Level of difficulty 5 paddles |  Gastronomy 2 pitchers |  Length 23 km |  Time 5 - 6 hours

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The highest bathing lake in the Alps is not only delightful because of its unique water quality. The play of colors on and around the lake is reminiscent of postcards from the South Seas, the seclusion here is incomparable and also extremely relaxing.

General information

• Carinthia Card
• Weißensee PremiumCard
• Carinthia tourist information
• Weissensee Wikipedia
• Weißensee tourist information
• Climate
• Wind, waves, weather

Navigation rules

There is ample boat and ship traffic on the entire lake during summer. Therefore, it is important for us paddlers to keep our distance and give way. You should also keep your distance from the small villages along the shore so as not to disturb the bathers.

In addition, since 2006 the lake and its surroundings have been a nature park. A careful and respectful treatment of nature is therefore also demanded of us paddlers.

Dangers and risks

The mirror-smooth lake can be whipped up very quickly by the wind, especially in its middle or towards the west. In addition, you should always keep an eye on swimmers and shipping traffic. Keep a distance of 30 to 50 meters between yourself and ships. 

Directions

Coming from Villach on the highway A10 Tauern Autobahn you take the exit called Paternion. Follow the road and the signs in the direction of Weißensee for 23 km to the parking lot by the east shore of the lake (Weißensee Ostufer Parkplatz).

Getting to the reservoir by public transport is rather complicated, especially to the parking lot in Mösern on the east shore. The nearest train station is in Greifenburg, 6 km west of the lake, and no buses seem to go directly to the lake. It's easy to find connections to Greifenburg, but then you should also start the tour on the west bank.

There is no road network around the lake due to the forest areas. In principle, only the east and west banks are connected to the regional road network and in order to get to the other side you have to drive around the lake and its forested surrounding area. So if you want to start in Mösern on the east bank, as described below, you will usually only be able to get there by car.

Parking

At the end of the only access road to the east bank there is a spacious parking lot including toilet facilities.

Swimming

Lake Weißensee, which is up to 99 meters deep, is good for water temperatures up to 24° C. Even in September up to 22° C is possible. The swimming hotspot is primarily the western basin, as well as the villages of Techendorf, Weißensee and Neusach. But there is also a nice, free lawn on the east bank near the parking lot. There are countless romantic lake accesses along the circular hiking trail, which invite you to take a refreshment every now and then. 

Strandbad Stockenboi/Weissensee
Mösel 11, 9714 Stockenboi
Phone +43 (0)4761 258

public bath Weißensee
Mösel 11, 9714 Mösel

Worth seeing

During the so-called Culinary Tour you take a raft across the lake from Neusach, learn a lot about the animal world during the habitat inspection. Later you will be served Weissensee fish specialties on the way back.

Anyone who would like to watch a fisheries biologist at work can watch Martin Müller collecting the crayfish population and thus support and promote water protection on site. 

In the historical Greifenburg Castle not only is it possible to get married, the concerts and dinners that take place regularly are also highly recommended. 

If you're ever in the vicinity, it pays to pay a short visit to the small town of Hermagor, for example to visit the Gailtal local history museum.

Extra Tips

If you want to convince yourself of the extent of the lake in advance, take a tour on one of the passenger ships .

Possibly the purest bathing lake in the Alps is also a real diving paradise. Even though you see pretty deep down standing on your SUP, a dive in the clear water makes for a completely new experience. 

The Weißensee Mountain Railway takes its guests to almost 1320 m above sea level in twelve minutes. From there you have a wonderful all-round view and can enjoy great mountain bike trails and hiking routes.

The weekly market takes place from June to September, every Thursday from 9 am to 12 noon. 

The Weissensee Classic Festival marks the end of the main season every September and is a small but fine highlight of the Carinthian culture. 

Tour

From the east bank across the lake to the west bank and back again.

Length

23 km

Time

5 - 6 hours

Start and landing

At the bathing lawn in Mösel.

SUP rental

Das Bootshaus (The Boat House)
Neusach 30, 9762 Weißensee
Phone +43 (0)4713 2114

Waterpoint Weissensee Aktiv
An der Brücke in Techendorf
Phone +43 (0)660 1491544

Diving Weissensee im Strandbad Stockenboi
Mösel 11, 9714 Stockenboi  
Phone +43 (0)676 6517178

Overnight Stay

Ferienwohnungen und Camping Knaller-Möd 
Techendorf 16, 9762 Weissensee
Phone +43 (0)4713 2234-22

Hotel Nagglerhof am Weissensee 
Naggl 2, 9762 Weissensee
Phone +43 (0)4713 2106

Landhaus Vogel 
Oberdorf 64, 9762 Weissensee
Phone +43 (0)4713 2501

Gastronomy

Das Bootshaus (The Boat House)
Neusach 30, 9762 Weissensee
Phone +43 (0)4713 93080

Restaurant die Forelle
Techendorf 80, 9762 Weissensee
Phone +43 (0)4713 2356

Café Ronacherfels
Neusach 40, 9762 Weissensee
Phone +43 (0)4713 2172 

Maldives feeling in Carinthia

Lake Weißensee is in many respects a league of its own. The lake, which is 930 m above sea level, is the highest of the large Carinthian lakes and stretches out over almost 12 km. This natural lake trumps because of its seclusion, because the majority of the shoreline can only be reached on foot or by water. In combination with the microorganisms in it, the water creates a color spectacle from emerald green to turquoise, which is reminiscent of the Maldives or distant South Sea destinations. The lake is fed by its two tributaries and by underground springs, with the Weißenbach draining the lake towards the river Drau on the east bank. draining the lake towards the river Drau on the east bank. 

The circumnavigation or double crossing of the lake (distance the same) is already a marathon route for hardened paddlers and every meter pays off. The weather forecast for this morning was optimal – with sunshine and clear visibility. From noon, thunderstorms would slowly rise over Upper Carinthia and blow to the east. For this reason, We get out of bed early so we can hit the cool lake by eight in the morning. 

The journey from Villach takes about 40 minutes, leads through a beautiful valley landscape and ends in Mösel on the eastern shore of the lake. The free parking lot is still completely empty, the air is pleasantly cool and the entrance is deserted. On nice days, you should definitely try to be here before 10 am if you don't want to be circling around in your car looking for a parking space.

There is a nice meadow right on the shore, which will be densely populated with bathers in a few hours. Here you can calmly prepare for the upcoming SUP marathon before entering the water and paddling right towards the north shore. The low water level forms a light turquoise band that spreads up to 130 m wide into the lake. The first swimmers coming from the Ronacher campsite and from the public bath Weißensee activate themselves for the day ahead in the surprisingly warm water. We do that too, by first going leisurely towards the floating loungers on the north bank of the lake.

Since the lake curves slightly to the right, I can't even see Techendorf in the west from here. This place is an important signpost on this tour because the only bridge across the lake runs there and this will be a good indicator of my paddling progress. The distant view is awesome today and only a few paddlers are out and about.

The lake is as smooth as glass and the water is transparent right down to the bottom. Here you can see not only fish (lake trout, carp, pike, perch, tench, whitefish, zander, rudd) swimming around, but also a lot of old trees and tree trunks lying on the ground. In 1974, a lake trout weighing an incredible 22 kg was caught here. The water view can definitely compete with the distance view. You have to take advantage of such smooth, even resistance-free water, so we focus our morning energy and find an optimal and brisk paddling rhythm. This water tempts you to dream and gives us the feeling that we can stay well below the target time today. 

We paddle the first four kilometers along the northern shore with absolutely no wind and pass the so-called small stone wall and the wooden viewing platform. Both are located by the circular hiking trail above a rocky outcrop. To the left in front of us there is a small sandbank on the south bank and we can see the Techendorf bridge about 5 km in front of us. So we have just come around the long right-hand bend of the lake and notice how the wind increases slightly and causes the water to swell a bit. No problem, but it's a shame about the smooth surface, which gave us great gliding conditions.

However, the light breeze becomes a breeze and the water becomes a little more choppy, so we have to pull harder on the shaft to keep our pace until getting to the village of Neusach. But the headwind also has an advantage: when looking at the waves splashing towards us, we get the feeling that of traveling faster than we already are. This effect is motivating, even though you know it's just your imagination. Nevertheless, such an illusion is not insignificant on such a kilometer-long straight stretch.

This first test of strength against the wind ends about a kilometer before the now clearly visible bridge and we glide into still water again while enjoying the green meadows on both sides as well as the wide view over the hilly landscape by the lake. Lake Weißensee wakes up and fishermen, paddlers, swimmers and ferries make their way to and into the water. After almost two hours of loneliness, we are finally back in civilization and watch the hustle and bustle in the tourist west of the lake. In the villages of Neusach, Techendorf, Gatschach and Oberdorf there is a lot of accommodation, private lake property and restaurants - in contrast to the hardly developed east of the lake.

The bridge in Techendorf offers a ship landing stage and is very popular as a vantage point. We paddel under it and into the western basin of the lake, because it is still almost one and a half kilometers to the complete longitudinal crossing. On many occations we only paddle over one meter high water and the underwater world can be seen clearly and unblurred. The goal of the first stage is the bathing beach of campsite Seecamping Müller in Oberdorf. There we settle down, visibly relieved, and enjoy our break in the water. By now it is time to eat solid food, because the intake of carbohydrates and protein is crucial for performance during such long paddling sessions.

Halfway recovered, but mentally too used to the passivity of the break, we get back on our boards after about 20 minutes and make our way back. By now the lake is teeming with kayakers, stand-up paddlers and bathers - nothing compared to the calm in the morning. 

Under the bridge, the passenger ship called Alpenperle gets ready for cruising while some youngsters try their first paddle strokes on SUPs. 

The break lethargy is over and we are back out on the open lake, which will offer us another 10 km of SUP fun. Again there is a light breeze and unfortunately the headwind from earlier didn't turn into a tailwind. Step by step we grind over the emerald green water and the further we get away from Techendorf, the fewer paddlers we see. The wind is already sapping our strength when we hear the Alpenperle behind us, which is about to pass. But we use this as a boost of motivation to keep the ship behind us for as long as possible and to work our way forward with strong paddle strokes. 

The midday sun is pleasant but not excessively hot and the occasional look back confirms the correctness of the weather report. The clouds are slowly moving from the state of East Tyrol to the western basin of the lake and it won't stay that pleasantly sunny forever. Ideally, wind and waves stop again as soon as we complete the left turn after the Ronacherfels and have a view of the east bank again. We are in flat waters again. Locals would call it 'plattleben', meaning 'mirror smooth'. 

At the countless small bays and lake entrances, rows of paddlers are bustling about again. Next to the wooden viewing platform on the north shore, children and their parents jump from the makeshift rope swing into the almost poisonous green water. Time for another banana and drinking break so we can finish the last three kilometers just as quickly as the first 20 kilometers of this tour. 

The clouds are quickly coming over the lake, but upon arriving in Mösern there is still enough time for a refreshing swim. The entrance to the water and the sunbathing area are now full of bathers and we carefully navigate our SUPs to the gravel beach. Perhaps the first double longitudinal crossing of this lake ever (who knows?) is now over with. We're exhausted, but quietly enjoy this triumph over ourselves and our initial doubts.

Being one with the board, the paddle and the water. That's what drives us paddlers again and again and why we keep looking for new areas - as soon as the sore muscles have subsided. 

Alternative: if the double longitudinal crossing is too much, you can of course only paddle in one direction and take the boat back to the start.

Find similar SUP tours on Carinthian waters in the SUP Guide Carinthia (available in German only).