Lake Anterselva is a mountain lake at Rasen-Antholz, in the South Tyrol corner of the Dolomites, Italy. An easy path runs right round it — about 2.5 km, roughly an hour and twenty minutes — with mountains closing the far end of the valley. Swimming is part of what people come for, and a hotel stands on the waterfront. Two car parks serve the lake, the nearer of them free and about 570 m from the shore. It draws fewer people than the region's best-known lakes.
Lake Anterselva
Local name: Lago d’Anterselva
Trails from the shore carry on up the valley and over the border into Austria.
- Accessibility
- Step-free toilet block about 750 m from the lake; the drinking-water point about 510 m away is step-free too.
- Parking
- Free at the car park about 570 m from the lake; a second car park about 710 m out.
- Difficulty
- Easy loop round the lake: about 2.5 km, roughly 1 h 20 min.
- Transport
- Bus stop Antholzer See - Lago di Anterselva, about 1.15 km from the shore; Wildgall stop about 2.1 km.
What makes it special
An easy path runs the whole way round the water, 2.5 km of it, with the lake in view for most of the circuit. The colour is what people come for: a milky blue-white, the same shade that draws hikers to Lake Sorapis (Lago di Sorapis) on a two-and-a-half-hour walk in each direction — here you park and walk to it. It stays quieter than the headline lakes of the Dolomites. Spruce and larch run down to the shoreline, and at the head of the valley the ridges close the view.
Good to know
- Toilets are paid. Two blocks sit about 530 m and 750 m from the shore, and both charge; the one further out is step-free.
- Free drinking water: a public tap about 510 m from the lake, step-free to reach.
- The loop needs time. 2.5 km round the water works out at about an hour and twenty minutes at an easy pace.
- Information boards stand about 730–770 m from the shore and carry the local trail numbering (71 / 11-AR-20).
Getting there
Nearly everyone arrives by car, up the valley road. From the nearer car park it is about 570 m on foot to the water, a little more from the second one. By bus the approach is longer: the stop named for the lake sits about 1.15 km from the shore, so the last stretch is walked either way, before the loop round the lake even starts.
Best time to visit
Better: after 15:00 — the crowd thins out and the air is warmer than earlier in the day.
Avoid: the middle of the day, when most people turn up and the path round the lake carries the bulk of them.
The pattern here is a day-trip one: mornings take the traffic, and by the second half of the afternoon the shore has largely emptied.
Sun & daylight
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Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to walk round Lake Anterselva?
The loop is about 2.5 km and takes roughly an hour and twenty minutes on an easy path, longer with photo stops.Is parking free at Lake Anterselva?
Yes at the nearer car park, about 570 m from the water. A second car park lies about 710 m from the lake.Can you reach the lake by bus?
There is a stop called Antholzer See - Lago di Anterselva about 1.15 km from the shore, and a further stop, Wildgall, about 2.1 km out.Are there toilets and drinking water?
Two toilet blocks stand about 530 m and 750 m from the lake and both charge a fee. A free drinking-water point is about 510 m away.When is Lake Anterselva quietest?
From about 15:00 onwards. It is also quieter overall than the better-known lakes of the Dolomites.