The Wildsee

The Wildsee is Seefeld's own lake: about four hundred metres long, shallow, moor-fed and warm enough to swim in by July. A flat gravel path runs the whole way round it in twenty minutes, which makes it the easiest good location on the plateau — no climbing, no gate, no ticket, and a different backdrop every fifty metres.

The north shore looks back across the water at the village and the Reither Spitze; the south and east sides are reed beds, birch and pine with no buildings in the frame at all. There are wooden bathing platforms on the western side, and in summer a lido with a lawn.

Stillness is everything here. The lake is sheltered and often mirror-flat until mid-morning, then a breeze comes over the plateau and the reflection is gone until evening. Fog forms over it on cold clear nights and burns off around nine, which is the best half hour of the day.

In winter the Wildsee freezes and is cleared for skating, and the reeds stand out of the ice — the same circuit reads as a completely different place. The path is level and stroller-friendly year round, which makes this the family and older-guest option when the rest of the destination means cable cars and gorges.