Oeschinensee and Blausee: the two lakes above Kandersteg

Two lakes, one valley, very different characters

Kandersteg sits at the head of the Kander valley, the last stop before the Lötschberg tunnel carries trains and cars under the Alps towards Valais. Two lakes near the village get most of the attention, and they are worth separating in your head before you plan a day, because they solve different problems.

Oeschinensee is the big one: a genuinely large mountain lake at 1,578 metres, reached by gondola from the village, ringed by cliffs and the Blüemlisalp glacier, and part of the Jungfrau-Aletsch UNESCO World Heritage landscape. It rewards a couple of hours on foot and, in midsummer, a swim.

Blausee is the small one: a private nature park a few kilometres down the valley, built around a trout farm, with water so clear and blue that people assume the colour is fake in photos. It takes 30 to 40 minutes to walk around and does not pretend to be more than that. Both are honest about what they are, which is more than you can say for some Swiss “hidden gem” marketing.

Getting to Kandersteg from Lucerne

There is no direct train. The practical route from Lucerne runs via Bern and Spiez, or via Interlaken and Spiez, changing onto the BLS line that continues to Kandersteg and, through the tunnel, to Goppenstein and Brig. Journey time is a little under two hours each way with the connection, so this is a full-day trip from Lucerne, not a quick add-on.

If you would rather not manage two changes and a lake walk on your own timetable, a guided option covers the transport end to end: the private day trip to both Blausee and Oeschinensee runs from Zürich but can usually be arranged to pick up along the route, and takes the logistics off your plate entirely. There is also a private van combining Blausee with Thun and Bern if you are coming from the west and want the lake folded into a wider loop rather than a there-and-back day.

Once in Kandersteg, the gondola station for Oeschinensee is a short walk from the railway station, well signposted, and Blausee is reached either by the request stop at Blausee-Mitholz one stop back down the line, or by bus and a short walk from Kandersteg itself. See getting around Lucerne and Swiss trains explained if the connection system is new to you, and check current fares and passes with the Swiss Travel Pass guide before booking anything, since the pass covers the train legs and discounts the gondola.

Oeschinensee: the UNESCO lake above the gondola

The cable car and the walk down

The Oeschinenbahn gondola runs from the edge of Kandersteg village up to a mid-station roughly 350 metres above the valley floor. From the top station it is a gentle 15 to 20 minute walk down a wide gravel path to the lakeshore, easy enough for most fitness levels and doable with a pushchair on the main section, though the last stretch narrows. The gondola typically operates from late spring to late autumn, closing for a few weeks either side of the season for maintenance and whenever early or late snow makes the mid-mountain paths unsafe — check the operator’s current dates before you build a day around it, since this is exactly the kind of closure that ruins an otherwise well-planned visit.

Return fare for an adult runs around CHF 33 in 2026; Swiss Travel Pass holders get 50% off, and the Half Fare Card gives the same reduction. It is not a cheap fifteen minutes in the air, but there is no walking route up from the village that most visitors would choose to do in a day trip alongside everything else.

Walking around the lake

The lake itself is roughly 1.1 km long, and a full circuit on the marked path takes 60 to 90 minutes at an easy pace, mostly flat with a few short rises on the far shore. Most people do not walk the whole loop; the standard visit is to walk from the gondola’s lower path down to the shore, follow the near side for 20 to 30 minutes to a viewpoint or two, then either continue around or turn back the same way. The backdrop is the Blüemlisalp massif and its glacier, which is what earns the area its place inside the wider UNESCO listing rather than any built monument at the lake itself.

For a longer day with a guide who sets a proper hiking pace and adds route knowledge you would not get alone, the guided hike around Oeschinensee with a Swiss triathlete turns the lake into an actual training-adjacent walk rather than a stroll to a photo spot, and suits anyone who wants more distance and elevation out of the day than the standard shoreline loop gives.

Swimming, boats and the summer toboggan run

In July and August the lake is genuinely swimmable, though “swimmable” at 1,578 metres on glacier and snowmelt water means cold — most people are in for a few minutes, not a long swim. There are a couple of small pebble and grass entry points along the near shore; there is no lifeguard, so treat it the way you would any unsupervised alpine lake.

Berghotel Oeschinensee rents rowing boats by the half hour in summer, a reasonable way to see the far shore without the walk, and near the upper gondola station there is a short summer toboggan run through the trees, ticketed per ride — a minor add-on rather than a reason to visit on its own, but worth twenty minutes if you are travelling with kids who have had enough of walking. Families weighing this against other options nearby may also want Lucerne with kids and family day trips from Lucerne for a broader comparison of what actually holds children’s attention for a full day out.

Eating and sleeping by the water

Berghotel Oeschinensee is the only option actually on the lakeshore: rösti, soup, grilled sausage and cake, at prices that reflect the captive location — a main course typically runs CHF 25 to 35. It also has rooms if you want to be first onto the trail before the day-trip crowds arrive on the mid-morning gondolas, though most visitors from Lucerne will be doing this as a day trip rather than an overnight.

Blausee: the small blue lake with the trout farm

Getting to Blausee

Blausee-Mitholz is a request stop on the BLS line one stop north of Kandersteg — tell the conductor or press the stop button if travelling by train, since it does not stop automatically outside peak periods. From the platform it is about a 15-minute walk uphill to the park entrance. There is also a car park directly at the site and a seasonal bus connection from Kandersteg village for anyone not driving or walking the roughly 4 km road route between the two.

Travellers coming from further afield sometimes fold Blausee into a longer private itinerary rather than treating it as a standalone stop: the private day trip from Zürich that hikes to the turquoise Oeschinensee can often be paired with a short Blausee stop on the way back down the valley, and travellers heading onward towards Valais have the private day trip linking Lauterbrunnen, Blausee and Zermatt as a way to see the lake without backtracking.

What there is to do (and not do) at Blausee

Blausee is a paid nature park, not a free lakeside path — adult entry is around CHF 8 to 10, with reduced rates for children, payable at the gate. Inside, a level gravel path circles the lake in 30 to 40 minutes, close enough to the water the whole way that the colour is the entire point: a mineral-rich, extremely clear turquoise-blue that has made this one of the more photographed small lakes in the Bernese Oberland.

The trout farm on site breeds fish for the restaurant, and this is also why swimming and dogs off the lead are not permitted — it is a working operation as much as a beauty spot, and the rules are enforced rather than notional. The restaurant serves its own trout smoked, poached or pan-fried, and it is a reasonable, if not cheap, lunch stop: expect CHF 25 to 40 for a main. There is a small gift shop and a short forest trail extension for anyone who wants more than the core 30-minute loop.

Oeschinensee vs Blausee at a glance

	Oeschinensee	Blausee
Altitude	1,578 m	around 890 m
Access	Gondola + 15-20 min walk down	Train (request stop) + 15 min walk, or road
Time needed	2-4 hours	1-1.5 hours
Entry cost	Gondola ~CHF 33 return (adult)	Park entry ~CHF 8-10 (adult)
Swimming	Yes, July-August, cold	No, not permitted
Signature feature	UNESCO glacier backdrop, rowing boats	Trout farm, turquoise clarity
Best for	A proper half-day walk	A short, easy stop en route

Doing both in one day

It is realistic, but only if you start early. Take the first practical train from Lucerne to reach Kandersteg by mid-morning, go straight up the Oeschinen gondola, and give the lake two to three hours including lunch at the Berghotel. Come back down by early-to-mid afternoon, then either walk or take the short train hop to Blausee for the 30 to 40 minute loop before catching an evening train back. Doing it in the other order works too, and can make sense if you want the cooler morning hours for the flatter Blausee loop and the warmer midday for a possible swim at Oeschinensee.

What does not work well is trying to add a third stop — Kandersteg alone with both lakes is already close to eight hours door to door from Lucerne once you count the connections, so treat this as its own day rather than bolting it onto Interlaken or another valley in the same trip. For a broader sense of how this compares with other full-day options out of Lucerne, see day trips from Lucerne and the best mountain excursions from Lucerne.

When to go and when the lifts are shut

The Oeschinen gondola generally runs from around late May to late October, weather and snow permitting, with the exact opening and closing dates set year to year — always confirm before travelling, since a closed lift with no warning is the single most common way this day gets ruined. June brings the fullest waterfalls feeding the lake and cooler crowds; July and August are warmest and busiest, and the only realistic swimming window; September brings clearer air and thinner crowds but a colder lake. Blausee, being lower and road-accessible, has a longer season and can be visited into early winter in mild years, though the surrounding hike extensions are best left to summer and early autumn.

If you are trying to decide between this valley and other Bernese Oberland options for your available days, Lucerne in summer and the 5-day summer Alps itinerary both place Kandersteg and its lakes alongside the more famous Jungfrau-region stops, which is a useful way to see where a day here fits against the Lauterbrunnen waterfalls or other options nearer Interlaken.

Prices at a glance

Item	Approx. price (2026)
Oeschinen gondola, adult return	CHF 33
Oeschinen gondola, Swiss Travel Pass	50% off
Blausee park entry, adult	CHF 8-10
Blausee park entry, child	CHF 4-5
Rowing boat, Oeschinensee (30 min)	CHF 15-20
Main course, Berghotel Oeschinensee	CHF 25-35
Trout lunch, Blausee restaurant	CHF 25-40

These are approximate and worth checking against current operator pricing before you travel, particularly the lift fare, which is reviewed most winters.

Questions about Oeschinensee and Blausee

Can you visit Oeschinensee and Blausee on the same day?

Yes. Take the gondola up to Oeschinensee first thing, walk the lakeshore for an hour or two, then come back down and either walk (around 4 km, roughly an hour) or take the train one stop to Blausee-Mitholz and walk 15 minutes to the lake. Allow a full day rather than trying to rush both before an evening train back to Lucerne.

Is Oeschinensee worth it if you have already done Jungfraujoch or Rigi?

Yes, it is a different kind of place: no summit views, just a broad turquoise lake ringed by the Blüemlisalp glacier and cliffs, reached by a short gondola rather than a long cog railway. It suits people who want a walk rather than another viewpoint stop.

Can you swim in Oeschinensee and Blausee?

Oeschinensee, yes, in July and August, though the water stays cold even in midsummer since it is glacier and snowmelt fed. Blausee does not allow swimming: it is a working trout farm and private nature reserve, and the rule is enforced.

How much does the Oeschinen cable car cost?

Expect roughly CHF 33 return for an adult in 2026, with Swiss Travel Pass holders getting 50% off and Half Fare Card holders paying the reduced fare. Children travel at a reduced rate. Confirm the current price before you go, as lift prices are reviewed most winters.

Do I need a car to get to Kandersteg, Oeschinensee or Blausee?

No. Kandersteg is on the BLS main line with direct or one-change trains from Lucerne, and Blausee-Mitholz is a request stop on the same line. A car saves time between the station and Blausee’s car park but is not necessary for either lake.

Why is Oeschinensee a UNESCO site?

It sits inside the Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch UNESCO World Heritage area, added to the listing in 2007 for its glaciated high-Alpine landscape stretching from the Aletsch Glacier across to the Blüemlisalp massif above the lake, not for the lake itself as a standalone monument.

Is there anywhere to eat at either lake?

Both have a lakeside restaurant. At Oeschinensee, Berghotel Oeschinensee serves rösti and grilled food with a lake view and also rents rowing boats in summer. At Blausee, the restaurant’s speciality is trout from the farm on site, served smoked, poached or fried.