This artificial lake just one hour away from Munich is so fascinating. Every time when I pass it (on my way somewhere else) I just have to stop because the turquoise color and the stunning bridge are just unique. And no matter which weather it is, it is always stunning. Either it is super moody- almost mystique – or it is super turquoise – almost Caribbean.
Anyways after discovering this lake in winter (and breaking my drone there – R.I.P.) I was really keen on finding a hike in the surrounding mountains of Sylvenstein lake. It took me quite some research to find out that there are either very easy hikes which mostly lead along the lake or very difficult hikes of 6 to 8 hours directly at the lake with a view at the lake from the summit.
In case you are an experienced and very fit hiker and want to take this challenge you can follow these links:
https://www.bergtour-online.de/bergtouren/bergwanderungen/mittel/demeljoch/
https://www.komoot.de/guide/198180/wandern-rund-um-den-sylvensteinspeicher
(the links are in German, but you can use the translation feature of Google Chrome)
But for us it was the first hike of the season and therefore we wanted to have a hike which includes some difference in altitude, but not too much like the hikes mentioned above which include around 900 meters of difference in altitude.
So we ended up doing the hike to Hochalm.
Summary of the hike at Sylvenstein lake:
Destination: Hochalm (1428 meters)
Distance: approx. 6 kilometres
Difference in altitude: approx. 670 meters
Duration: 3.5 hours
Parking: Use this as address for your navigation system: Sylvenstein 1, 83661 Lenggries
Having arrived there turn left before the lake following the street signs to „Achensee“ and you’ll arrive at at small parking on the side of the road after 3,8 kilometers.
A detailed description of the hike:
https://www.bergtour-online.de/bergtouren/bergwanderungen/leicht/hochalm/
Description of the easy hike at Sylvenstein lake: Hochalm
The hike starts on the right side of the parking (in the east) with a steep path. It is very easy to follow find your way, just always follow the signs to „Hochalm“ or “Hoch-Alm”.
We did the hike in spring and everything was very green, flowers were growing and it was a perfect sunny day. But the higher we got, the more snow left-overs there were along our way. At first just a little bit.
But when looking at the summits around there was snow everywhere and slowly we were guessing that it might have been a bit too early this year to do the hike. But we were lucky. There was snow at the peak but it was really just all the way on the top and we could easily do the hike.
There is no restaurant or hut during this hike, therefore don’t forget to bring your own food which you can enjoy having a pretty view over the valley.
Well, as there was snow on top it was not so relaxed for us. We kind of had to hunt for two stones standing out of the snow and it was a funny picture seeing people distributed over the whole summit area on these little rocks standing out of the snow.
After the hike we rewarded ourselves by a walk at Sylvenstein dam and enjoyed the sun there.
How to get to the starting point of the hike at Sylvenstein dam:
The easiest way to get to Sylvenstein lake is by car. I’m not aware of any public transport going there. Use this as address for your navigation system: Sylvenstein 1, 83661 Lenggries
Having arrived there turn left before the lake following the street signs to „Achensee“ and you’ll arrive at a small parking lot on the side of the road after 3,8 kilometers.
Things to do at Sylvenstein Lake in winter:
As I said already in the introduction of this blog post. This lake is worth a visit every time of the year, no matter if summer or winter or if rainy or sunny. Read more about my visit in winter and things you can do there in winter in this blog post: https://ready-steady-travel.com/sylvenstein-dam-in-bavaria-another-stunning-lake-close-to-munich/
How to get to the viewpoint of Sylvenstein Lake:
There is an easy to reach viewpoint from where you’ll have a great view at the whole artificial lake. It is a very short hike (steep though) of 20 minutes. A detailed description of how to get to the viewpoint of Sylvenstein lake is also included in this blog post: https://ready-steady-travel.com/sylvenstein-dam-in-bavaria-another-stunning-lake-close-to-munich/ Enjoy reading!
I hope I could inspire you to do this short & easy hike at Sylvenstein lake. It is very pretty and a good start (or end) of the hiking season. Do you want to know more about this hike? Just drop me a comment!
And of course I hope I could inspire you to go out and explore this pretty world? Never stop exploring, ok?
Thanks for the idea! I love outdoor activities, so I want to repeat your route!