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Recommendations for Hiking plus lake in Tyrollean Alps

I'm planning a trip to Tyrol/Salzkammergut area for next July and I'm looking for some recommendations for a place with both a lake and nearby mountain hiking. This summer we hiked in Muerren, Switzerland and loved it. Before that we were in Annecy and loved the lake there. I see on the map that there are numerous mountain lakes in Tyrol. Can anyone recommend a place(s) that would combine a nice swimming lake with mountain hiking?

Posted by
850 posts

If you take 186 south out of Otztal you'll find lots of ski areas with nice trails and small glacial lakes.

Posted by
1275 posts

Take a look at the Achensee. It is next to the Naturpark Karwendel. Many places to swim around the lake. There is a new bath/spa at Atoll Achensee. The Rofan Seilbahn and Karwendel Bergbahn are nearby. Lots of Alm and Huette to hike to. There is regular ferry/cruise runs around the lake in Spring-Fall. There is a golf course in Pertisau. The Achensee steam cog railway is there. I like staying in Pertisau and there are accommodations from holiday apartments to four star hotels. Not the highest mountains at 2200m, but a nice area all year-round (winter cold blue sky spectacular). Maurach is basically the start of the Zillertal to the south well worth exploring and visiting. Without Stau it's a two hour drive from Munich. I lke the hike/views from the Rofan Seilbahn to the Dalfazalm. I think this area gets overlooked by many International tourists.
https://www.achensee.com/
https://www.dalfazalm.at/

Posted by
1875 posts

Take a look at the Achensee. ... Many places to swim around the lake.

Achensee is among the top 5 lakes in Austria for low water temperatures.
Even in summer the temperature rises barely above 60°F (17°C).

Posted by
1275 posts

The Achensee shallower bathing areas are generally warmer. Water temp of 22C today in Maurach: https://www.achensee.com/wetter-webcams/ July would be cooler though.

Friends used to spend a lot of time camping with the kids at the Attersee years ago. Good for swimming with warmer water, but the mountains are @1800m or lower. An hours drive from Salzburg.

Posted by
71 posts

Hi Mike,

I'm headed to Alpbach (one of the suggestions above) in a couple of weeks for a hiking holiday and, while there are technically swimming lakes nearby, I don't think it's one of the big draws of the village.

However, I am a keen swimmer so I can heartily recommend Wolfgansee in the Salzkammergut if you are looking for great hiking combined with great swimming. The lake is quite warm in the summer (certainly compared to the lakes higher in the mountains) and I loved swimming in it every day after my hikes. I stayed in Sankt Gilgen and the beaches there were great. The hiking was gentler than in the Tyrol but still fantastic, with amazing views in every direction.

I spent part of last autumn hiking in the Wilder Kaiser region of the Tyrol and, while it was too cold for swimming then, the bathing lakes looked like they would be ideal in the summer. It's a major family destination though so I'd expect they would be very crowded in July.

Next year I'm hoping to make it to Carinthia and combine some lake swimming (in Austria's warmest lakes) with great hiking along the Alpe-Adria trail!

Have fun planning your travels!

Posted by
3 posts

Thank you for all of your wonderful recommendations. There are so many wonderful places to see and I value your suggestions.