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My Journey
Oeschinen Lake FAQs
Posts of beautiful, picturesque landscapes of what looked like another world have been blowing up my social media feed for a few years now. Just about every time I looked in the descriptions, I’d learn that these posts were using #Switzerland or were being tagged with geocoordinates that corresponded to Switzerland.
When I was living in Korea, I constantly dreamed of hiking some of these amazing locations. Not because influencers were making posts about them, but because I was longing for some tougher mountains to hike other than the mountains of Korea.
However, I will say that being stationed in Colorado for the first four years of my career was an absolute God-send for my soul lol. Every chance I got, I drove west into the Rockies to find a new trail to hike or a new summit to conquer.
As John Muir would say it, I was constantly headed into the mountains to lose my mind and find my soul.
Now that I live in Germany, only 3 or 4 hours away from Switzerland, my plan is to fill the photo gallery on my phone with what was, at one point, only photos or reels in my social media feed.
After my amazing experience in the Bavarian Alps, it left me begging for more mountain hikes in this incredible new range. Naturally, I didn’t waste any time before planning a trip to Switzerland, and that very next weekend, I pointed the Subaru south and headed out of town.
Destination: Oeschinen Lake
Oeschinen Lake (known as Oeschinensee Lake in Germany) is considered by many to be one of the most gorgeous lakes in all of Switzerland. Having now see this amazing landscape with my own two eyes, I can tell you that this lake’s reputation is fitting. If you read through the individual reviews of Oeschinen Lake, you’ll find the underlying theme is one of mind-melting beauty; a grand turquoise lake surrounded by hundred-foot tall rock faces dripping with over 20 hues of blue and gray that literally take your breath away.
However, as surprising as it might be, my first encounter with this landscape wasn’t one of “oh my gosh, look how beautiful!” like most everyone else. Rather, at about 3 miles into my mike, I crossed over the final ridge leading to one of the most picturesque moments in my life to date, and the feeling I had was actually…nostalgia!
But how to you have nostalgia of a place you’ve never been before? Let me explain…
Colorado has this amazing ridge in the southwest part of the state affectionately known as “The Swiss Alps of Colorado”. Located just outside Telluride, you can hike all throughout these “alps” known as the Sneffels mountain range, and you’ll not be disappointed by a single view; I know from experience lol.
And, if you ever get the chance, I highly recommend taking a hike to visit the Blue Lakes area. Simply put: the environment is synonymous with jaw-dropping.
My journey to this range was back when COVID was forcing everyone to “telework”. Being that I could log-in from anywhere, I took a trip to Telluride to summit Mt Sneffels (one of Colorado’s beautiful 14ers). The route I took sent me hiking right through the Blue Lakes area, and I couldn’t believe just how gorgeous the area was as I got higher and higher above the lakes, a lot like it was to reach the view of Oeschinen Lake.
The deep blue skies peppered with fluffy clouds, the crystal clear, glass-like water, and the snow-dusted mountain backdrop made for a perfect hiking setting. And if there’s one thing I now know, it’s that THIS location is where the Sneffels mountain range got its nickname for being the Swiss Alps of Colorado.
Honestly, if you compare the two photos above, you can see the most striking resemblance! Equally comparable is the hike that it takes to get to each one: long and enduring lol.
My Journey to Oeschinen Lake
My morning started just outside town at a trailhead located within the Camping Rendezvous campground. I found this route using the “All Trails” app (which I highly recommend for finding hiking trails wherever you are). However, just before I began, I remembered that I still hadn’t secured a spot to camp for the night.
Usually, in Colorado at least, I prefer to go dispersed camping for free. Dispersed camping is basically finding an area in the National Forest, setting up shop, and voila you’re set for the night!
….the Swiss aren’t exactly fans of dispersed camping though lol. What they call “wild camping”, it’s rather sparse and hard to find spots where one can actually “wild camp”. From my experience so far, it has been a pain in the butt to actually find a place to do it.
So, I popped my head into the registration hut real quick before continuing on with my pre-planned journey and asked the campground host if they had room for the night. Sure enough, they did; I was so pumped! This meant that as soon as I was done with my hike, I could literally come back and just crash for the night lol, best feeling ever after a hike.
Oeschinen Lake from Camping Rendezvous
AllTrails told me that the hike was going to be about 8 miles, or about 5 hours round trip. However, as I spoke with the amazingly kind campground host while getting my site reserved, he gave me some intel on an even better route that was closer to 10 miles and would likely take 7-8 hours.
He also mentioned something about having to hold on to a cable as you crossed a rock face suspended hundreds of meters over the water but, I thought, “won’t be too bad”! So, I chose his route over the AlTrails route and pressed on lol.
The first 3 miles of the trek were an uphill battle to say the least! Up, up, UP I climbed, and boy was I glad I was getting started early; I couldn’t imagine doing this amount of incline on a hot day! At the 3-mile mark, all that hard work paid off with an incredible view of Lake Oeschinen set beneath the towering cliffs of the Blüemlisalp massif on the east side of the lake.
Breathless from the incline and now from the scenery, I took a moment to simply be still and take in the surroundings. What was once an Instagram reel being fed to me by some algorithm was now God’s perfect design feeding my soul.
I could’ve sat there all day, taking photos, and admiring the beauty and grandeur of it all. However, as I was only three miles in to my hike with a whole day left of exploring, I pressed on!
Judging by the landscape and the faint characteristics of a trail line switch-backing along the ridge, I could easily see that I was at the highest point in the hike. Knowing that, I knew that the hard part was over and it was (literally) all downhill from here!
However, I still had the challenge of traversing across the massive, sheer rock face on the east side of the lake that the campground host warned me about. To give you an idea of what that looked like, check out the image below lol.
Do you see that small ledge about halfway up from the lake before the grassy ledge up top? Yep, I had to cross that lol. Needless to say, I was a tad nervous for that part. Buuuuut I didn’t have to cross that part for another few miles or so, so that was future Kyle’s problem lol.
As I pressed on, I saw in the distance what looked like a bunch of umbrellas. Sure enough, as I got even closer, I saw a small hut and a large patio. To my surprise, this little hut had a name: the Berghaus Unterbärgli. Also to my surprise, this hut sold beer 🙂 lol. Naturally, I took a load off by enjoying the sights and indulging in a German beer. Who wouldn’t?!
The best part wasn’t the beer though, nor was it the scenery believe it or not; it was the company! Joining me at close to 6,500′ above sea level were a dozen or so happy cows.
While I rested my tired legs, these beauties grazed the Swiss mountain, ringing their cowbells with each bite, and filling the air with the most beautiful bell choir I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to. It was surreal!
Pressing on, I knew I had about 6-or-so more miles before I’d make it back to camp. It was now time to cross the rockface and get to the other side.
As the trail got narrower and narrower, I about had a heart attack when out of nowhere I heard what sounded like something charging right for me! I must have spooked something because as I turned my head I saw horns fleeting from me, down a grassy landing and towards the lake.
It was a three Alpine ibexs! I had to google what they were because I had never seen one of these before lol!
I tried to capture a good photo of these majestic creatures but man were these guys fast! I barely got one or two shots with my camera before they disappeared over the grassy ridge. I was so worried that maybe they had just plunged to their death!
As I pressed on, the next thing I knew they were above me somehow, scaling the rocks! Agile little buggers, I’ll tell ya lol.
Now, when the kind campground host told me that the route was going to be a “fun” loop, he didn’t say that it was going to require a serious comfortability with heights. As I clung to the steel cable fastened directly into the rock face, I kept telling myself two things: don’t slip, and don’t look down. The fall alone would’ve lasted at least 6 or so seconds before I’d either die on impact, or from a heart attack lol.
Safely across the rock face, I took a second to assess the route down and then pressed on; I was home free! Tired, sweaty, and in need of some food, I had one last thing to do before I could consider the hike complete: jump in the lake of course!
Safely off the mountain and on the beaches of Oeschinen Lake, I ducked behind a tree to strip down and change into the swim trunks I brought with me. No, I don’t usually hike with swim trunks, but after seeing that swimming in alpine lakes is acceptable in Europe, I have since carried them with me on every hike lol.
Successfully having cooled off, I exited the lake and changed into some dry clothes. All that was left was to head back down to Camping Rendezvous, eat some dinner, drink some beer, smoke a cigar, and reminisce on my amazing journey. So, that’s exactly what I did 🙂
Blessed to be finishing the hike at around the golden hour, I was fortunate enough to catch one more view of God’s incredible creation before reaching camp. Dotting the river banks along the final trail down were these small, purple flowers. I guess I missed them on my initial ascent, likely due to the fact that I was too busy trying to soak in the mighty mountain peaks all around me. Nonetheless, I was definitely noticing them now.
As the sun set behind me and the day began to retire, I took a few more shots with my camera before giving thanks. I said a little prayer thanking God for the blessings He gave me so that I could be fortunate enough to experience such a wonderful day.
Then, with a full heart and a tired set of legs, I propped myself up in my $5 camping chair and smoked a fat, Cuban cigar while enjoying a frosty beverage lol.
A perfect ending to a perfect day, totaling 12.36 miles, and lasting just over 8 hours.
FAQs about Oeschinen Lake
- Where is Oeschinen Lake?
- Oeschinen Lake is located in Berne, Switzerland. Berne is like the “state” and
Switzerland is like, well, Switzerland lol. To be more specific, Oeschinen (also spelled
Oeschinensee in German) Lake is in the Bernese Oberland part of Switzerland, the
highest and southernmost part of Berne towards the “center” of the country. For
westerners, Oeschinen Lake is about an hour from Interlaken, or 47km away.
- Oeschinen Lake is located in Berne, Switzerland. Berne is like the “state” and
- How to reach Oeschinen Lake? How do you get to Oeschinen Lake
- Obviously this will depend on where you’re starting (duh lol).
- In summary: you’ll want
- to take a train to Interlaken, then from Interlake, take the bus to Kandersteg, the town where the trailhead is located.
- If you’re coming from Stuttgart like I did then:
- Car: 4 hours 45 minutes (round up to 5 hours for a pit stop). Pretty simple here, just type in Oeschinen Lake in your GPS and follow instructions! Be sure to stop at the Swiss border crossing and pay ~$40 for the highway pass! If not, you’ll still be allowed to drive in Switzerland, you just won’t be able to take any of their highways. This will add at least 2 extra hours on to your trip.
- Train: 5 hours 40 minutes (round up to 6 hours). There’s multiple train/bus combinations you can take to reach here but generally they’ll all pass through Karlsruhe, Basel, Bern, and Spiez before arriving at Kandersteg. From Kandersteg, make your way east to Camping Rendezvous where you can hit the trailhead and start the hike!
- How do you get to Oeschinen Lake from Interlaken?
- Car: Drive about an hour to Kanderseg and then park at 46.495420, 7.679270. You’ll find a pay station and you can pay with your phone to park in this lot. What’s super cool about this pay station’s app is that you can “dial” up your parking time well after you’ve left your car, so spend as much time in the area as you want!
- Bus: Take bus number 60 from Platform G headed towards Spiez (about 30 minutes). From there take the regional bus (likely called RE 4263, 4xxx, etc.) for 4 stops, about 30 minutes, to Kandersteg for 20 euro. From Kandersteg, make your way east to Camping Rendezvous where you can hit the trailhead and start the hike!
- What to do at Oeschinen Lake?
- If you’re fortunate enough to have made it to Oeschinen Lake, then I say, “Go hike!” However, there’s all kinds of things to do at Oeschinen Lake.
- Go hiking. Obviously, being the hiker I am, I most definitely did this when I visited. For my epic route, see #12 FAQ below, or just read the story above!
- Swim in the lake. Yep! You are more than welcome to strip down and take a swim in these gorgeous waters. Be careful though, the water is primarily glacier-fed, so it can get a bit chilly!
- Rent a boat. There’s an equipment rental facility at the edge of the lake that will let you rent boats an such; go paddle out to the middle maybe!
- View the waterfalls. These are going to be located on the east end of the lake; either rent a boat and go see them or hike to the opposite side!
- Ride the gondola up. Don’t feel like hiking all the way up to the lake but, still want to experience some of the best views in all of Switzerland? Well, for ~30 euro, you can have a gondola take you all the way to the banks of the lake! Visit their official website for more details.
- Have dinner with a view. There’s a restaurant about 100 feet from the water’s edge; go have a beer and take in the views!
- Go fishing. I saw numerous fishermen there trying to snag their limit for the day; give it a shot yourself!
- If you’re fortunate enough to have made it to Oeschinen Lake, then I say, “Go hike!” However, there’s all kinds of things to do at Oeschinen Lake.
- When is the best time to visit Oeschinen Lake?
- For hiking, definitely go just before or after summer. I can imagine it gets pretty hot here during the peak of June and July. If you don’t want to risk having to cross any snowy patches, do what I did and go in mid-August, you’ll be completely fine!
- Can you drive to Oeschinen Lake?
- Short answer: no. However, if I’m understanding your question correctly, you CAN drive to the Oeschinen Lake gondola parking lot where you can take a cable car directly to the lake!
- Can you swim in Oeschinen Lake?
- Yes, absolutely! Don’t believe me? Check out my short video above where I take a polar plunge into the glacier-fed lake as proof!
- Does Oeschinen Lake have a Cable Car? How long is the gondola ride to Oeschinen Lake?
- Yes, tt sure does! The ride takes about 6 or 7 minutes; find more info at their website, here.
- Can you camp at Oeschinen Lake?
- Short answer: not really. At least not in the sense that you can just set up camp anywhere near Oeschinen Lake.
- Now, with that said, there are still opportunities to camp near Oeschinen Lake, such as at Camping Rendezvous (where I stayed during my epic journey). Additionally, if you’re looking to backpack into the area, I recommend staying at the Fründenhütte. This mountain hut is found by following the trail I took above but, once you’re across the rock face, you’ll continue up to the mountain’s ridge rather than continuing down. I saw quite a few people heading that direction and, had I had a few more days (and better gear), I would’ve happily joined them!
- Can you fish in Oeschinen Lake?
- Yes, you sure can! On my hike, I saw plenty of fisherman fishing from both the shore, as well as from the canoes/kayaks you can rent on-site. Read more details on their official website.
- Does Oeschinen Lake have a restaurant?
- Yes, it sure does! However, it’s attached to the hotel that sits along the shores of the lake, so you might have to compete with the hotel guests to get a seat. Don’t hesitate to check their website for more details!
- What’s the best hiking trail at Oeschinen Lake?
- Hands down one of the best hikes you can do starts at Camping Rendezvous and takes you all the way around the lake. Don’t believe me? Read my post above for my epic adventure doing just that! just under 12.5 miles and 8 hours, this trip is not one for the faint of heart (or heights!) but is perfect for the adventure seeker 🙂