Brief information:
- Where is the lake: The Fernsteinsee is a small mountain lake on the Fernpass in the municipality of Nassereith in Tyrol. It is 934 meters above sea level.
- Can you swim in it? Yes, but just the die-hard, as it only gets between 4 and 7 degrees celsius. In addition to anglers and hobby boaters, it is also very popular with scuba divers. However, the owner of the lake requires divers to have at least 80 dives documented in the logbook and to stay at the Hotel Fernstein for at least two nights
- Can you walk around the lake? Yes, takes about 40 minutes. You can find a more detailed description of this below.
- How big is it? The lake is 550 meters long and up to 540 meters wide and has depths of up to 17 meters in the southeast and northeast.
The walk around the lake
We park at the Fernsteinsee rest stop and buy something to drink and a small snack for in between. The circular route starts behind the house.
We are out and about with the stroller. We were advised to go against the current as this is the easier way to go. The path runs through the forest along the lake. First you go downhill a bit, then you keep walking along the lakeshore. The lake is emerald green, crystal clear and ice cold. In summer it looks very idyllic, if it weren’t for the Fernpassstraße, which runs right next to the lake and which you overhear all the time.
At the far end of the lake there is a cow alm with a lush green meadow, from where I let my drone rise because there is no man or cow far and wide.
From here you can also reach the island in the lake via a wooden bridge.
It takes about 40 minutes to go around the lake. Towards the end, just before the bridge, there are still bathing areas. The path goes under the bridge and leads back up to the parking lot or restaurant from Fernstein Castle, which has been converted into a hotel.