LeadershipTrail.net

49,000 people live in Lörrach, the district town that is the cultural and economic centre in the tri-border region of Germany, France, and Switzerland. The town is extremely popular for cross-border shopping and boasts an excellent pedestrian shopping area and lots of street cafes.
Here is the town's own tourist website but if you are new to the area and you want to get out and do something that will give you some quality time with the children – then check out these ideas:

Free activities*

Grütt Park – Lörrach's city park – great for cycling, running, kicking a football, throwing a frisbee, or playing in the stream on a hot day not to mention the attractive playground.
Rötteln Castle – Climb to the top of both towers and pretend to be a knight in shining armour. The lower part of the castle is free. The upper part has a very small charge which includes entry to a small but interesting museum.
St. Chrischona transmission tower - you can’t get into the tower but it is still impressive to look at up close. There is a great view here of the area. The church is also worth a visit. New is the Generation Parcours with 10 different activities for children from a labyrinth to a zip-line as well as a walk (signs in German, French and English).
Lange Erlen Animal Park - a small zoo just across the border from Weil am Rhein into Switzerland, with free entry.
Lörrach Library - children can join for free
Dam building and throwing pooh-sticks on the river Wiese – best on the Wiese upstream from Steinen
Train spotting on the main German railways, Basel to Freiburg line from the Friedensbrücke in Weil am Rhein. You will see the white ICE (high speed trains) as well as the freight, other regional trains and trains from other European countries.
Fly kites on the Tüllinger - this hill gives the best views of Lörrach, Basel, France and the airport as well as the best wind conditions for kite flying.
Geocaching - treasure hunt game using the GPS function on mobile phones. Once the app has been downloaded you will find 100s of geocaches hidden around this area. Two that we created ourselves can be found here and here
FlightRadar24 – Track airplanes flying overhead using this great app (free and paid versions)
Vitra slide tower – beside the world famous Vitra museum this slide is an architectural marvel. It is open to children and adults from 10-18 hrs and mats are provided. Slide as many times as you want for free.
Vita Parcour - 3.2 km forest trail with 15 exercise stations for you to choose from
Walk and picnic in the Wolfsschlucht, Kandern – a part of the forest where there is a special climate. Fascinating landscape and a great spot for a picnic
Basel Airport viewing gallery – There are visitors/viewing terraces on both the Swiss and the French side of the airport. The terraces provide an overview of the entire airport ramp and the air traffic on taxiways and runways.
The Grand Canal d’Alsace – The canal running parallel with the Rhine river has a number of locks which are great for viewing the large cargo boats.
Storchengehege Holzen - a small village which encourages storks to make their nest. You can drive right up to the special enclosure and observe these huge birds up close.
Kick football at local school pitch
Frisbee/badmington... - purchase at Müller in Lörrach's pedestrian zone

Activities with a charge

Lörrach Swimming pools - medium size indoor pool (October-April) has an 8 lane 25 m pool, a children's pool and a baby pool. The outdoor pool (May-September) has an Olympic size swimming pool, a fun pool, slides, whirlpool, wave machine, 3 diving boards, lots of grass space for sun-bathing, football field, 2 beach volleyball fields, 2 table tennis tables, trampolines (extra charge), a cafe and a tuck-shop.
Steam train ride on the Kanderli - every Sunday (May-October) from Haltingen to Kandern where you can walk around, buy an ice-cream and get back to the station for the journey home.
Forest with high-wire climbing structures – one of Lörrach's best attractions for the young and fit. It's a little bit pricy but well worth the experience. Each entry is for 3 hours and includes a safety orientation at the beginning.
Vogelpark Steinen – Bird Park with a really entertaining falconry show (even if you don't understand German) that allows you to see many birds of prey in full flight. Also has barbary apes. There are barbecue pitches for hire.
Bicycle hire – enjoy many kilometres of traffic-free paths - bring food and drink and have a picnic.
Explore Basel city by public transport with the 24hr TicketTriRegio - take the bus, trams, and trains in the border regions of Germany, Switzerland and France.
Basel Zoo - an excellent world class family-friendly zoo (bring your own picnic in a rucksack and spend the whole day there)
Rhine ferry - take the small Münster ferry from the north side of the Rhine across to the steps leading up to Basel's most famous church, the Basler Münster.
Mona Lisa - best Italian ice-cream cafe in the centre of town with something for all tastes.

For a rainy day

Museum of local history with special exhibitions (signs unfortunately only in German and French)
10-pin bowling – not the most modern facilities but good value for money
Climbing wall - in the Impulsiv centre which offers many other sport activities
Laguna Indoor adventure pool - in Weil am Rhein
Soft play adventure areas – Oki-doki Lörrach or Kinderland Weil (our boys say this one is much better)
Basler Papiermühle - fascinating insight into the history of paper and the printing press. The staff do a good job of making it interactive and enjoyable for all ages (just discovered this recently and I'm looking forward to going back).
Karting - something for the teenagers. I have never been there but it looks expensive.
Build and fly paper air-planes – here, here and here
Read to your kids (or listen to an audio book)
Play Lego
Play boardgames

Within an hour of Lörrach

Europapark is one of the best theme parks in Europe and it is less the 1-hour drive away. It is expensive but well worth it!
Hasenhorn Mountain coaster - Germany's most spectacular mountain coaster, the Hasenhorn in Todtnau. Strap yourself in and away you go on an unforgettable downhill journey – great fun for young and old alike.
Todtnauer Waterfalls - beautiful waterfalls. 15 minute walk from the car park. A path leads up to the top but because of the obvious dangers, it is not recommend for small children.
Steinwasenpark - a cheaper alternative to EuropaPark and kids under 12 will have much more fun here for their money.
Feldberg - the main ski region in the area with cable cars and a great view of the Black Forest
Schluchsee – a charming lake in the Black Forest with a quiet town and a lovely (but often busy) outdoor pool. For families I recommend the 1 hour round-trip on the boat.
Galaxy Schwarzwald in Titisee – the best swimming pool for slides and tubes in the region. Costly but the kids will enjoy it a lot. The nearby town has lots of souvenir shops and is a real tourist magnet.
Erdmannshöhle - explore the network of caves (guided tours probably only in German)

If you are going to be on holiday in the region, you may consider purchasing The Black Forest Card which offers unrestricted access to public transport and reduced prices on admissions.

Annual/monthly Events

Lörrach City Run (June) - annual family run with categories for all ages and abilities
Slow-up (September) - a Sunday when a number of main roads in Germany, France and Switzerland are closed to motorised traffic and open to cyclists, runners and roller-bladers in a one-way circuit. Well organised, free and lots of places along the way to buy a hotdog…
German Railway repair workshop open day - DB Werkshof Haltingen (watch local press for details)
Guide-dog training school open day is every first Saturday of the month at 15:00 in Allschwil, Switzerland
Basel Museums Night (January) - Each year on a Friday evening from 5pm - 2am. With your ticket (children are free) you can enjoy 8 hours of travel on special shuttle busses and gain entry to 40 museums in the tri-country area. If you plan well in advance what you want to see, you can save a lot of money. But remember it is very popular and many of the venues will be overcrowded. For that reason I recommend it for children 10+.

If you have more ideas, please leave them in the comments section so I can consider adding them

* Take care if going through grassy or forest areas as you are likely to pick up ticks. Children (and many adults) from the area are usually immunised but should still always have someone examine you after a day out. They should be removed from the skin carefully using tweezers or a special tick card “credit-card” which can be purchased for around 5€ at any chemist “Apotheke” http://www.tickremoval.co.uk/tick_card.html Just ask for a “Zeckenkarte"

Slieve Donard mountain 850 m climb from sea level

For a while I have been asking myself what the difference is between fell running and trail running. Last weekend I found out the hard way, when I accompanied three fell runners up the highest mountain in N. Ireland, Slieve Donard in the Mountains of Mourne.

It was a humbling experience to watch the leader of the group effortlessly stride straight up like a mountain goat while I was reduced at times to going on all fours and being offered energy gells. The stamina required to go straight up a steep grassy sloop, maintaining forward momentum while a gale-force wind makes one side of your face feel numb and the mist disorientates you - cannot be overstated.

So if you asked me what's the difference, I would say that fell running involves setting a compass bearing to the summit and basically running the most direct route to the top and the same to the next checkpoint. Whereas trail running (as the name suggests) is about following the trail wherever it takes you (even if it is not the most direct route).

I now have a fresh appreciation and admiration for fell runners. I really appreciated the day out but my mind is made up – I'm staying with my Black Forest trails!

Another post of mine on fell running

For more on fell running in Northern Ireland visit: Northern Ireland Mountain Running Association