Langbathseen

The Langbathseen are two lakes in a wooded side valley of the Traunsee above Ebensee, set between the Höllengebirge and the surrounding forest. The Vorderer Langbathsee is the larger and has road access, a level circuit path of about an hour, a bathing area and the Jagdhaus Langbathsee, an old hunting lodge now used as a restaurant. The Hinterer Langbathsee is smaller, about half an hour further on foot along a forest track, with no facilities and correspondingly fewer people - it is the one worth walking to. The water in both is clear and cold and the setting is deliberately undeveloped, protected as a nature reserve, which means no motorboats and limited building. Autumn colour on the surrounding slopes is the best time of year here.

The landscape

• Two linked forest lakes - the accessible lower one and the quieter upper.
• The hunting lodge - the old Jagdhaus on the lower shore.
• A level circuit - about an hour round the lower lake.
• Protected water - no motorboats and very little building around either lake.

When to go

May to October; autumn for the colour. Half a day.

Good to know

The road up is narrow and the car park fills at weekends. The water is cold. There are no facilities at the upper lake. Winter access can be closed by snow.

Nearby

Ebensee and the Traunsee are below; Bad Ischl is south.

Key facts