Schrecksee

Often cited as being home to the most beautiful places on Earth, the Alps provide stunning adventures for travelers of all sorts. Often overlooked by those searching for wooded cliffs, lush meadows, or jagged peaks, these mountains also boast a collection of Alpine lakes nestled throughout the region. At NearFromHome, we made our first high altitude Alpine lake trip to Schrecksee, pushing the limits with a twelve hour hike. Discover nature’s secrets with us deep within the Alps by watching our Youtube video or checking out the article below for more information.

So, logistics time! Germany’s highest Alpine lake, Schrecksee, is located many hour’s walk deep within the Allgäuer Hochalpen nature reserve. The trail head begins just outside this national park, in the nearest village of Hinterstein. With this somewhat complicated location explained, let’s move on to the equally complex transportation logistics. Now, NearFromHome’s previous lake trips of the normal altitude variety(Tegernsee, Schliersee, Walchensee, Eibsee), featured astonishingly straightforward public transportation logistics. However, the journey to Schrecksee is more complicated due to the distance from Munich, lack of consistent transportation, and hike intensity. Considering these factors, I would not recommend this as a single daytrip. Rather, I would suggest spending one day exploring Allgäu and another day hiking to the lake.

So, as far as getting from Munich to Hinterstein goes, we have two options. The first and best option in my opinion, is to simply rent a car from Munich and drive. In total, this should take a little more than 2 hours, and constitutes a very scenic experience once in the Allgäu region. The other option is to take public transportation. Although this option would be cheaper with a Bayern ticket, I don’t exactly recommend it, as the journey involves about 4 train/bus changes over the span of 4 and a half hours. While feasible, this option takes more than double the time required by car. Once the transportation is decided, I recommend booking a hotel in Hinterstein for one night, as again, the hike is simply too intense for me to drive there, hike to Schrecksee, and drive back to Munich.

As such, we chose to spend day one driving to Allgäu and exploring the region. We swam in the river running through Starzlachklamm gorge and later rode the Alpsee Coaster (Germany’s longest Alpine coaster). These two activities were enough to keep us entertained, but not too tired for the following day’s intensity. In the evening, we checked into Pension Hochvogel in Hinterstein, got to bed early in preparation for our hike the next day.

We woke up bright and early on day two, ate the hotel’s complimentary breakfast, and walked out the door to begin our hike. Hinterstein is a tiny village, with Pension Hochvogel sitting on the prime real estate at the end of the village, just where the parking lot and trail head begin. So, we needn’t have worried about securing transport and rushing to the trail head. Just walk down Rauhornweg towards the trailhead parking lot to begin the day, following this paved road out of Hinterstein, and into the surrounding meadows for about an hour. We crossed a main road called Giebelstrasse, and headed into the woods at the base of the mountains. Passing through some gates, the wooded trail eventually became a paved road for cars. However, the area was quite remote, so we pedestrians needn’t be concerned with unpleasant or unsafe car traffic. Following the road for about half an hour, we eventually passed a restaurant called Haus der Jäger on our left before the path hooked left, for the final leg before the real hiking began. Pro tip: if you cross the bridge, and then pass the Auele Power station, you’ve gone too far. We crossed a bridge, and immediately turned left, spying the path to Schrecksee snaking up, into the mountains.

Here at the base of the mountains, the real hike begins, with a steep, rocky path winding up under a thick Alpine canopy for about 1,500 feet. Taking breaks, we looked backwards to not only witness the elevation we’d gained, but also to view the stunning mountains across the valley. Eventually we met a man made overflow lake on the left whose turquoise crystal waters were a preview of Schrecksee’s. Continuing through this comparatively, level forest, we passed an interestingly photogenic tree with which we spent perhaps too much time posing. Eventually, the forest opened up, leading to a sky meadow crammed between multiple peaks. As we walked through this flat stretch, admiring the surrounding beauty, I felt panic, as I realized we were headed straight towards what seemed to be a sheer cliff face extending 2,000 feet upward. I thought that surely there must be a hidden path through such an imposing cliff face, or worse, that we had stumbled the wrong way. To my disappointment, as we squinted upwards, there was a clear, tiny, steep, and narrow path etched precariously into the side of the cliff face. Seeing as this way forward acts like less of a path, and more of a conduit for a small stone rock slide, I will emphasize that tons of water, hiking pole, and boots are a must. I foolishly wore my trusty Adidas UltraBoost running shoes which were ,unsurprisingly, not ideal for a seemingly impossibly steep path without stable footholds. Thankfully, the metal handholds drilled into the rock face provided some extra support. Additionally, the path lies in direct sunlight, which was not a great situation when combined with my lack of water. With my running shoes and lack of water combined, I did have to take a moment of rest, as I began to feel light headed. After drinking an entire bottle of water, and prematurely munching on some lunch, I was recovered and ready to continue.

After conquering the most difficult section, we reached the final leg walking through another valley, this time opening up to the huge natural bowl holding Schrecksee. This section is relatively flat, and dotted with cows and the occasional marmot. Cresting the final hill, I was awe struck with the realization that the ridge we had just climbed, held the collected water, forming Schrecksee.

Once at Schreksee, I was tempted to plop down at the first a suitable lakeside spot, but my group prodded me to continue walking clockwise around the water for about ten more minutes, securing the closest lakeside point to the aesthetic Schrecksee island. After eating and drinking, we passed out for an hour, woke up, and swam. Like all Bavarian lakes, the water is freezing year round, and not only is Schrecksee no exception, it is specifically named for its coldness as “Schrecken” (the German verb meaning “to shriek”) is what one does after jumping into said lake. A tradition amongst hikers, Germans like to make the process extra shriek-worthy by taking the plunge completely naked. I wasn’t brave enough to brace the cold sans swimsuit, but I did eventually submerge myself, even swimming to the island.

I would love to have brought my camping gear along, and spend the night besides the lake in this mountain alcove, however this is a nature reserve, so not only is camping prohibited, the local authorities actually patrol the site regularly, as hikers have historically acted on similar ideas. There have been several reporting of crazy raves and parties had by large groups students celebrating recent graduations. At the least, these gatherings disturb the local wildlife, and at the worst, partiers leave trash, and have even stolen siding from a farmer’s cow stall for camp fires. Either way, in every case, partiers are made to leave immediately by local police, and hit with a hefty fine.

As your time begins to draw to a close, remember that it should take around two hours to hike back down, so plan to leave no more than 2 hours before sun down. We left a little later, and walked through the meadow just outside of Hinterstein completely in the dark. Luckily, we were traversing down the mountain with some daylight still left in the sky.

Overall, this is one of my favorite memories to date. If you are up for the hiking intensity, I would absolutely recommend a trip to Schrecksee. Although there are many lakes in Bavaria where one can enjoy beautifully rich, blue waters, the stunning mountain views here and vibrant green hills covering the craggy peaks makes this experience one of a kind. Cheers to my first trip to Allgäu. Hopefully it will be the first of many.