Tyrol: Hintersteiner See

The Hintersteiner Lake is certainly still one of the insider tips, even though it was featured on the TV programme "9 Plätze - 9 Schätze" in 2018.most beautiful place in Tyrol was honoured. Directly on the lake there is not only a beautiful outdoor poolalso the Hike around the lake is very worthwhile. We want to take a closer look at both in this blog.

Circular route Tour dates

• Start: Car park directly on the lake
• Length: 5.2 km
• Refreshment stops: Café Restaurant Seestüberl, Goingstätt snack station, Pension Maier
• Pure walking time: 1:30 h - 2:00 h
• Difficulty: Light
• Suitable for pushchairs? The north bank yes, the south bank only to a limited extent.
• Season: May to mid-October
• Altitude metres: uphill 130m, downhill 170m

Parking

Since the first Car park is already completely full, we park in the second car park and pay 3 euros for it. Right at the beginning of the lake there is an outdoor pool with an extensive sunbathing area, but more on that later. The water is a shimmering emerald green. There is also a restaurant (Seestüberl) with a very nice terrace right at the beginning. 

If you don't have a car, we recommend the Hiking bus. This runs daily from the end of May to mid-October. The bus stop is located in the village centre of Scheffau (on the north side of the church) - from there the bus runs regularly to Hintersteiner See and back.

Hintersteiner See circular route

We decide to do an anti-clockwise loop around the lake. We start from the car park on the eastern shore of Hintersteiner See (890 m). We pass the Café Restaurant Seestüberl on the north bank, always along the tarmac road no. 822. Fortunately, there are very few cars here. 

The lake is just idyllically beautiful, even the goats lie in the meadow to enjoy the view. We continue our walk along the lakeshore. The water is crystal clear and you always have the feeling that you can see right to the bottom. If you look closely, you can even spot huge fish.  

The route runs along the north bank, past the Goingstätt snack stationwhich we reach after just under half an hour. It is located directly on the opposite shore of the lake.

Now you might think that the path goes back narrowly around the lake, but you'd be wrong. Instead, the path continues straight ahead and slightly uphill. We are starting to get hot, as hardly any of the path has been in the shade so far. 

With the Pension Maier is the last opportunity to stop off. It looks inviting and has a great playground for children. We have now walked for a good 30 minutes. Up to this point, the path is easily accessible with a pushchair.

Many people turn back here, but this is actually where the more beautiful part of the hike begins. You can manage the rest of the way with a pushchair, but you should be in pairs as there are now a few obstacles such as steps, stones and roots. 

From here on rather without prams

We now continue through the very attractive forest. The path is initially relatively flat and easy to manage - it only goes up and down slightly, but on a relatively flat and well-gravelled path. You are rewarded time and again with wonderful views of the lake. The colour of the lake in some places is unbelievable. Again and again it shimmers emerald green in the sun.

We begin to wonder why some people advise against pushing a pushchair here. But after ⅔ of the way, we realise. We can already see the lido again, but now the path is getting steeper, rockier and more root-rich. No problem for hikers, but a little more problematic for families with pushchairs. We work up a sweat in places, but it's manageable.

After the largest hill, there is a path downhill with around 30 steps, but these are no longer a problem. In return, there are always some gigantic views of the lake. About 1.5 hours later, we are finally back at the starting point. Although we are exhausted, we are glad to have done this hike. Now a lido is just what we need!

The lido at Lake Hinterstein

The Hintersteiner See is a mountain lake with Drinking water quality!
Underground springs fill it with mountain-fresh water. The temperatures are correspondingly high. In the summer months, it warms up to a average temperature between 20 and 22 degrees. But after a nice circular walk, this is just the thing.

In 2021, admission to the outdoor pool will cost €5. The later you arrive, the cheaper it gets (although the car park will be correspondingly fuller. You can relax very comfortably on an extensive lawn. There's plenty of space, but you'll have to keep an eye out for a shady spot.

The lido has a small cafeteriaoffering small dishes such as frankfurters, curry sausage, tarte flambée, pizza, baguettes, Leberkäs rolls, ice cream and drinks. Despite the full car park, you never had the feeling that there was too much going on here. 

Sun lounger & umbrella and SUP hire available
Dogs are not allowed at the lido