JANUARY 2021, UPDATED 2024
No doubt that you have seen pictures of Lago di Braies (Pragser Wildsee) on Instagram. The most quintessential picture of Lago di Braies is the picture of the little dock surrounded by rowing boats on a snow reflecting lake. Recently I revisited Lago di Braies, with the hope of having a better experience than in 2020. I previously wrote a not so enthousiast blog about Lago di Braies, but if you set your expectations right you can definitely have a good time at this Instagram stunner!
Practical information
In a lot of blogs you read about the difficulty of finding a parking spot at Lago di Braies, we visited two times in the shoulder season and had no issues with this.
For the high season (July – early September) you have to book a parking spot in advance, otherwise you are not allowed to drive up to Lago di Braies. Honestly, this seems like a great solution for the parking issue.
In 2020 we visited in September, when Italy was one of the only options for travel due to COVID. It was very crowded at Lago di Braies, but we were able to find a parking spot at 10.30AM. This year we visited in June, on a Friday and it was less crowded than in 2020. We arrived a 10AM and had no issues finding a parking spot. In both years the parking lots were less crowded in the afternoon, it seems like everybody wants to visit the lake early. We paid about € 6 for a parking spot, and as you pay no entrance fee for the lake I found this very reasonable.
I would advise to stay about 2 hours at Lago di Braies, the hike around the lake takes about 1 hour, and the other hour can be spent having lunch and taking pictures. There is a little restaurant and terrace at Lago di Braies which had good lunch options.
Our experience
Lago di Braies is a very popular spot in the Dolomites, it is very accessible and the hike is easy, so it attracts all sorts of visitors. If you visit during shoulder or high season, the hiking paths will be very crowded. This doesn’t have to stop you from enjoying the views, but it is something you have to be aware of. You will also encounter people with strollers on the paths, creating little traffic jams. If you visit in the afternoon it generally is less crowded.
If it is too cloudy or too sunny, the reflection will be minimal. If you really want to see the mountains reflected in the water, you need to come at sunrise, when there are no boats that move the water. It is possible to hire the boating dock for a private photo shoot before the boat rental starts. This will set you back € 400 (!!!). You can also rent a boat after sunrise which will cost € 50 per boat (2020: € 18). I personally thought that was a stellar price, just to take a good picture.
I have another recommendation for you instead: take a swim in the lake. Lago di Braies is quite cold, as it is a glacier lake, but because of that, nobody is swimming in the lake. Once you get used to the cold, it actually isn’t that bad and you can take the most breathtaking, original pictures of Lago di Braies!
2024 pictures
Maybe my photography improved, but by heading into the water you can get that picture perfect Lago di Braies picture, without having to pay the entrance fee for the docks.
2020 pictures
Below you will find the pictures I took in 2020, in some pictures you can see a little bit of reflection. Because it was much more clouded, the water had a different color than in 2024.
