Brief information:
- Where is the lake: The Fernsteinsee is a small mountain lake on the Fernpass in the municipality of Nassereith in Tyrol. It lies at an altitude of 934 metres.
- Can you swim in it? Yes, but only for the hard-core, as it only gets between 4 and 7 degrees. In addition to anglers and hobby boaters, it is also very popular with recreational divers. The owner of the lake, however, requires that divers have at least 80 dives documented in their logbook and stay at least two nights at the Hotel Fernstein
- Can you walk around the lake? Yes, it takes about 40 minutes. You can find a more detailed description below.
- How big is he? The lake is 550 metres long and up to 540 metres wide and has depths of up to 17 metres in the southeast and northeast.
We walk around the lake
We park at the Fernsteinsee rest stop and buy something to drink and a small snack for the journey. The circular route starts behind the house.
We are travelling with a stroller. We were advised to go anti-clockwise as this is the easier way. The path runs through the forest along the lake. First you go downhill a bit, then you continue walking along the lake shore. The lake is emerald green, crystal clear and ice cold. In the summer it looks very idyllic, if it weren't for the Fernpass road, which runs right next to the lake and which you don't hear the whole time.
At the far end of the lake there is a cow pasture with a lush green meadow, from where I launch my drone, as there is no person or cow anywhere nearby.
From here you can also reach the island in the lake via a wooden bridge.
It takes about 40 minutes to walk around the lakeTowards the end, just before the bridge, there are places to swim. The path goes under the bridge and leads back up to the car park and restaurant of Fernstein Castle, which has been converted into a hotel.