For most of the year it is a good place for an Alpine hike. In the mountains with crisp air, away from the city, visitors come for a day of walking around the smallish body of water, a mountain meadow and the surrounding forest. The nature reserve offers hiking trails, park benches, bushes, grasses, and flowering plants until warm spring days bring water from the thawing mountain peaks to drown it all.
Many hiking and mountain biking trails originate in Tragoess, making the area a favourite holiday destination. A number of guest cottages, hostels and inns welcome visitors to the region year round. In winter, several ski resorts and snow-based recreational destinations make the Tragoess area popular, with cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and dog sledding available on the trails.
The State of Styria calls itself the ‘green heart’ of Austria, with Green Lake one of its most picturesque sights. Water from the snow melt in the region provides much of the drinking water for the city of Vienna.
The lake reaches its maximum depth of around 12 m from mid-May to June and is claimed to look the most beautiful at this time. In July, the water begins to recede. The lake is popular among divers who can observe the green meadows in the edge zone of the lake particularly in June when the water is at its highest.
The lake supports a variety of fauna such as snails, water fleas, small crabs, fly larvae, and different species of trout. The flora is not abundant because of the rocky bottom of the lake, but the underwater views are amazing nonetheless. |