Gaisalpsee from Reichenbach

The walk starts from the pay car park for the Gaisalpe at Reichenbach, north of Oberstdorf. There are two ways up to the Gaisalpe inn, a tarmac lane and a stepped path through the Gaisalp gorge, and the line uses one each way. Above the inn a mountain path climbs steeply through wood and over a rocky step to the Unterer Gaisalpsee, a dark lake at about 1,510 m in the cirque below the Rubihorn. Return the same way.

It is 8.3 km there and back with 633 m of ascent; allow about 4½ hours. The grade is Hard. By time alone it would be Moderate, but just below the lake the path crosses a rocky section with a wire rope at the edge of a drop, and that needs sure feet and care in the wet.

The lake lies under the Rubihorn and the Gaisalphorn, with the Nebelhorn behind. The Gaisalpe inn, about halfway, is the only place for food.

The walk is for May to November: the gorge path is closed in winter because of ice, and snow lies at the lake well into spring. Parking cost €5 a day in 2026. Buses from Oberstdorf and Fischen stop at Reichenbach, and trains run to Oberstdorf.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.