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Best Lake Hikes in Germany

We track 502 routes that match this search in Germany. They average 9.4 km and 206 m (676 ft) of ascent, with the longest running to 265 km.

That is 1 percent of the 46,167 routes we map in Germany.

Lake routes give you a natural halfway point, somewhere to swim in summer, and the calmest reflections of the whole week if you get there before the wind picks up. The mix is broad: 311 are rated easy and 52 are hard or harder, so there is something here whether you have two hours or a full day. A good share of them are loops, so you can park once and finish where you started.

Trails

Hard

Via Alpina Purple A41

Nationalpark Berchtesgaden · Bavaria

Distance
16.0 km
/ 9.9 mi
Elevation gain
352 m
Typical duration
3 hr 53 min
  • Lake
Expert

X1 Arnheim - Lippstadt

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
257 km
/ 160 mi
Elevation gain
5,651 m
Typical duration
69 hr
  • Lake
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

AV Weg 419

Nationalpark Berchtesgaden · Bavaria

Distance
11.0 km
/ 6.8 mi
Elevation gain
242 m
Typical duration
2 hr 39 min
  • Lake
  • Waymarked route
Hard

AV Weg 421 (Wimbachtal)

Nationalpark Berchtesgaden · Bavaria

Distance
17.3 km
/ 10.7 mi
Elevation gain
380 m
Typical duration
4 hr 14 min
  • Lake
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

AV Weg 422 (Sagerecksteig)

Nationalpark Berchtesgaden · Bavaria

Distance
6.8 km
/ 4.2 mi
Elevation gain
150 m
Typical duration
1 hr 39 min
  • Lake
  • Waymarked route
Easy

AV Weg 423

Nationalpark Berchtesgaden · Bavaria

Distance
2.0 km
/ 1.3 mi
Elevation gain
45 m
Typical duration
30 min
  • Lake
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

AV Weg 441

Nationalpark Berchtesgaden · Bavaria

Distance
15.0 km
/ 9.3 mi
Elevation gain
329 m
Typical duration
3 hr 37 min
  • Lake
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

AV Weg 442

Nationalpark Berchtesgaden · Bavaria

Distance
9.3 km
/ 5.8 mi
Elevation gain
205 m
Typical duration
2 hr 15 min
  • Lake
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

AV Weg 444

Nationalpark Berchtesgaden · Bavaria

Distance
7.5 km
/ 4.7 mi
Elevation gain
165 m
Typical duration
1 hr 48 min
  • Lake
  • Waymarked route
Easy

AV Weg 446 (Eiskapelle)

Nationalpark Berchtesgaden · Bavaria

Distance
2.7 km
/ 1.7 mi
Elevation gain
59 m
Typical duration
39 min
  • Lake
  • Waymarked route
Easy

AV Weg 485

Nationalpark Berchtesgaden · Bavaria

Distance
5.3 km
/ 3.3 mi
Elevation gain
117 m
Typical duration
1 hr 17 min
  • Lake
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

AV Weg 486 (Hochkalter)

Nationalpark Berchtesgaden · Bavaria

Distance
7.2 km
/ 4.5 mi
Elevation gain
158 m
Typical duration
1 hr 44 min
  • Lake
  • Waymarked route
Easy

AV Weg 492 [Kaunersteig]

Nationalpark Berchtesgaden · Bavaria

Distance
5.0 km
/ 3.1 mi
Elevation gain
110 m
Typical duration
1 hr 13 min
  • Lake
  • Waymarked route
Easy

Eingeschossener Steig

Nationalpark Berchtesgaden · Bavaria

Distance
0.5 km
/ 0.3 mi
Elevation gain
10 m
Typical duration
7 min
  • Lake
  • Waymarked route
Easy

Große Tanne - Huzenbacher See

Nationalpark Schwarzwald · Baden-Württemberg

Distance
0.8 km
/ 0.5 mi
Elevation gain
17 m
Typical duration
11 min
  • Lake
  • Waymarked route
Easy

Huzenbacher See - Dachsbau

Nationalpark Schwarzwald · Baden-Württemberg

Distance
0.7 km
/ 0.4 mi
Elevation gain
16 m
Typical duration
10 min
  • Lake
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Butjadinger Weg

Lower Saxony · Germany

Distance
51.1 km
/ 31.7 mi
Elevation gain
1,124 m
Typical duration
13 hr
  • Waterfall
  • Lake
  • Mountain
Moderate

Herz-Kreislauf Testwanderweg

Nationalpark Berchtesgaden · Bavaria

Distance
7.5 km
/ 4.7 mi
Elevation gain
165 m
Typical duration
1 hr 48 min
  • Lake
Easy

Schwarzes Wildschwein Speck

Müritz-Nationalpark · Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Distance
2.2 km
/ 1.4 mi
Elevation gain
49 m
Typical duration
32 min
  • Lake
Moderate

Via Alpina Purple A42

Bavaria · Germany

Distance
7.0 km
/ 4.3 mi
Elevation gain
154 m
Typical duration
1 hr 41 min
  • Lake
Hard

Via Alpina Purple A43

Bavaria · Germany

Distance
19.5 km
/ 12.1 mi
Elevation gain
428 m
Typical duration
4 hr 50 min
  • Lake
Expert

66-Seen-Wanderweg

Brandenburg · Germany

Distance
82.6 km
/ 51.3 mi
Elevation gain
1,817 m
Typical duration
21 hr
  • Lake
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Expert

66-Seen-Wanderweg

Brandenburg · Germany

Distance
106 km
/ 66.1 mi
Elevation gain
2,340 m
Typical duration
28 hr
  • Lake
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Expert

66-Seen-Wanderweg

Brandenburg · Germany

Distance
114 km
/ 70.9 mi
Elevation gain
2,509 m
Typical duration
30 hr
  • Lake
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Expert

66-Seen-Wanderweg

Brandenburg · Germany

Distance
115 km
/ 71.6 mi
Elevation gain
2,536 m
Typical duration
30 hr
  • Lake
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Expert

7-Seen-Wanderweg

Saxony · Germany

Distance
103 km
/ 64.1 mi
Elevation gain
2,268 m
Typical duration
27 hr
  • Lake
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Easy

Harzklub-Weg 6J

Lower Saxony · Germany

Distance
4.7 km
/ 2.9 mi
Elevation gain
104 m
Typical duration
1 hr 8 min
  • Waterfall
  • Lake
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Kasselsteig Etappe 12

Hesse · Germany

Distance
7.6 km
/ 4.7 mi
Elevation gain
168 m
Typical duration
1 hr 50 min
  • Waterfall
  • Lake
  • Waymarked route
Easy

Fahler Wasserfall - Panoramaweg

Baden-Württemberg · Germany

Distance
2.2 km
/ 1.4 mi
Elevation gain
49 m
Typical duration
32 min
  • Waterfall
  • Lake
  • Panoramic viewpoint
Expert

Nordic Walking Land schafft

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
46.9 km
/ 29.1 mi
Elevation gain
1,031 m
Typical duration
12 hr
  • Lake
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Expert

X17 Dorsten-Deuten - Dülmen

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
33.2 km
/ 20.6 mi
Elevation gain
730 m
Typical duration
8 hr 33 min
  • Lake
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Expert

X6 Recklinghausen <=> Maria-Veen

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
37.7 km
/ 23.4 mi
Elevation gain
830 m
Typical duration
9 hr 47 min
  • Lake
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Easy

Rundweg Wasserkünste

Hesse · Germany

Distance
5.3 km
/ 3.3 mi
Elevation gain
117 m
Typical duration
1 hr 17 min
  • Waterfall
  • Lake
  • Castle and ruins
Expert

Naturlehrpfad Heinrich Cotta

Thuringia · Germany

Distance
36.5 km
/ 22.7 mi
Elevation gain
803 m
Typical duration
9 hr 27 min
  • Lake
  • Mountain
  • Wildlife watching

The shortlist, side by side

The ten highest scoring routes on this page, so you can compare effort before opening any of them.

Distance, ascent, walking time and difficulty for the top routes
RouteDistanceAscentTimeDifficultyBest season
Via Alpina Purple A41Nationalpark Berchtesgaden16.0 km352 m3 hr 53 minHardApril to October
Lausitzer Schlange 5: Niesky – Senftenberger SeeBrandenburg116 km2,557 m31 hrExpertApril to October
Wanderweg Schlei-Eider-Elbe / Fernwanderweg E1, Schleswig-Holstein, WestvarianteHamburg265 km5,835 m71 hrExpertApril to October
X1 Arnheim - LippstadtNorth Rhine-Westphalia257 km5,651 m69 hrExpertApril to October
AV Weg 419Nationalpark Berchtesgaden11.0 km242 m2 hr 39 minModerateApril to October
AV Weg 421 (Wimbachtal)Nationalpark Berchtesgaden17.3 km380 m4 hr 14 minHardApril to October
AV Weg 422 (Sagerecksteig)Nationalpark Berchtesgaden6.8 km150 m1 hr 39 minModerateApril to October
AV Weg 423Nationalpark Berchtesgaden2.0 km45 m30 minEasyApril to October
AV Weg 441Nationalpark Berchtesgaden15.0 km329 m3 hr 37 minModerateApril to October
AV Weg 442Nationalpark Berchtesgaden9.3 km205 m2 hr 15 minModerateApril to October

If you only have time for one, start with Via Alpina Purple A41, AV Weg 486 (Hochkalter), AV Weg 497 (Hinterbrand - Seeleinsee). Those are the routes people come back to. Every route on this page links through to a full guide with the map, elevation profile, seasonal advice and what to bring.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

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