Türlersee is a small lake near Zurich, nestled in a quiet valley, making you feel far away from everything even though you are so close.
There is an easy loop trail around the lake, smooth enough for a stroller and short enough that a 5 year old can walk around it without too much complaining. As you walk around the lake, you’ll find a few picnic areas with few fire pits.
If you want to swim, there is an official badi at the south end of the lake and other unofficial entry spots where you can swim for free. It’s a lovely place for SUP as well, with glassy calm water and a peaceful atmosphere.
It’s also wonderful for winter walks, so beautiful with the snow. If you live in the area, it’s a great choice in any season.
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| Location: | Zurich Region |
| Car: | Parking: Türlen 15, 8915 Hausen am Albis (47°16’02.5″N 8°30’47.7″E) 25 mins from Zurich |
| Train: | Bus stop: Hausen am Albis, Türlersee 45 mins from Zurich |
| Trail: | 4 km loop, about 90 mins |
| Condition: | smooth dirt, obstacle-free, strollers ok |
| Skill: | easy |
| Open: | year round, weather dependent |
| Cost: | free |
| More info: |
How to get there
By public transport:
Take a bus to Hausen am Albis, Türlersee, about 45 mins from Zurich. This drops you near the campground.
By car:
You can park at the campground, which charges a fee. You can also pay for the swimming badi as you enter the parking.
There are also two free parking areas near the lake. But there are only a few spots, so sometimes these are full. North parking at 47°16’33.9″N 8°30’10.6″E. South parking at Türlen 15, 8915 Hausen am Albis.
From the parking or bus stop, simply walk toward the lake. During summer, the campground is open and you must pay to enter the swimming area next to the campground. So follow the path outside this area as shown above to reach the trail. This is the only part of the lake that is restricted. Outside summer, you can wander freely in this area.
Hiking map
The 4 km trail around the lake is a wide dirt path, possible with an off-road stroller.
At the southeast side, you’ll find metered parking, a restaurant, campground, swimming area, and playground. We usually walk clockwise around the lake.
P.S. This lake sometimes freezes in winter and you can ice skate on it. Check out my post for details.
Photo story
Campground & Swimming area
At the lake, there is a small swimming area and playground run by the campground, which requires a fee during the summer season.
It’s a very nice swimming area, with a big grassy area, playground, changing rooms, floating platform, shallow wading areas, and plenty of room to swim.
There is a kiosk and nice restaurants just outside the campground. You can also swim from other places on the the lake for free, but this area has the additional services you might need.
They rent paddleboards here for about CHF 20/hour (cash) – loved it!
We also put in our own SUP at the north end of the lake, without having to pay the entrance fee.
On the trail
To walk around the lake, simply follow signs for Türlersee-Rundweg as shown below.
Here’s where the trail starts near the restaurant by the road.
Here’s what the beginning of the trail looks like in April.
The trail is mostly smooth dirt and gravel.
Some lumpy parts in the forest on the west side.
Along the water’s edge near the north end.
There are several picnic areas along the lake with fire pits, a couple with tables. Most don’t provide wood, but we found plenty of fallen branches to use.
Walking through open fields on the east side of the lake.
Leaving the lake side to return to parking.
Hike in all seasons
Because of the low elevation, you can hike in all seasons. This was in May, getting green.
In April, still a bit brown.
In January.
Fishing
According to this website, anyone is allowed to fish from the shore without a license. So it’s a good place for your kids to play around with a fishing pole without paying an expensive fee.
The rules state you can use only natural bait, like worms but no live or dead fish, and no artificial lures. Thus you can see us digging for worms, yuck! We’ve fished there three times and never caught anything, except these super tiny fish with a net. But our kids still felt like they had gone fishin’.
I include this photo simply to show that we really do go out in all weather, always hopeful it will improve. On this day, we started in pretty steady rain but an hour later it all dried up and we had a fun day.
Ice skating
If we get a really cold winter for about 4 weeks, this lake will freeze over and you can skate on it. Get more details in this post.
11 Responses
The parking lots get quickly full, especially on Sunday. The Badi/camp/restaurant prking staff did not let us park our car for a home even for money. We then found sanctuary at this park spot: https://maps.app.goo.gl/gM6xcB2d9SrYV2Qr8?g_st=com.google.maps.preview.copy
Thanks for the parking tip Michal. You are right that the parking can be completely full on weekends, especially during summer school holidays when the campground is full.
Dear Tanya, thank you very much for the information you give in the blog. Lake is amazing and really convenient with kids. My 6 and 3 y.o.did it quite well.
So glad you had a nice time. It’s one of our favorite lakes and so easy with kids.
Hello,
First of all a big thank you – your blog has been kind of a boon to us. We totally love your descriptions. All of the details mentioned are so very accurate.
We loved this place and many more mentioned in your blog.
Keep posting. God bless you.
Thanks and Regards.
Neha Chandebhamar
P.s. i have been following you over INSTAGRAM too 🙂
So happy you have found the blog helpful. Wishing you many more happy adventures.
Hi Tanya, I am a fan of your website! I have been to Türlersee several times and went back again yesterday. It is actually an easy place to go to when one doesn’t want to drive too far. We braved the weather and we did well! We took some charcoals with us to make a fire. To my surprise there were some woods cut and covered so that was good although it was wet but we did manage the grill our sausages! The boys aged between 10 and 13y old had a blast, playing with their wooden sticks, running around, and entertaining the fire. I definitely recommend it, even when it is raining! Oh and I saw that they have paddle boards now at the camping which must be lovely to use on the lake, it is such a gorgeous one!
Beatrice R.
Sounds like a perfect day! We love the Türlersee too. Wishing you many more days like this one over the summer.
Minor update: the route around the lake is now covered with not-so-small gravel stones, so we had problems with a stroller there… Wish it would remain dirt though.
Oh no! Gravel is definitely not friendly for many strollers. Thanks for the note! If you plan to take a stroller on lots of hikes, you might consider a model with all-terrain tires like the BOB, which can handle gravel better than standard strollers. Good luck out there.
Hi Tanya-
I've been in Zurich for 2 1/2 years now. I enjoy your blog and recommend it to anyone who loves the outdoors. I've meant many times to e-mail you and thank you for sharing your adventures and giving trip ideas/tips. You've inspired me to write as well, so I started my own blog (published just 2 days ago) our travels within Switzerland, rest of Europe, Middle East, Africa and elsewhere. I only posted 3 trips thus far, but hope to add more every week as I work backwards in time. If along the way there are any trips that we did that you would like to link to your blog, feel free.
Thank you again,
Veronika
www.verifuntrips.com