Oeschinensee Lake - Touristy for a Reason | Switzerland
#oeschinensee #swissalps #alpinelake
Oeschinensee Lake is an alpine lake in the Swiss Alps. It's a popular tourist destination but as you'll see, it's one of those places that is popular for a reason.
Surrounded by impressive mountains, you start in a small village called Kandersteg. Whilst there seems to be a gondola that takes you up, we decided to do the roughly one hour walk up to the lake. Unfortunately we had a flight to catch so time was limited, and though the weather was hot, the hike up made the views feel like we'd earned them.
Considering that you're probably reasonably hot and sweaty by the time you climb up to Oeschinensee, it makes sense to then head up to the view point straight away. That way you can head back down to the lake and relax. It's about a 30 minute climb up from the lakeside (it's reasonably steep). There is a route that takes you further around the lake but the most popular spot is called Aussichtspunkt Heuberg - it's easy enough to use Google Maps to get up there.
We then headed back down to the lake and rented a rowing boat (29 CHF an hour). You can pay on card and we didn't need to book ahead, I don't even know if you can!
Renting a boat and heading out into the middle of the lake is definitely advisable. The water is crystal clear and turquoise, albeit reasonably cold. Either way, swimming in the middle of Oeschinensee lake surrounded by impressive cliffs and mountains is something you shouldn't miss out on.
We actually ended up going over our hour but the guy was kind enough not to charge us for an additional hour. He also said that the mornings were much less busy than the afternoons so if you want less people around, just get up earlier and head up. It also means that you don't get caught in the mid day sun when you're hiking up to the lake.
It was a pretty short trip, though I'd recommend allowing for just over half a day (unless you want to spend the whole day up there).
Again, it is a well known tourist destination, but it's touristy for a reason. The views are incredible and well worth going to see.
0:00 - Walking up from Kandersteg
2:09 - First views of Oeschinensee Lake
2:39 - Climbing up to Aussichtspunkt Heuberg
4:01 - Oeschinensee Viewpoint
5:12 - Renting a rowing boat
6:27 - Swimming in Oeschinensee Lake
8:40 - Is Oeschinensee worth it?
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