Steinbach Lake (Steinbachsee)
The Steinbachsee sits in the folds of the Chiemgau Alps above Ruhpolding, a lake shaped by the same glacial forces that carved this whole valley out of the limestone. The surrounding peaks — Rauschberg to one side, Hochfelln to another — give you a sense of scale that the village below, for all its charm, cannot quite provide.
This is a place people come to swim in summer and walk around in the quieter shoulder months, when the light on the water turns the colour of old pewter and the crowds thin to almost nothing.
💛 What travellers fall for
People who return to Ruhpolding regularly tend to treat the Steinbachsee as a morning destination — arrive early, before the summer heat settles in, and you often have the water largely to yourself. The walk around the lake is short enough to do before lunch, leaving the afternoon free for the higher trails toward Rauschberg or Hochfelln.
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Book directly at the providerHow Steinbach Lake (Steinbachsee) came to be
The Steinbachsee takes its name from the Steinbach, the stream system that feeds into this part of the Miesenbach valley above Ruhpolding, a village that has sat at around 650 metres above sea level for centuries, shaped by alpine farming, forestry and, later, tourism.
No single founding event defines the lake — it is a natural feature of the glacially worked landscape rather than a constructed one. Ruhpolding itself became more accessible to outside visitors after the railway branch line from Traunstein opened in 1895, which gradually drew walkers and summer guests into the surrounding terrain, the Steinbachsee among the quieter draws.
Plan your visit
On the map
When to go
Summers are warm and genuinely green, with August the hottest month and July the wettest — a waterproof layer is worth keeping close. From October onward temperatures drop sharply; by winter the area sits regularly below freezing, and snow is the norm rather than the exception.
Right now
Background & history adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA) · specs from Wikidata (CC0) · weather from Open-Meteo · map data © OpenStreetMap contributors · photos from Wikimedia Commons / Unsplash with per-image credit. No third-party reviews or social posts reproduced.