Hiking to Seealpsee in Oberstdorf

Seealpsee is a high mountain lake situated at an altitude of 1622 meters nestled in the Oytal Valley in the Allgäu Alps. It’s one of the most stunning lakes of the German province of Bavaria that you can reach from the popular hiking and skiing town, Oberstdorf.

Oberstdorf is located about 166 km from Munich and it’s easily accessible. That makes it a perfect day trip from Munich.

My hike to the lake took place in July and I personally found the route to Seealpsee quite difficult. But it was worth all the effort and I cannot wait to be back to spend more time there.

I could not find good resources about this hike online and therefore I wasn’t prepared for this hike properly. I want you to be more prepared than I was. For this reason, I’ll tell you a lot of details about this hike that leads you to this dreamlike mountain lake in the Allgäu Alps.

LAKE SEEALPSEE (OBERSTDORF, GERMANY) TRAVEL GUIDE:

1. 1. How to Get to Lake Seealpsee, Oberstdorf
      1.1. Getting to Oberstdorf by Train
      1.2. By car to Oberstdorf
   2. Hike from Oberstdorf to Lake Seealpsee
   3. Getting back from Lake Seealpsee
   4. Things to Bring to Hiking to Seealpsee Lake
   5. Daily budget for Hiking to Seealpsee Lake,
   6. Summary and Main Tips

1. HOW TO GET TO SEEALPSEE, OBERSTDORF (GERMANY)

1.1. GETTING TO OBERSTDORF BY TRAIN

Ticket you need

Your best option is Bayern-Ticket.

Your ideal departure time

First, you need to take the train to Oberstdorf. I recommend that you start the day as early as possible. For example, if you depart from Munich you should leave not later than 7 am. If I traveled to Seealpsee again, I would take the train at 06:53 from Munich. This way, you would be in Oberstdorf already at 09:19.

There are two reasons for leaving so early. First, the hike takes quite a long time. Second, in the summer heat, it’s very difficult to hike there. Therefore, you should be up in the mountains by the lake as early as you can manage.

Check the train schedule, here, on the website of Deutsche Bahn.

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1.2. GETTING TO OBERSTDORF BY CAR

GPS: Nebelhornbahn Talstation

Normally, there s a huge parking lot somewhere close to Nebelhornbahn Talstation but it’s under construction at the moment. :-)

You can try to park your car close to Norma in Oberstdorf, either outside or in the underground parking lot of Norma. Parking for a full day in the basement costs 8 €.

If you want to consider renting a car, go for DiscoverCars. Make sure, you take full insurance!

2. Hiking from Oberstdorf to Seealpsee

The map to Seealpsee

HIKING TO SEEALPSEE – FIRST PART

From the railway station of Oberstdorf (Oberstdorf Bahnhof), you can start your hike already.

First, you need to walk from the train station to the starting point of the cable car called the Nebelhornbahn Talstation. When you are in front of the Nebelhorn Talstation, turn right and you will soon see the way indicated to Berggasthof Oytalhaus.

When you get to the lower terminus of the Nebelhornbahn, you will find a kind of tourist information office there. They will show you this map and if you are a bit confused, feel free to talk to them and ask for the directions. You may also get the latest updates from them regarding the route.

Then, from the starting station of the Nebelhornbahn, you can start your walk to Berggasthof Oytalhaus. This is a particularly pleasant walk along the Trettach River. It’s very easy as there is no elevation and along the river, there are huge trees that filter the heat.

(If you didn’t want to hike to Seealpsee, ideally, you could ride the cable car but at the moment it’s under construction. It’s expected to reopen in April 2021.)

Summary of the first part

Difficulty: easy
Distance: ~ 5.3 km
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes at least
Elevation: You will feel nothing. Oberstdorf is at 813 m and Oytalhaus is at 1,048 m.

Beautiful trekking route in the Oytal Valley

HIKING TO SEEALPSEE – SECOND PART

From Oytalhaus you walk a bit more and you will see the route to Seealpsee on your left. You will see a post with signs. That’s where you take a left. The trekking path is called Gleitweg.

The way is almost always clearly indicated. We just went in the wrong direction once. So, shortly after the post with signs, you will reach a stream. There is a huge rock there and that’s where you cross the stream. After crossing the stream, the route all the way up is obvious.

On the trekking route, there is a gorgeous waterfall where you can cool yourself. If you have empty bottles, take some water so that you can refresh yourself with it as you ascend in case it’s very hot. I took some and I kept pouring it on my head on the way up.

As you ascend, the hike will get more and more difficult. But as you get closer to the lake, the more beautiful the view will be. Especially, in the last half an hour before reaching the lake, the view will take your breathe away. There are also a lot of different types of flowers on the way that makes the landscape more colorful and prettier.

One of my favorites is the Enzian, also called Gentiana acaulis, trumpet gentian, or stemless gentian. I’ve seen it a lot in the mountains in the Alps in Germany or in Tyrol in Austria, and I just love it. How about you? What’s your favorite flower in the mountains?

Get ready! It will be difficult but don’t give up! On a side note, I have to tell you that the day before I cycled 52 km from Munich to Starnberg. That might have made me feel that the hike was very difficult. But I would say the most challenging part was when the heat waves were hitting my face. I have never experienced that in Germany before, only in the southern part of India and Morocco.

Narrow path with a stunning view over the Oytal Valley

Summary of the second part

Difficulty level: Very difficult
Distance: ~ 3.6 km
Duration: It took me around 3 hours 30 minutes. Officially, it’s a bit less.
Elevation: You have to walk up from 1,048 m (Oytalhaus) to 1622 m (Seealpsee).

Summary of the entire hike from the train station to the Seealpsee

Difficulty level: difficult
Distance: ~ 10 km only one way!
Duration: At least 5 hours
Elevation: 813 m – 1622 m

I completed the above-described hike but if you start early, you would also have time to further walk to amazing photography viewpoints. They can be found on Google maps as Ziegerstattel and Fotospot Seealpsee und Panorama.

The first one is about 30 minutes from Seealpsee and the second one is another 10 minutes.

Moreover, you can also walk to the Edmund-Probst Haus, located on the top station of the Nebelhornbahn cable car, where you can have a nice meal and drink before you head down to Oberstdorf. This would be another 20 minutes walk uphill.

3. GETTING BACK FROM SEELPSEE LAKE TO OBERSTDORF

Getting back was much easier. I used the same trekking route on the way down as on the way up.
From the lake, it took me less than two hours to get back to Oytalhaus.

And from Oytelhaus to Oberstdorf we rented a roller. This way it only took us 30 minutes to get back to the Oberstdorf. On the way back, you don’t take the route down along the river where you were coming from but the asphalt road. You can get a roller latest at 19:30 and you can return it in Oberstdorf.

To make sure about that, you can save their number: + 49 832 280 381

It costs 7 Euros. It’s so much fun but most importantly it feels really refreshing after walking so much all day.

This way, even if you relax a bit before taking your roller, I think you’ll not need more than 3 hours to get back to the train station.

As for the train from Oberstdorf, check when the last trains are just in case. If you have time, walk a bit around Oberstdorf as it’s a very pretty town.

4. WHAT TO BRING TO HIKING SEEALPSEE LAKE

– Hiking shoes: This hike needs proper hiking shoes, by all means. You can do the part between Oberstdorf and Oytalhaus in sneakers but not the second part to Seealpsee.

– Loads of water: In summer, you will need 3 liters of water. I had only two but I managed to survive with it. When you reach Oytalhaus, on the right there will be a wending machine. It’s a good idea to get some cool drinks there. On the way back, I took two drinks and I drank 1-liter water in 5 minutes.

– Snacks, food, coffee: And whatever you need to boost your energy level. Prepare enough energizers for the entire day.

– Baseball cap: I didn’t have but I recommend you cover your head to protect it from the heat. The strong sun can give you some headaches.

– Sun protection cream

– Photography gear

5. DAILY BUDGET FOR HIKING SEEALPSEE LAKE

The price of the Bayern ticket depends on how many of you travel together.

For 1 person: 29 €
For 2 persons: 39 € / 19.50 € per person
For 3 persons: 49 € / 16.30 € per person
For 4 persons: 59 € / 14.75 € per person
For 5 persons: 69 € / 13.80 € per person

6. SEEALPSEE LAKE HIKE TRIP SUMMARY AND INSIDER TIPS

• Departure: Start early, before 7 am.
• Ticket: Bayern Ticket for train
• Hike difficulty: Difficult hike from 813 m to 1622 m. Elevation difference: 809 m.
• Hike distance: In total 14 km hiking + 6 km with a roller or 20 km hiking
• Route: Oberstdorf Bahnhof – Talstation Nebelhornbahn – Oytalhaus – Gleitweg – Seealpsee and back the same way.
• Money: Bring cash!
• Gear: Hiking shoes, suncream, baseball cap, 3 L water, snacks