Directions and parking
We come from the direction of Bad Ischl. The journey takes about 40 minutes. The traffic already suggests that we are certainly not the only visitors. When we arrive, the first parking lot, the one closest to the lake, is already completely full. We also have no chance at the roadside and at the 2nd parking lot. I start to worry, because you have to go uphill from the road to the lake. Finally we find a semi-legal parking position at the third parking lot. With a buggy it’s back up the mountain to the starting point – right at the valley station of the Gosaukammbahn.
The starting point
The Zwieselalm cable car and the Gasthof Gosausee are located directly after the first parking lot. Just go a few more meters forward and you have a breathtaking view of the front lake Gosau. You can already take wonderful photos here. If you want, you can stock up on the last groceries or souvenirs here.
The hike: the Vordere Gosau lake
You can walk around the lake either to the left or to the right. We choose to go clockwise. Our hike starts at 11:15 a.m. We are traveling with a stroller.
At the beginning the path is still paved but after 10 minutes it turns into a forest path. You walk along the lake all the time. Again and again you see people bathing in the lake. The water is emerald green and crystal clear. You can’t help but stop and take pictures.
After about 20 minutes you will pass a via ferrata where families with their children climb ladders and ropes from the lake.
After about half an hour we reach the rear part of the Vorderen Gosau lake. Here the 2 ways meet. Either you go on around the Vorderen Gosausee, or you go to the Hinteren Gosausee. Of course we want to go to the rear lake.
The rear Gosau lake
It path now goes a little uphill on the forest road. As we’ll find out later, this is just a little pre-taste. The stroller can still be pushed quite easily. The surrounding forest is just lovely. After a total of 45 minutes you will pass an idyllic hunting lodge. A few 100 m later you reach the Gosaulacke, the small lake between the two big ones. Sometimes the lake is completely dried out. A little later there is a very nice little waterfall on the left.
We continue to this beautiful viewpoint. Here you should take another break and enjoy nature, because then it goes up the steep mountain.
The most strenuous part of the hike follows. We hardly see people with buggys now. It can be done, but it is very difficult. Don’t underestimate the incline. But if you’re not pushing or carrying a child, it’s not a problem. After about 1.5 hours we have reached the highest point of the mountain, now it is relatively flat again.
After a total of 1 hour 45 we are sweaty (it has 29 °) and finally arrived at the rear Gosau lake. First we want to enjoy the view
Now you go right along the lake to the managed hut. We really deserve a break. We order a Kaiserschmarrn, a cheese dumpling soup (Kaspressknödelsuppe) and a shandy. By the way, the dishes are incredibly delicious, we really didn’t expect that.
From the hut you have a wonderful view of the lake, in front of us the cows are grazing on the alpine pastures. People are swimming next to them.
It took us a total of 2 hours from the parking lot to the hut at the rear Gosausee.
After we have strengthened ourselves amply, it goes back again. You follow the same path that we came to until you come back to the front Gosau lake after about 1 hour.
Here the paths cross again, but now we go past the lake to the left because we want to go around it completely.
Towards the end of the round you come across a lawn for those who are hungry for bathing. Unfortunately, we haven’t packed any bathing suits and so we continue and after a total of 4.5 hours we reach our starting point
Zwieselalm
It is now almost 4:00 p.m., but since we are already there, we want to go to the Zwiesel Alm. The cable car leaves directly in front of parking lot # 1 or at the large inn. The ascent and descent costs € 17, with the Salzkammergut Card it costs only € 15.
We catch one of the cable cars that run every 15 minutes. There is hardly anything going on, probably because of the time. From the gondola you have a wonderful view over Lake Gosau. Since the last gondola goes downhill again at 5:50 p.m., we only have time for a short walk on the mountain. After the hike to the rear Gosau lake, we lack the strength and motivation for more anyway.
So we only go to the Gablonzer hut, which you can already see from the mountain station. With the stroller, the way is still a bit tedious. Speaking of strollers: if you want, you can borrow all-terrain strollers free of charge from the mountain station. If you plan on longer hikes, it will definitely pay off.
The Gablonzer hut itself is comfortably furnished and the weather is perfect to linger on the terrace. We treat ourselves to coffee and cake (on offer for € 5.5) and a sour shandy. Then it’s back down the valley. We’re completely exhausted. No wonder, my steps app counts a full 20km today …
