Mehliskopf Tower

The Mehliskopf is a 1,008-metre-high mountain in the northern Black Forest, part of the main ridge running between Sand to the north and Hundseck to the south-west. Its summit lies above the Schwarzwaldhochstraße, the scenic route that winds past the western slopes. The eastern slopes now belong to the Nationalpark Schwarzwald, opened in 2014. The mountain’s name refers to its rounded, flour-dusted summit when seen from a distance. The Mehliskopf-Turm is an 11-metre stone-and-timber observation tower built in 1880 by the Schwarzwaldverein. A spiral metal staircase of about 35 steps leads to the covered viewing platform. The tower has been repaired several times, most recently in the 1990s after storm Lothar in 1999 opened new long-distance views across the surrounding countryside. From the platform visitors look out over the northern Black Forest, the Rhine valley, the Bühler Höhe and, on clear days, the Vosges mountains. The tower stands on the western edge of the summit plateau, reached on foot from the Sand or Hundseck car parks along the Schwarzwaldhochstraße. Below, the northern flank offers a ski slope with lifts and a year-round bobsleigh run, while the south-western side has another ski area at Hundseck.