The Schönbuch is an almost completely wooded area south west of Stuttgart and part of the Southern German Escarpment Landscape (German: "südwestdeutsches Schichtstufenland"). In 1972 the centre zone of the Schönbuch became the first natural park in Baden-Württemberg. A geological trail is located in the natural park Schönbuch at Kirnberg[1] and was created in 1977 to the 500th anniversary of the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen. Several panels explain the sediments of the Keuper highland (shale, marl and sandstone) and the development of the Kirnbach valley. Today the 156 km² large reserve is referred to as Schönbuch whereas the original, more comprehensive area is usually called Schönbuch-Region.
The natural park Schönbuch is an important recreational area of the Stuttgart region, also because it is intersected by relatively few roads only.
The commuter train called the Schönbuchbahn runs though the Schönbuch connecting Dettenhausen to Böblingen where it connects with the S-Bahn system.
The Schönbuch is located in central Baden-Württemberg – approximately 25 km south of the city center of Stuttgart, about 15 km south west of Stuttgart Airport. It is also close to Reutlingen (south east), the university city of Tübingen (south), Herrenberg (southwest) and Böblingen (northwest).