Fälensee, the lake between the walls

A stretched ribbon of water squeezed between two rock walls in the Alpstein. How to get there, where the famous view is, and why fog in the forecast is good news.

Leon Helg
Leon Helg · Published 11 June 2026
Fälensee seen from high above through pine branches, a narrow lake between steep rock walls in the Alpstein, with fog and light breaking through.
Fälensee, Alpstein, canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden. The lake at 1,446 metres, seen from the ridge above. Photo · Leon Helg.

Getting there

Fälensee does not do drive-up. However you come in, you walk. The way most people do it, me included, is as an extension of Saxer Lücke: Staubern cable car up from the Rhine valley, along the ridge to the Lücke, then the trail south-east, descending toward Bollenwees. The lake sits right at the base, a stretched ribbon of water in a narrow valley between the Hundsteingrat and the Roslen-Saxer First1.

The pure walking route starts in Brülisau and goes past Sämtisersee to Bollenwees. Pretty the whole way, no cable car to lean on, and that is exactly what turns it into a proper long day hike. Plan it as the main event, not a detour. Either way you end up at the lake right next to Berggasthaus Bollenwees, which matters in a minute.

The photo

The view that sells this place is not from the shore. It is from the ridge above the lake, looking straight down its length, the water reduced to a pale strip between two dark walls. Bring a telephoto, 85 to 135mm, and let it compress the walls until they stack. Wide angle from the shore works, but it is not the shot.

And this is the one famous spot where I tell you not to wait for blue sky. Moody weather is the feature here. Grey light makes the walls feel heavier and the lake darker. If you see fog moving in, stick around instead of packing up. Clouds rolling through the gap at the far end of the lake are the bonus, that is the frame you walked in for.

Can you stay the night?

Wild camping at Fälensee is forbidden. Canton Appenzell Innerrhoden bans it at the lake, and the whole basin is part of the BLN protected landscape Säntisgebiet4. The SAC information sheet3 tolerates single bivouac nights above the treeline only where no local rules say otherwise. Here they do, so the answer stays no.

The good part: you do not need to break any rules to wake up at the water.

Berggasthaus Bollenwees

Sits directly at the lake2. Legal, and honestly the better night anyway: dinner, a bed, and the walls right outside the door. It is popular in summer, book ahead.

The huts around Sämtisersee

One valley back toward Brülisau there are more mountain inn beds around Sämtisersee. A solid plan B if Bollenwees is full, and it splits the long walk from Brülisau in two.

Official sources. SAC information sheet "Camping and bivouacking in the Alps" on sac-cas.ch, FOEN map of protected areas on map.geo.admin.ch (BLN and wildlife rest zones).

When to go

May to October, like most of the Alpstein. Within that window I would pick the unstable days on purpose. The forecast that scares the fair-weather crowd away is the one that delivers the fog.

Busyness is a 3 out of 5, which makes Fälensee the quietest of the famous Alpstein spots. Seealpsee gets the families, Saxer Lücke gets the feed crowd, and the trail thins out fast once you drop below the Lücke. A weekday with clouds in the forecast and you have the ridge almost to yourself.

Fälensee is in the Swiss Gems guide with its GPS pin, access notes and the wild camping verdict, next to 140 other spots I have mapped across Switzerland. If this kind of field note is useful to you, that is where they all live.

Swiss Gems · 141 spots in Switzerland

Access, best light and a wild camping status per spot. One-off CHF 27, free updates.

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Frequently asked questions

How do you get to Fälensee?
Two normal ways. Take the Staubern cable car up from the Rhine valley, walk the ridge to Saxer Lücke and descend toward Bollenwees. Or walk the whole way from Brülisau past Sämtisersee. Both end at the lake, both make it a long day hike.
Can you camp at Fälensee?
No. Canton Appenzell Innerrhoden bans wild camping at the lake, and the area is part of the BLN protected landscape Säntisgebiet. Berggasthaus Bollenwees sits directly at the lake and is the legal way to stay the night. Book ahead in summer.
What lens do you need for the Fälensee shot?
A telephoto, 85 to 135mm. The famous view is from the ridge above the lake, looking straight down its length, and the longer focal length compresses the walls. A wide angle from the shore works, but it is not the shot the lake is known for.
Is Fälensee crowded?
Moderately, about 3 out of 5. It is the quietest of the famous Alpstein spots. Weekdays and moody weather thin the trail out, and that weather is exactly when the lake looks best.
Leon Helg

Leon Helg

Swiss filmmaker and software engineer. 26 years in Switzerland, spends his free time exploring the Swiss Alps and maps his favourite spots for Hikebeast. Posts as @leon.helg on Instagram and TikTok.

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Sources

  1. Fälensee, 1,446 m, in the Alpstein range, canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden, in a narrow valley between Hundsteingrat and Roslen-Saxer First. Wikipedia. ↩
  2. Berggasthaus Bollenwees, the mountain inn directly at Fälensee. bollenwees.ch. ↩
  3. Swiss Alpine Club, information sheet "Camping and bivouacking in the Alps": single bivouacs above the treeline are tolerated where no local rules say otherwise. sac-cas.ch. ↩
  4. Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), geoportal with the BLN inventory and the layers "wildlife rest zones" and "federal hunting ban districts". map.geo.admin.ch. ↩