Travel
Swiss lakes: always one more to discover
Lake of Lucerne from Mt. Rigi on a sunny day
(Part I)
If you live in Switzerland and do much sightseeing or are planning a trip through the country, you will notice at least three things: chalets, tunnels and lakes.
Today I will talk about the last one.
Lake of Lucerne from Mt. Rigi on a sunny day
With its 1500 lakes, Switzerland will not disappoint those in love with water. There are enough of them to discover at every season and for a life time! If you like large city lakes or more tiny alpine or glacier lakes, there is something for everyone.
The five biggest lakes of Switzerland are:
- Lake of Geneva also known as Lac Léman – 581.3 km2
- Lake of Constance also known as Bodensee – 541.1 km2
- Lake of Neuchatel also known as Neuenburgersee – 218.3 km2
- Lake Maggiore – 212.3 km2
- Lake of Lucerne also known as Vierwaldstättersee – 113.7 km2
These lakes are bordering other countries:
- Lake of Geneva shared with France
- Lake of Constance shared with Austria and Germany
- Lake Maggiore shared with Italy
- Lake of Lugano shared with Italy
Terms:
Glacier lake: lake formed by the melting of a glacier.
Alpine lake: considered an alpine lake if above 1524meters (5,000 feet).
The following are some of the Swiss lakes I have seen and loved:
Aegeri Lake:
- glacial lake located in the canton of Zug.
- surface area of 7.25 km2 with a depth of 272 feet (83 m)
I recently discovered this wonderful lake while hiking around Oberaegeri.
It has a bathing area and a lovely promenade. Follow the Wanderwege behind the church and then take the Muesli weg, you will have to climb a while but the views are worth the trouble.
Aegeri lake from the town of Oberaegeri
Bachalp Lake:
- alpine lake in Bernese Oberland – almost 49 feet deep (15 m)
With less than 1 km2 in surface area, it is located about 50 minutes from the First cable car in Grindelwald at 2,265 m (7,431 ft). It is quite touristy, so climb as early in the mountains as you can.
Flowers around the alpine lake of Bachalp
Brienz Lake:
- deeper than the lake of Constance with a depth of 853 feet (260 m)
- almost 30 km2 in surface area
This lake is one of the lakes around Interlaken. When driving down from Ballenberg to Grindelwald, you can have great views of the Brienz lake. It can be quite blue.
Constance Lake:
- also known as the Bodensee.
- second largest lake in Switzerland with 541 km2.
You can cross the lake with the ferry and if you have a Swiss Half Abo, don’t forget to use it as you will pay less. I took the boat at sunset on the way back from Munich and it was spectacular.
Sunset view taken from the ferry while crossing Constance Lake
Davos Lake:
- located at 5118 feet in altitude (1,560 m)
- is a reservoir in the Grison (Graubünden) outside of Davos.
- small lake with only a surface area of almost 0.6 km2.
It is very beautiful in the winter time with the snow surrounding the lake and above the mountain peaks.
Davos lake in the winter
Geneva Lake – Lac Léman:
- centuries ago, the lake used to be called Lake of Lausanne.
- 60% of its body of water lies in Switzerland.
Who has not heard of the Lake of Geneva, one of the biggest lakes in Europe! Along the lake, you can stop to visit towns such as Nyon, Vevey, Montreux, Lausanne and Geneva with its well-known water jet.
Lake of Geneva, from Nyon
Greifen Lake:
- located not far from the lake of Zurich
- has a surface of 8.17 km2.
I found the stroll around the lake quite peaceful and calm. There is a possibility to use boats on the lake. It is alos a great place for fishing, biking, walking and outdoor skating.
Peaceful Greifensee in the morning
Huetten lake also known as Hüttnersee:
- very tiny lake (less than 1 km2) near Richterswil in the canton of Zurich
- enjoyable for walks with children.
Spring time by the Huetten lake
On September 6th I will post Part II.
