Hike around the Lake Caldaro
The hike around Lake Caldaro is especially beautiful in spring and autumn, when there are fewer people on the trail and the temperatures are cooler.
- Region: Southern South Tyrol
- Categories: Stroller-friendly, by the water, spring hikes, autumn hikes
- Seasons: Spring, summer, autumn, winter
- Duration: 2 hour 20 minutes (circular hike)
- Elevation Gain: 50 m ascent, 50 m descent
- Distance: 7.5 km
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Starting Point: Caldaro/Kaltern, parking lot next to the nature reserve (Biotope)
Route description
Family walk around Lake Caldaro
In summer, the walk around Lake Caldaro can be uncomfortably hot. The area also gets very busy with visitors coming to swim. In spring and autumn, however, this family-friendly walk is highly recommended – whether you are exploring with a stroller, balance bike, baby carrier or on foot.
Good to know: The route does not run directly along the lakeshore. Instead, it follows quiet side roads and paths near the lake before continuing along wooden boardwalks through the beautiful Caldaro nature reserve.
Where to park at Lake Caldaro
You can park in the paid car parks near “Gretl am See” or “Lido di Caldaro”. We usually park on the other side of the lake, close to the nature reserve. Parking here is free and, in our opinion, this is also the more scenic starting point for the circular walk.
The circular walk around Lake Caldaro
From here, you can walk around the lake in either direction. We usually tackle the slightly more strenuous and less scenic section first. This means that the peaceful forest and fascinating wetlands are waiting as a reward towards the end of the walk.
We keep left and walk clockwise around the lake, following the signs for the “Seerunde” circular trail. Paved roads alternate with forest tracks until, after around 45 minutes, we reach Restaurant Geier and walk around the northern end of the lake.
From here, we turn right onto the path towards Klughammer. The route continues beneath the Leuchtenburg ridge, offering occasional glimpses of beautiful Lake Caldaro. Eventually, the trail turns right into the nature reserve. Wooden boardwalks then lead through the wetlands and back to the starting point.
The Lake Caldaro nature reserve
The protected wetlands and reed beds at the southern end of Lake Caldaro form the largest remaining wetland area between the Po Valley and the main Alpine ridge – one more reason why this family walk is well worth doing.
More lake hikes nearby:
- Hike around the Big Monticolo Lake
- Hike around the Small Monticolo Lake
- The Spring Valley between Monticolo and Caldaro
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