Seebensee and Drachensee: Two of the most beautiful mountain lakes in Tyrol
The Seebensee and the Drachensee are among the most impressive lakes in Tyrol and can only be reached on foot. While the Seebensee is also easily accessible with a stroller, the hike to the higher Drachensee requires a little more stamina. The picturesque landscape and the clear mountain lakes make the hike an unforgettable experience for nature lovers and hiking enthusiasts.
tour dates:
- Start: Parking lot of the Ehrwalder Almbahn (Dr. Ludwig Ganghoferstr 66, 6632 Ehrwald)
- Costs of Ehrwalder Almbahn: Up and down 19,5€. Here are the current prices and operating hours.
- Refreshment options: Ehrwalder Alm, Seebenalm, Coburger Hütte
- Pure walking time: 1:45 hours to Seebensee + 45 minutes to Drachensee (return another 2 hours)/ total approx. 4.5 hours
- Difficulty: Easy (up to Seebensee) to moderate (up to Coburger Hütte / Drachensee)
- Total route length: 10.4 kilometers
- Altitude: uphill 360 m, downhill 360 m
- Season: recommended June to mid-October
Seebensee & Drachensee
We park at the Ehrwalder Almbahn car park and prepare our child's backpacks and our backpacks. If you'd like, you can start hiking from here. However, we want to save ourselves 400 meters of elevation gain, so we buy a €25 ticket for the uphill and downhill ride. We board the gondola at 9:37 a.m.
8 minutes later we reach the mountain station at 1510 m. After a short toilet break we start our hike at 10:00 am and walk along the Koatiger path after the alpine pasture in the direction of Seebensee.
To do this, you have to turn right at the alpine hut and take a nicer path through the forest. The path that leads left or straight away from the hut is the easier (but less nice) forest path.
After just a few minutes the path narrows and enters the forest. It goes downhill for a short time and then uphill again. At 10:25 a.m. we see the small Almsee lake to our right for the first time through the thicket.
After just over half an hour, the path widens again and eventually becomes a narrow gravel path that leads through the forest. It is now relatively flat.
The path is simply gorgeous, like a fairytale forest. We even spotted a huge fly agaric on the side of the path.
After about 40 minutes, the forest path crosses the forest path. We continue to the left while the forest path goes to the right. The path continues over hill and dale. We even come across cows on the way. At 11:15 a.m. the forest thins out and we have a wonderful view of the mountains. We see the Seebenalm hut for the first time, where we stop for a break shortly afterwards.
We order a bacon dumpling soup and a cheese dumpling soup for €6.7 each. Unfortunately, there is so much pepper in the broth that you can hardly taste the filling. Nevertheless, the rest is wonderfully idyllic with the surrounding cow pastures and the mountains in the background.
From the Seeben Alm to the Seebensee It is another 15 minutes uphill on the forest path. In total it took us 1.5 hours to get up.
The lake is simply beautiful, even though there are quite a lot of people up there. We take our time to take photos and rest.
Ws continues to the Drachensee
At 13:00h we set off for Drachensee. It starts along the banks of the Seebensee along.
The path now goes steadily uphill on a rocky, serpentine path. This is by far the most difficult part of the hike. The path offers little variety, but at least you have a wonderful view of Lake Seeben most of the time.
After about 40 minutes we reach the Coburger Hütte with the DrachenseeUnfortunately, the self-service line is so incredibly long, it probably takes half an hour to get food here. As unfortunate as it is, we'll have to do without food and drinks. Luckily, we brought a snack with us.
The view of the Drachensee is beautiful, even if it is currently a bit cloudy. With sunshine, the color of the lake would definitely be more noticeable.
If you feel like it, you can jump into the cool water to cool off. However, even in the height of summer, it is ice cold.
We decide to turn around and hike to the Seebenalm hut to have a bite to eat. After a restful break, we hike back down the mountain via the forest path. The path is not as beautiful as the forest path, but it does offer a few nice vantage points with a view of the valley.
At 5:00 p.m. we reach the mountain station again and take the gondola down into the valley.
