Lac d'Oeschinen.. is it REALLY worth the hype... (especially in peak season)?

Once you look at it on FB, the algorithm will keep sending you feeds. Only way to find out if it is worth it is to go and make your own judgement. Nice train ride up from Spiez though.

I know it looks amazing but I was wondering if it gets really as crowded as it seems to be. And if we can avoid the line up at the cable car by walking to the lake.

Ah yes we will actually use the R1 train from Brig to Spiez when we left zermat for Lauterbrunnen, as it seems more scenic than the regular route :) Can't wait!

Not impossible to get there pretty early - 6am train will get you to Kandersteg by 7:40. Gondola doesn't even start until 8:30. They are starting a timed reservation slot system this year to try to reduce the long lines. Weekend vs weekday doesn't really matter that much in peak seasons are tourists are there regardless. And yes, it does get that crowded - I basically don't go there in the summer anymore since 2019.
Like at the majority of mountain locations in Switzerland, most of the tourists at that time of the year are not there to actually hike (or in some cases even enjoy nature!), they just want to take their obligatory photos for social media (often wearing totally inappropriate footwear for mountain areas) and thus stick to a few easy-to-reach spots. The gondola station and the path to the lake itself will qualify as "ultra touristic" but if you go off and do any kind of hike away from that main path, you will get away from the majority of people. Sometimes trails are closed after rock slides etc, so you will of course have to double check conditions before you go.
It is not an easy hike (very steep), but if you are able to manage the hike up from Kandersteg and back down, that is a really good option - you still get the views but avoid almost all the crowds. Info here https://www.bls.ch/en/freizeit-und-ferien/ausfluege/oeschinensee-wanderung
Whether it's worth it - my only advice is to not get overly pressured by algorithms. There is so much to see in the region, you will not run out of "Wow!" moments whether you go to Oeschinensee or not.

Yes, it's as crazy as it looks. Once you get up onto the trail about 30% in, crowds thin out because most day trippers are just going for selfies around the lake or to the first viewpoint they can get. They have started doing timed cable car tickets now to try to work on the crowds, but no matter what it's going to be very crowded.

It is a beautiful lake, but it's been ruined by social media and overtourism in many ways. The crowds got so bad that the lovely family who runs the inn up there decided to shut down because it got too crazy. We stayed up at the lake in the inn the summer before they closed a couple years ago for a week and really enjoyed it, but that's because we got to be there before and after the day trippers arrive.

They're also dealing with the very imminent danger of a major landslide. The side of the mountain has been falling apart for years now so one side of the lake is completely closed. When we were there we could hear rock slides in the middle of the night and the town of Kandersteg has been doing a bunch of work below Oeschinensee trying to make sure that when the mountain does give way that it doesn't destroy the town.

I don't like to make great uncrowded spots too obvious on public forums to ruin them the way Oeschinensee has been, but since you're a skilled hiker beyond the normal day tripper, you can private message me if you want and I can tell you about a couple good alternatives that aren't crowded that I don't share on public forums.

Yes we are hikers so we do not mind walking :) So we could simply walk from Kandersteg to the lake to avoid the crowds if there is a long line-up. It takes 1h30. 3 kms. One-way. And go there REALLYYYYYYYYYY early. We could thus take the gondola if there is no line-up, unless we have to book it in advance.. Maybe we could hike down from the lake to Kandersteg if it gets crowded by the afternoon..

This lake reminds me of the Lower, Middle and Upper Blue Lakes we visited in Colorado... These lakes were amazing. It looks very similar. Not sure if anyone has been there?

I am so worried about being disappointed because it is too crowded :( But I am also a tourist ah ah! And I go there at peak season so... I have to deal with it...

Wandereg, I have a feeling that I will be disappointed once I get there :(
I am not used to such beautiful lakes but if it gets ruined by crowds, I know I won't feel confortable :(
i am not into selfies ah ah..

So maybe I should keep this day for a beautiful hike around Lauterbrunnen :(

I went May 2022; the place was pretty empty, so serene.

It won't be empty at the beginning of August :)

this is the hike I was planning to do
what do you think

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/switzerland/bern/oeschinensee-oberbargli

Hope it avoids the crowd ah ah!

It will be crowded for the first 1/2 mile and last 1/2 mile of that hike + the walk it takes to get to/from the cable car. The middle part of that hike won't be crazy because most people show up to the lake in sundresses, high heels and selfie sticks, so they certainly aren't hiking somewhere that requires effort :)

If you don't like crowds, you do need to prepare your expectations for the entire region in general. You're going in August, the height of the tourist season, and everywhere is going to be extremely crowded, except for the moderate to difficult level hikes. The train stations are going to be absolutely packed, the cable cars are going to be stuffed, the touristy places are going to have lines, it will feel very crowded. Once you get out on hiking trails that require effort it's beautiful, serene and amazing, but everything you do in between there is going to be cramped.

I know :( I really need to add these extra waiting time for cable cars and trains when I plan my days ahhhhhhhhhhh! I mentally prepare myself to it. I can not really complain. I am a tourist who is part of the problem ah ah! Can't believe I am also planning to go hiking in the Dolomites for 2026. Always going to crowded places ah ah!

Back in 1988 I hiked from Gimmelwald to Gorneren where I stayed in the Naturefriendhaus. From Gorneren I hiked up Hohturli to Blumlisalphutte (spectacular hike) and down past Oeschinensee to Kandersteg.
Great hike. Even if the crowds are an issue around the lake that hike would still be well worth it.

Yes, I would have recommended a version of that, but it requires an overnight either in a hut along the way or a push of a really long day and an overnight at Oeschinensee (Arva). It's not a realistic one day hike.

Yes too long unfortunately :(

What about this hike?

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/switzerland/bern/oeschinensee-oberbargli

Adding maybe an extra 2h30 if we walk to the lake from the train station (both ways)

Yes, I've been to Colorado's Blue Lakes and also to Oeschinen. The latter is nearly ruined, IMO, by commercialism. Yes, it's a beautiful spot but that and the crowding. make it not as pleasant a visit.

The first lake of the blue lake seems to be exactly like Oeschinen (when yoj hike towards the middle lake). Am I right? (Not sure if you also went to Ice Lake and Island Lakes in Colorado but this was the most amazing lakes I have ever seen there.)