Easy Hiking Trail at Lake Kochel! Take Amazing Photos at the Edge of the Bavarian Alps

South of Munich lies the Kochel Lake, a 6 square kilometer body of water that hikers and photographers often circle in less than 5 hours. Lake that shares a life-giving fluid with rivers Loisach and Isar is easy to reach, and we at Mountain Moments invite you to join us on our next adventure in the Bavarian Alps.

Everything you need knowledge-wise, you can find here: route maps, expert advice, and professional photo tips as a part of comprehensive but easy-to-understand photography workshops.

What’s so special about this hiking route? This is what awaits you on the location

The area between Murnau and Kochel is often bathed in bluish color moods and plays of light. The Expressionist painter Franz Marc, therefore, called it Das Blaue Land. For the founding member of the artist collective Der Blaue Reiter, color was a way of expression.

The Expressionist works of Franz Marc with their strong symbolism can be explored on this long walk around Lake Kochel – and can be experienced on a detour to the Franz Marc Museum.

The idyllic Kochelsee offers exciting perspectives, especially from the north bank on the Loisach. Nature fans and photographers also get their money’s worth at the venerable Schlehdorf Monastery (founded in 736) with the church in the Baroque style and the old fisherman’s cottages in the lake.

Directions! This is how your Kochelsee adventure looks like on a map

The hike around the Kochelsee is consistently easy and relatively flat in an anti-clockwise direction. From Kochel train station, head west on a side road – and then along the state road – over footpaths and cycling paths.

Shortly before Schlehdorf you can turn left to the gravel and lakeshore. Past the boathouse photo spot to Schlehdorf and here logically follow the signposted circular hiking trail.

After the side road, the varied rock path follows to the hydroelectric power station (the end of the south bank). Continue on the access road to the state road. We cross this and walk on a beautiful forest path with slight ups and downs to Kochel am See.

Now you have to choose between the lake promenade or the Franz Marc Museum. Both options then lead through the town center back to the starting point at the train station (follow the signs).

Tip! For families and connoisseurs, it is also worth starting the tour in Schlehdorf, walking the most beautiful part of the “Felsenweg” lake tour along the southern shore to Altjoch and returning by boat. With this variant, you can also take the bus from the hydroelectric power station back to Kochel am See.

From there, you can also start the hike to the Jochberg or the Herzogstand.

Photo tips that will make your Instagram pop! Combine lake and Alpine foothills

The north side of Lake Kochel (nature reserve) is considered particularly photogenic by landscape photographers – here we have the view with the lake in the foreground and the foothills of the Alps with Herzogstand, Jochberg, and Heimgarten as a framework.

Loisach and Schlehdorf, with the old boathouses on the natural lakeshore, can be photographed from different perspectives.

Mountain Moments Photo Workshops provide Photo Tours for everybody, Alpine Experience for beginners and intermediate-level photographers with 3 to 6-hour routes, as well as Summit Experience for more advanced photographers and hikers. We have private workshops and group classes.

In the southeast of the lake and as an alternative to bad weather, the old Walchensee hydroelectric power station is impressive. In fog (relatively common on the north bank) we can play with the mood.

Attention! Nature reserve: please stay strictly on the path.

More information about your trip – from arrival to the finish line!

Getting there: From Munich via the A95 and the state road to Kochel am See (signposted). Stay on the B11 from the south or east.

Public transport: From Munich, you can easily take the train to the starting point and final stop at Kochel am See.

Difficulty: easy

Duration: 4.5 hours, 16 km

Ascent/descent: 195hm/195hm

Highest/lowest point: 675m/595m

Refreshment stops: Kochel am See, Schlehdorf Monastery, on the lakeshore south of Kochel.

Start/finish: Kochel am See train station (car park) (coordinates: geogr. 47.660185, 11.370351) 

Particular dangers: –

Tips: Partly nature reserve! Please stay on the paths.

The most beautiful photo spots and hikes in the German Alps – experience this hiking tour and 29 other exceptional regions now.

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