Swimming in Toggenburg: three mountain lakes for hot summer days

When the summer sun beats down on the valley, you don’t have to travel far in Toggenburg to cool off. Instead of a crowded lake with tour coaches and selfie queues, here you head to quiet mountain lakes with clear, boggy-warm water. Three of them are especially close to our hearts, each with its own character.

Schönenbodensee: the lido in Wildhaus

The Schönenbodensee above Wildhaus, at around 1098 metres below the Gulmen, is our tip when you want a proper swimming day with facilities. This natural moorland lake has been used for bathing for over a hundred years, and today there is a well-kept lido (Badi): a little bath restaurant for chips and ice cream, pedalos to rent, swimming rafts and a jetty for getting in.

For families the lake is a small paradise: there’s a separate non-swimmer and children’s area with a pirate ship and lots of play equipment. Parking is right by the lido. In short: the sociable, easy-going one of the three lakes.

Photo: Toggenburg Tourismus

Schwendisee: free swimming in a warm moorland lake

Closer to us, above Unterwasser and Wildhaus, lies the Schwendisee (around 1159 m). It’s a moorland lake and therefore surprisingly warm in high summer, warmer than you’d expect of a mountain lake. Swimming is free in the front Schwendisee: there’s a wooden jetty, a raft, barbecue spots and a restaurant right by the shore. You’re up there in a few minutes by car. More on it, and on the Gräppelensee, in our detailed piece on the mountain lakes Schwendisee & Gräppelensee.

Gräppelensee: the quiet sibling

If you prefer something calmer and more enchanted, drive towards the Parkplatz Laui and walk up from there in about an hour to the Gräppelensee, a flat-moor lake at around 1307 metres at the foot of the Lütispitz. There’s no bustle here, only alpine pastures, dragonflies and still water. Swimming is possible (there’s a jetty on the north shore), and barbecue spots on the east shore invite you to linger. The short climb is worth it for the quiet.

Photo: Toggenburg Tourismus

Honestly: you’ll need the car

An honest note: none of the lakes is reachable on foot from our doorstep, for all three you’ll take the car (the Schönenbodensee and Schwendisee have parking; the Gräppelensee involves a walk from Laui). And because these are mountain and moorland lakes: you swim at your own risk, the bottom can be soft and boggy, and there’s a supervised bathing area only at the Badi Schönenbodensee.

The lovely thing, when you stay with us in Louisa’s Loft or Louisa’s Gallery: after a day by the water it’s only a few minutes back to the historic SutterSport building in Alt St. Johann, where, to complement the cool-down outside, a warm-up awaits inside: your own hot tub on the terrace.