Weissensee

The Weissensee lies at around nine hundred metres in a narrow trough in western Carinthia, eleven kilometres long and rarely more than a few hundred metres wide, and it has stayed unusually undeveloped: the northern shore has no road at all and is reached only by boat or on foot, most of the surrounding land is protected, and the water quality is among the highest of any large Austrian lake. In summer it is swimming, boating and walking. In winter it does something no other lake here does at scale - it freezes reliably and thickly, and the ice is prepared and maintained as a skating surface of some square kilometres, the largest prepared natural ice area in Europe, used for tour skating and for the Alternative Elfstedentocht when Dutch canals fail to freeze.

What you actually see

• An undeveloped shore - no road at all along the northern side.
• Very clean water - among the best quality of the large Austrian lakes.
• Europe's largest natural ice rink - prepared skating surface in January and February.
• Boats along the lake - the way to reach the roadless side in summer.

When to go

June to September for the water; January and February for the ice. Two days.

Honest expectations

Ice conditions vary year to year and warm winters shorten or cancel the season. Accommodation is limited and books out. In summer the lake is quiet by design - there is little nightlife or shopping.

Nearby

Hermagor and the Gailtal are south; the Drau valley is north.