Length: 8.84 mi
Elev. gain: 1,572 ft
Time: 3:11:25
The trail:
https://www.alltrails.com/explore/recording/vorderer-gosausee-faefec4
Gosausee is a picturesque lake near the town of Gosau. After visiting Hallstatt, which isn’t far from Gosausee, we spent the afternoon hiking Vorderer and Hinterer Gosausee, which translates to “front and back Gosau Lake”.
The parking lot near the front lake (Vorderer Gosausee) was packed but we managed to find a space.
The trail started near the parking lot and followed the west bank to the other side of the lake.
I didn’t realize the via ferrata I had considered doing before was right here until I saw the familiar scene and the hikers clipped to the cables (near the center of the picture below), as well as the rungs and the ladder (in the middle of the picture after).
From the other side of the lake, the trail continued through a wooded area, and the incline soon started.
Soon we left Vorderer Gosausee behind us.
The incline was relatively modest, and we eventually reached the back lake (Hinterer Gosausee), which was not as impressive as the front lake.
So we decided not to finish the hike (there wasn’t much left, maybe a few more minutes of walking) and headed back.
Once we reached Vorderer Gosausee again, instead of following the same trail back, we took the trail on the east side of the lake to make it a loop around Vorderer Gosausee.
It was a beautiful hike.