Summer swimming vacation in the Bavarian Alps. Far more than 300 lakes invite you to swim, sail, surf, dive, explore nature and have adventures.

So many lakes - so many vacation tips. White dots everywhere - in summer, sailboats are evenly distributed on the Upper Bavarian lakes. Sometimes they glide upright, but most of all they glide across the water at an astonishing angle. Especially on the large lakes, they can be seen from sunrise to dusk.

Lake Chiemsee, with 82 square kilometers Upper Bavaria's largest lake, Lake Tegernsee, whose "coastline" is one of the most sophisticated in all of Germany, or the "bathtubs" of Munich, Lake Starnberg and Lake Ammer, are popular sailing areas. Numerous sailing schools invite you for excursions and advanced training, and even the smallest ones learn to hoist the sails in special children's courses.

Board fun in summer
In Kiefersfelden at the foot of the Kaiser Mountains, sports enthusiasts strap their boards under their feet even in the warmer months, line up at the tugboat in the Wendelstein community and look forward to their first swings. From 10 a.m. until late in the afternoon, water skiers leisurely make their rounds on Lake Hödenauer, jump over jumps or ride serpentine lines. Trick skiing and water ski jumping can also be tested or demonstrated.

Simply worth a tour
"Mountain lake idyll" like from the picture book promise the Spitzingsee in the alpine region Tegernsee-Schliersee, the Kochelsee and the Sylvensteinsee in the Tölzer Land as well as the Königssee and the Funtensee in the Berchtesgadener Land. Here, you don't know which is more beautiful - the view of the shimmering turquoise water or the surrounding peaks. Lake Sylvenstein on the border with Austria is the only reservoir of its kind in Upper Bavaria and stretches like a fjord between the mountains. Like the latter, which is usually too cold for swimming but excellent for Kneipp treatments, is Funtensee at an altitude of 1,601 meters in Berchtesgaden National Park. It is considered the coldest body of water in Upper Bavaria.

Bathing fun in the face of the mountains - insider tips and Bavarian Riviera
The Upper Bavarian lakes are naturally also at the top of the excursion list for families with children. Long, shallow meadows leading into the water and pebble beaches around the lakes ensure a relaxed, happy day of swimming for young and old. Lake Chiemsee, for example, is surrounded by nine smaller lakes, including Simssee, Klostersee and Tüttensee. The adjacent Hemhof-Eggstätter Seenplatte with its 17 lakes, most of them filled with warm moor water, is located in the oldest nature reserve in Bavaria. Here, after a hike or bike ride, you can relax on secluded beaches just as you can at the Three-Lakes-Land with Weitsee, Mittersee and Lödensee in the Chiemgau Alps. Locals refer to the "coast" of Staffelsee in the northern Zugspitz region as "their Riviera." At the 16,000-square-meter Seehausen lido, it's not just families who like to linger into the evening. And, as an insider tip is also the Soier See, which is located in the middle of the nature park of the Ammergau Alps and is one of the warmest bathing lakes in Bavaria. Here you are guaranteed to find a cozy spot in the summer.