Obersee, Fischunkelalm and the Röthbach Waterfall from Salet

What it is

The Obersee is a small lake at the far end of the Königssee, separated from it by a tongue of land and surrounded by rock walls within Berchtesgaden National Park. From the Salet landing stage you reach it in about 15 minutes along an almost flat gravel path. If you continue along the shore, in a little under an hour you are at the Fischunkelalm, a summer alpine pasture hut at the end of the valley, opposite the Röthbach waterfall: a drop of about 400 m, the highest in Germany.

Without the boat you cannot get there: the only convenient access is the Königssee boat to Salet, which only runs in summer.

When you can go

The boat stops at Salet from 24 April to 10 October 2027. Outside those dates Salet has no service: right now, in November 2026, the boat only goes as far as St. Bartholomä. The Fischunkelalm opens in the summer months; the Berchtesgaden tourist office does not publish dates, so do not count on eating there at the beginning or end of the season.

The route, step by step

The Berchtesgaden tourist office's sheet gives 5.5 km return, 1 h 45 min of walking and 119 m of ascent, with easy difficulty but narrow stretches.

1. Salet. Get off the boat and take the wide path to the right, next to the Gasthaus Saletalm.
2. The junction. Past the stream that runs from the Obersee to the Königssee, keep left. To the right it goes to the Sagerecksteig, a mountain climb.
3. The Obersee. You climb gently to the shore. This stretch is gravel and, according to the boat company, suitable for wheelchairs.
4. Along the right shore. The path narrows and rises and falls beside the water. Where it hugs the rock face there is a railing.
5. Fischunkelalm. You cross a small wood and see the Röthbach waterfall falling into the valley. You return the same way.

From the Fischunkelalm, high-mountain routes continue towards the Röth and the Wasseralm, with about 950 m of ascent from Salet and equipped sections: they are another excursion, taking the whole day.

How long and the last boat

Allow 2 to 3 hours ashore if you go to the Fischunkelalm at an easy pace, plus an hour by boat each way from Seelände. On the 2027 timetable, the last departure from Salet is at 17:10 in spring and autumn, and at 17:40 between 26 June and 13 September. The boat company recommends going to Salet first and stopping at St. Bartholomä on the way back.

With children, pushchair and dog

Anyone can manage as far as the Obersee, including with a pushchair or wheelchair. The stretch to the Fischunkelalm is not for pushchairs: a narrow path, steep in places, with wet patches even when it is not raining. With children who can walk it is a short, spectacular excursion; keep an eye on them on the rock-face stretch. Dogs travel on the boat with a muzzle and their own ticket; a wet dog may be refused on the return.

Food, water and facilities

At Salet there is the Gasthaus Saletalm and accessible toilets in the landing-stage waiting room. At the Saletalm and the alpine huts there are no accessible toilets. Carry water and something to eat in case the Fischunkelalm is closed.

If the weather changes

In fog, storms or floods, the boat may stop running. If the day looks threatening, do not go far from Salet and return with time to spare. With the path wet, the rock-face stretch is slippery: turn back at the Obersee.