Best of Königsee

Ideally you need more than 1 day to explore Königsee. There are so many beautiful hikes and the scenery is breathtaking.

We are often in Salzburg visiting family and Königsee is only a 40 minute drive away. We have visited 2 times and done completely different things each time. The best time is in the morning when the water is calm and there aren’t many tourists. Sometimes the lake is like a mirror, reflecting the mountains.

In Summer, the ferry service starts at 8am from Schönau and leaves approximately every 15-20 minutes. A return trip to St Bartholomew is 22€ per person and for Salet it’s 27.50€.

We were amazed at the electric fleet of boats and they glided through the water so silently. We were on the beautiful wooden boat at 8.40am. In the morning we suggest you sit on the right side as the morning sunlight hits the mountains on the right and casts a shadow on the mountains to the left. Some boats have a lovely open deck at the rear of the boat so if you’re lucky enough to be at the front of the line, we recommend you sit here.

We opened the window and admired the view as the fog lifted and cleared. We came around the corner and the spectacular mountain range was revealed. Shortly after the driver suddenly stopped the boat, he left his cabin, walked back to the central opening and played a trumpet towards the mountains for a few minutes. The sound echoed back to us but in a different tone. It was magical and it gave me goosebumps. Afterwards he walked around the boat and accepted tips. Everyone was very willing to put 1 or 2€ into his hat. The driver also explained the history of the lake and the geology.

At St. Bartholomew we stayed on the boat and continued on to Salet. We followed the path to Obersee. In between the lakes a goat and many cows were grazing on the side of the path. Our first glimpse of Obersee was extraordinary with a beautiful fishing hut, clear reflective water and towering mountains as a backdrop. We continued along the lakeside path which became more rugged with big drops off the side.

On the opposite side of the lake we found another smaller fishing hut and a restaurant called Fischunkelalm. We had a drink at the outdoor table. From here we could see Röthbachfalls, Germany’s highest waterfall. Alternatively you can continue the hike for another 2.2km to the base of the waterfall. Before heading back I went for a swim in the cold lake.

At St. Bartholomew there were little ducklings in the water. We continued up the hill into the shaded forest path towards Eiskapelle (Ice Chapel). After 30 minutes, the forest line stopped and we were faced with the rocky glacial valley. From here it still took us another 40 minutes. The melting glacier created a small river that flowed down the valley. There is no defined path so we just followed the river. We made the mistake of not bringing water so we drank the cold glacial water from the stream.

It is a relatively small glacier so that’s why it was possible to walk all the way up to the end. We walked inside and we could touch the thin roof. Water dripped from the roof like rain and we were a bit nervous it would collapse. Coming down was much faster and it only took us less than 1 hour to get back to St. Bartholomew.

St. Bartholomew has some good options for food. We highly recommend Fischerei St. Bartholomä and Gaststätte.

Fischerei St. Bartholomä

In this cosy cabin the fish, still warm from the smoker, are served on wooden boards. All the fish is freshly caught from the lake. They also serve oven fresh pretzels and brown bread. There is an excellent range of regional wine. We all got the Saibling with butter and brown bread which was 16.50€ each. We overheard some of the other guests saying that they came back to Königsee just for this restaurant. Please note that they only take cash payment.

Gaststätte

It’s located next to the church with outdoor dining underneath the shade of the trees. We had a well deserved Radler, Chili Sin Carne and Kaiserschmarrn (Austrian pancake). The food was delicious, the service was quick and it was reasonably priced, it cost us just under 20€ per person.

On the boat back to Schönau, we sat on the right side again. We got a stunning view of the Königsbachfall waterfall and the little island called Christlieger. This island is located close to Schönau and has an impressive statue of St. John Nepomuk. Coming into Schönau we passed a row of beautiful boathouses on the water's edge.

It was a warm sunny day so the shore was packed with people swimming and sunbathing. We noticed that many people had row boats in the shallower waters. There are rental boat shops on the waters edge in Schönau.

After we got off the boat we walked 800 metres around the lake to Malerwinkel Lookout. The spectacular view is framed by the trees. We could almost see all of the lake and we watched the boats pass by.

As always Königsee left us wanting more and we want to return soon to explore more of this beautiful nature.