Lakes
Turquoise water below glaciers, a church on an island reached by wooden boat, a fjord-like lake 190 m deep under the Watzmann: mountain lakes to swim in, row across or walk around.
- 3 places
- 2 countries
Lakes to swim in, row across or walk around, compared
This page gathers the lakes with a page on the site: 3 lakes in 2 countries, from the turquoise of Lake Louise, coloured by rock flour from the glaciers above it, to a church on an island reached by 99 stone steps at Bled. Each page gives swimming zones, boats, car parks and rules, read at the manager.
Read more
Use it to choose. The text below sorts the lakes by what you do on them, compares eight in a table, says which shores you drive to and which you reach on foot alone, and when the water is warm enough to swim. Filter the grid by country, or open the map.
Where to stay
Hotels, guesthouses and rentals around the places most visited on this page.
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Swim, row, sail or walk: what each lake is for
Some of these lakes are for swimming in, one is crossed by boat because no path follows its shore, and one is reached on foot alone. The French lakes are also gathered under France, and every lake sits among the natural sites.
How to choose among the lakes: eight compared
Eight lakes side by side, each with a figure verified on its page; the table of altitude, area and depth for every lake on this page follows.
| Lake | Country | Go for | Round the shore |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Bled | Slovenia | The island church by pletna, a castle built in 1004 | 3.7 mi, about 1 h 30 |
| Lake Königssee | Germany | Electric boats to St. Bartholomä, 623 ft deep | No shore path: 35 min each way by boat |
| Lake Eibsee | Germany | A loop below the Zugspitze, fine for pushchairs | 4.7 mi, about 2 h |
Lakes in figures
| Lake | Country | Altitude | Area | Greatest depth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Eibsee | Germany | 3,192 ft | 0.7 mi² | |
| Lake Königssee | Germany | 1,978 ft | 2 mi² | 623 ft |
| Lake Bled | Slovenia | 1,558 ft | 0.6 mi² | 100 ft |
Boats and cars in summer
Driving to the shore takes planning on the busiest lakes, and the car park often fills first.
Lake Louise
The lakeshore car park fills by sunrise in summer, at 42 CAD a day; Parks Canada ran a booked shuttle from 15 May to 12 October 2026.
Lake Braies
From 1 July to 15 September 2026, the Prags valley took cars between 9:00 and 16:00 on an online booking alone; a summer rule returns in 2027.
Lake Königssee
Leave for St. Bartholomä before 10:00 and start back by 14:30, says the operator; tickets can sell out by the start of the afternoon.
Lake Eibsee and Lake Bohinj
Arrive before 10:00 on fine days, the one access road to Eibsee jams; Bohinj caps parking by the water at 2 hours.
Rules to know before you go
| Rule | Not allowed |
|---|---|
| Wild camping (bivouac) | Lake Königssee |
| Camping | Lake Königssee |
| Fires | Lake Königssee |
| Drones | Lake Königssee |
Each page gives the full rules, with their source and the date they were checked.
Walks on site
- Lake Eibsee: Eibsee-Rundweg (4.7 mi, 2 h, easy)
When to go: warm water, full lakes and quiet months
The season of a lake is set by its water: the temperature, the level and the boats that run on it.
Swimming
June to mid-September at the castle beach of Bled; Bohinj tests its bathing water every 14 days from 15 June to 31 August.
Level
Serre-Ponçon is fullest after the snowmelt, in May or June, and lowest in February and March, when the Saint-Michel islet can be reached on foot.
Boats
Königssee runs all year except 24 December and when the lake freezes; the Eibsee boat hire closed at the end of the 2026 season and reopens in May 2027.
Quiet and cold
Lake Louise opens all year, with a skating rink lit every evening in winter; Sorapis is snow-free from late June to September.
Can you swim?
Swimming allowed
Lake Bled and Lake Eibsee.
Pushchairs, wheelchairs and dogs
Flat shores take everyone; mountain paths do not.
Pushchairs
The Eibsee loop in summer, and a sledge in winter; the Braies path as far as the south shore; a flat promenade on part of the Sainte-Croix shore.
Reduced mobility
About 6.2 mi of the Annecy shore path and its greenway; an accessible shuttle at Lake Louise taking two wheelchairs, on request.
Dogs
Muzzled on the Königssee boats, banned from the eight public beaches of Serre-Ponçon, free on the Bohinj boat.
Frequently asked questions
Can you swim in these lakes?
In most of them, in designated or supervised zones: 13 beaches at Annecy, nine supervised beaches at Serre-Ponçon, the castle beach and two bays at Bled, Fužine Bay and Ukanc at Bohinj, many access points around Eibsee. Swimming is forbidden at Lake Sorapis, and the Braies tourist association asks visitors not to swim, because the lake lies in a protected nature park.
How warm is the water in summer?
Around 23 °C on average at Annecy and at Serre-Ponçon, 20 to 24 °C at Bled, 18 to 22 °C at Eibsee and 18.1 °C on average in August at Bohinj, all figures from the tourist offices. Braies peaks at about 14 °C, and the surface of Bohinj averages 1.6 °C in February.
Can you take your own kayak or paddleboard on these lakes?
Not everywhere. Private boats, kayaks and paddleboards are banned on Königssee, and at Braies the hire rowing boats are the one craft allowed. On Bled you can paddle but no longer land on the island; on Sainte-Croix any craft without a combustion engine is welcome; Serre-Ponçon lists stand-up paddle all year at Pré d’Émeraude and in the Chanteloube and Saint-Michel bays.
How long does it take to walk around a lake?
About 1 h 30 for the 3.7 mi of Bled, 1 h to 1 h 30 for the 2.2 mi of Braies, about 2 h for the 4.7 mi of Eibsee and just under 3 h at Bohinj. The 26 mi path around Annecy is broken between Doussard and Angon, and no path follows the shore of Königssee.
Do you have to pay to visit a lake?
The water is free at Braies, where the car parks alone charge, and 10 of the 13 beaches of Annecy cost nothing. Elsewhere the way in costs: the Banff park fee of 12.25 CAD a day at Lake Louise, €23.40 for the return boat to St. Bartholomä, €12 for Bled Island plus €20 for the pletna. Each page gives the price and the year it applies to.
Which lakes can you reach without a car?
Annecy by TGV from Paris; Eibsee by rack railway from Garmisch-Partenkirchen in about 30 minutes; Königssee by buses 840, 841 and 843 from Berchtesgaden station; Braies by bus 442 from Toblach or Niederdorf; Bled from Lesce-Bled station, 2.6 mi away. For Sorapis, Dolomitibus line 51 reached the Passo Tre Croci in 23 minutes on its 2026 summer timetable.