught our attention. Many villages boast that popular historical figures such as Goethe or Suvorov had sought accommodation there. This sign featured Mozart, which we thought was impossible as the house is fairly recent. Until we read more clearly: "In this house on July 25, 1776, on his way to Prague, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart did NOT overnight here"  !!!!!!

More of the village of Opfertshofen.

Nice spring colours.... springtime was "sprung" on us suddenly, and it already feels like summer. 

At the south end of the village we see that we are following a section of the regional themed trail no.902: "Reiatweg" ("Reiat Trail"). As it is now 11:45 and near lunch time, we are headed to the look-out point at "Horn", a 40-minute walk from here, hoping to find a bench there.  

I love the yellow fields of rapeseed at this time of year, and am so happy to enjoy this lovely landscape. In the background you can see three of the volcanic peaks, of which there are nine in total (all in Germany). 

Lovely landscape to the east, into Germany. 

Slightly to the northwest is a village in Germany called Wiechs. It lies exactly between two sections of the Swiss borders. 

Now outside of Opfertshofen, before we head up into the forest, is a perfect look-out spot to admire the "volcanic" landscape in Germany to the north. 

This region where we are is called the Lower Reiat. Across the border in Germany, the region is called Hegau. The "volcanic" domes, of which there are nine, are left-overs of volcanic activity 14 million years ago, but no longer active. North of Thayngen, in the German city of Singen, is one such dome, where I once visited the impressive ruins of the Hohentwiel Fortress. 

Off now finally on our actual hike, with a look back at the lovely look-out spot, where we might have stopped for our lunch break, but we really wanted to get a couple of kilometers behind us first. 

Beautiful landscape to the north. 

The yellow fields are just so pretty!

Final look over the Lower Reiat and Hegau Regions before we head up into the forest, where we ultimately did not have a lot of views. It's now 12:10 and high time to get going on this 12-km walk! (Weather report was for clearing skies after noon, that is why we left so late). 

Final look over the village of Opfertshofen, the Lower Reiat and Hegau Regions before we head up into the forest, where we ultimately did not have a lot of views. 

PART III: The 12-km walk from Opfertshofen to Herblingen (mostly through forest). 

Starting in Opfertshofen (after a stroll through the village) at 12:10, we first walked along the themed trail no.902: "Reiatweg", then joined themed trail no.34: "Klettgau-Rhei-Weg". I'd say about 10 km were strictly through forest with little views. At Herblingen you emerge to a clearing for a view of the privately-owned castle. We caught the bus in Herblingen at 16:15 for the total 2½-hour trip back home. 

After a climb through the forest, we are greeted by three wind-turbines, which are actually located across the border (to the west) in Germany, as the border is right behind the small yellow field. We also saw these turbines from the other side on our June 2022 hike to the northernmost point in Switzerland near Bargen. 

We then got to the "Horn" look-out point at about 12:45, where we stayed for only about 15 minutes to eat our sandwiches. (In the shade here it was a bit cool with a bit of wind). 

View from our lunch bench at Horn to the German town of Büsslingen to the north, on the other side of the Biber Valley and the Swiss border. 

Although most of the trail was through forest, we did reach a couple of clearings of farmland. At least the paths were comfortable. 

Another rare view in a clearing in the forest near where we joined the "Klettgau-Rhine-Trail". Also into German territory, although this village is most likely called "Schlatt am Randen". 

At 1:45 p.m. we reached the junction of the two themed trails no.902 and 34, and continued from here on the "Klettgau-Rhein-Weg". 

On a small path in the very quiet forest we spotted this animal on the path, which I could only photograph from behind. Later Internet search reveals that this is probably a Pine Marten. We've never encountered one before, but they are apparently quite common in Switzerland. 

The trail now continues as a wide forest road. 

Another rare clearing. No view, but the planted fields look pretty. 

By 2:45 p.m. we finally reached some marshes which we had seen on our map. 

Unfortunately there was not a lot to see of the ponds here in the marsh area as it was very overgrown with all kinds of green stuff!

We made a small detour to a little bridge where the stream ran out of the pond. 

I thought it might make a nice photo of the pond with Urs climbing over the fallen tree trunks. 

Further on we arrived at another little bridge. 

Here at the second little bridge we surprised two familes of ducks, which then promptly headed out onto the pond! So many babies!

VIDEO:

Two families of Mallards with lots of babies swimming on the pond

We often see such structures in marsh areas, where you can hide to observe marsh birds. But here, there was no water at all. 

A small ascent through the forest and we reach the grounds of the Herblingen Castle. This castle is privately owned. 

The best part of the castle sighting were these three goats, which came running to the fence to meet us!

VIDEO:

The goats came running to greet us!

Several statues decorate the castle grounds. 

We detoured along the busy road to the other side of the castle grounds to see if we could have a peek inside the grounds at some point. Mostly we just saw these lion monuments. 

This is all that we could see of the castle grounds near the entrance, as the walls were pretty high. It looks like they had their own chapel!

Back down now along the main road, with a much better view of the castle from here... and the beautiful yellow fields again!

Close-up view of the Herblingen Castle. 

On the last forest stretch before coming to the main road and the various bus stops, we were directed to a cave (Höhle Dachsenbühl) under these rocks which was apparently used as a burial site during the early Stone Age (4000 years BC). 

Our bus got to Schaffhausen train station at 4:30 p.m. We were early enough for our 16:47 train connection, for the relatively quick trip home of only 1 hour and 20 minutes. 

What this hike looks like on Google Satellite Maps. This region called the Lower Reiat is surrounded on three sides by the country of Germany. Starting our walk in Opfertshofen at 11:50, we got to the nearest bus stop at the north end of Schaffhausen at about 4:10 p.m. The entire walk was 12 km, mostly through forest. 

A wider view of this region in the very north of Switzerland. Near the village of Bargen is the northernmost point of the country (which we visited in June 2022). Also interesting here is an actual enclave of Germany located just north of the Rhine River and east of Schaffhausen. (Surrounded on all sides by Switzerland). 

Passing by the mighty Rhein Falls again on our way to Switzerland. It was better lighting to photograph this time, as it was now 16:50. 

The train between Schaffhausen and Zurich also passes through a section of Germany, which juts into Switzerland. The two towns here are called Jestetten and Lottstetten (this is Lottstetten), and the local trains on this line actually stop at these two stations. 

Side note because I find this fascinating: Just south of the Rhine Falls, which are located in Switzerland, is a "piece" of Germany which juts eastward to the Rhine River, so that there is actually a part of Germany located SOUTH of Switzerland!

And once again we cross a bridge over the Rhine River with a view of the viaduct in Eglisau. This time we are looking eastward. In March of 2017 we did a hike through the vineyards here, and ended in Eglisau, walking right beneath that viaduct, 

The weather wasn't so great further in the south, so we were very lucky with the one spot which had nice weather this day. This is a webcam of Küssnacht am Rigi, earlier in the day. 

Location of the furthest north section of the country of Switzerland.