Breathtaking hike to the natural spectacle of the Jöriseen lakes near Flüelapass Davos. This lake hike shows you lakes that lie next to each other with completely different colours.

Text and pictures by Marc Gottwald

Jöriseen Hike in a nutshell

• – Still very few people, even on the weekends. The people are well distributed on the Jöriseen hike.
• – Technically and physically demanding circular hike.
• – Bring enough to drink, there are no fountains.
• – The Jöriseen hike can be done from mid-July at the earliest.

(Time: 5h, physically difficult, technically difficult)

Every person has their own personal place of desire. A place that one dreams of being there now. And to simply enjoy. This pure magic of nature. 

Have you ever seen a dark blue and a light blue lake right next to each other? Me neither until the Jöriseen came along and I totally fell in love with them.

Jöriseen Hike – Start for the ascent at 2700m

The starting point of the Jöriseen hike is the Wägerhus post office stop/junction Jöriseen near the Flüela Pass in Davos Switzerland. There are also plenty of parking facilities. Walk for about 20 minutes in the direction of the Jöriseen until you see another hiking trail sign. 

It doesn’t matter which direction you take. We take the path straight ahead and can also recommend that track, as you have a more beautiful view over the Jöriseen lakes on the way down. 

Again and again you enjoy the impressive view of the Sentischhorn and the gigantic mountain ranges. You can also see the Flüela Pass road. And yes, there is a reason why the region around Davos is one of my favourite regions in Switzerland.

Magical panoramic view with huge WOW experience

Now comes the first steep ascent of the Jöriseen hike to Jöriflüelafurgga at 2725m. Afterwards, your moments of happiness clearly trump the effort. So impressive when you see the Jöriseen. One lake shines light blue and the other in a pure dark blue. I had never seen such a stark contrast in Switzerland before. But it gets even better. 

The Jöriseen – fed underground by glacial water

A descent of about 30 minutes to the Jöriseen (2533m) gives us the next surprise. There are not just two, but three Swiss lakes in a row. 

You can take wonderful photos here, as the colour contrast between these Swiss lakes is greatly visible. The light blue lake is fed by melt water from the glacier and permafrost, the dark blue one by surface water. This is the perfect place for a picnic. We also take the first break on our Davos hike here. 

After a little refreshment, we continue to the middle light blue lake. It is possible to swim in all the lakes, although the temperature is rather cool. The lake is so light blue because calcareous very small sediments are transported via underground into the lake by the glacial water of the Jörisee glacier.

A question of time – until the Jöriseen disappear

Since the glacier has retreated to a minimum and the permafrost will also be gone at some point, the Jöriseen as they are today will not exist forever. When the permafrost, which provides stability, melts, there will be more and more debris flows. It is therefore possible that the Jöriseen will be partially buried. The Jöriseen hike is an absolute must. Above all, very few hikers (even at weekends) are encountered here.

According to photographers we met, there are particularly beautiful reflections of the mountains in the morning (in July and August). We were lucky that the sun was softened by the clouds.

Also beautiful is the cottongrass living in the moor, which blends wonderfully into the landscape of the milky glacial lake.

Now we continue from the Jöriseen with the circular hike back towards Wägerhus (2h). Past the third lake we come to a rocky scree field. This is a steep and stony ascent to Winterlücke (2787m). But there are always great places for beautiful photographs. All the more impressive that we already pass five more lakes! 

Due to the (almost completely melted) glacier, these are moraine lakes, some of which will probably not exist for very long. The meandering stream in the glacier forefield is also very impressive and a great photo subject. 

Descent to the bus station

The last hour of this unique Jörseen hike with one highlight after the other is a very stony and partly steep descent. As the post bus only runs every one or two hours, it is best to look up the times in advance. If you come by car and park at the Flüela Pass or at the Jöriseen turn-off, you are a little more flexible.

The Jöriseen should definitely be on the list of Davos hikes. For me, one of the most beautiful hikes in Switzerland.