The Oeschinensee Panorama Hike is another trail that I planned my Switzerland trip around. The blue…read morelake, the snow-capped mountains, the free-roaming cows...it's the perfect Switzerland landscape! It's also an UNESCO World Heritage Site!
We took a cable car from Kandersteg but hardcore hikers can also hike up the mountain, which adds a couple of hours to the entire trip. If you have the Swiss Pass or Half Pass, it's half off of the ride! From the start of the ride, you can see some amazing views already. There's a river that passes the station and there are several small waterfalls along the mountain that feed into it. For a summer day, it was pretty cold in the morning but we quickly got over that once we started the hike.
From the cable car station, it's still a 15-20 minute walk to the lake but we decided to just start the hike before it could get hotter. If you go clockwise, you'll go by the lake first but I'd recommend going the other way so you could end the hike at the lake. The initial ascent is tough but we took our time and enjoyed the scenery. It's not really a dangerous hike...just don't be stupid and wear decent shoes. Lots of side trails to some amazing observation points and picnic spots so take your time to explore them all! There's also some mountain huts that sell snacks, beers, and fresh milk along the trail.
By the time we got to the lake, there were a lot of people out and about enjoying the waters. People were swimming along the shores, renting little boats to row out, and having picnics. You can definitely spend an entire day here and with just the hike, we spent over 5 hours. There's also a summer toboggan that was really fun! Highly recommend making this a day trip from Interlaken or even staying the night in Kandersteg.
