Frauenau Drinking Water Reservoir – View of Lake Rachel loop from Wildschutzgebiet Auwald

Hiking trails & Routes

Frauenau Drinking Water Reservoir – View of Lake Rachel loop from Wildschutzgebiet Auwald

Hard

4.9

(196)

796

hikers

Frauenau Drinking Water Reservoir – View of Lake Rachel loop from Wildschutzgebiet Auwald

07:36

22.6km

1,010m

Hiking

Hard hike. Very good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required. The starting point of the route is right next to a parking lot.

Last updated: August 6, 2026

Tips

Your route passes through protected areas

Please check local regulations for:

Nationalpark Bayerischer Wald

Naturpark Bayerischer Wald

Waypoints

Start point

Parking

Get Directions

132 m

Drinking Water Reservoir Trailhead and Information Center

Highlight • Rest Area

Tip top clean and the parking space is still free (03/2024)

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Tip by

933 m

View of the Trinkwassertalsperre (drinking water reservoir) in the Bavarian Forest Nature Park

Highlight • Lake

beautiful view of the dam all the way to the back

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954 m

Frauenau Drinking Water Reservoir

Highlight • Lake

This dam serves as flood protection, drinking water storage and energy generation. Information boards provide information about the construction and much more about the dam. Worth seeing!

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1.72 km

Waterfall Trail in Naturpark Bayerischer Wald

Highlight (Segment) • Trail

Beautiful hiking trail in every season

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2.54 km

Waterfall in Naturpark Bayerischer Wald

Highlight • Waterfall

Beautiful waterfall in the forest

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8.81 km

Viewpoint

9.45 km

Waldschmidthaus

Alpine Hut

11.0 km

View of Lake Rachel

Highlight • Viewpoint

From the little Rachel chapel you have a fantastic view down to the Rachelsee.

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Tip by

11.3 km

Rachel Chapel with View of Lake Rachel

Highlight • Religious Site

High above the Rachelsee perched on a narrow rocky outcrop, the wooden Rachel chapel. The view of Lake Rachel and the tranquil chapel invite you to take a break at any time of the year.

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Tip by

13.9 km

Rachelsteig

Highlight (Segment) • Trail

Impressive landscape with a sea of flowers in summer

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Tip by

22.6 km

End point

Parking

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

12.8 km

7.77 km

1.96 km

< 100 m

Surfaces

13.6 km

5.92 km

2.04 km

816 m

240 m

< 100 m

Elevation

Nothing selected – click and drag below to see the stats for a specific part of the route.

Weather

Monday 19 October

13°C

2°C

-- %

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Comments

July 26, 2024,Rachelkapelle ⛪️ – große Rachel Runde von Frauenau

Friday morning, the sun is shining and I've always wanted to climb the second highest mountain in the Bavarian Forest 🌳.
The difference to the big Arber is only a few meters in altitude, but I've never been to this area.

So I look for a suitable route to challenge myself.

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August 11, 2023,Über die "Nordwand" zum gr. Rachel und übern Rachelsteig zurück

So for me the most beautiful route on the Rachel....

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September 18, 2021,Rachelsteig-kleiner/großer Rachel

Today a men's round over the Rachelsteig to the little and big Rachel.
Descent over the Finsterauersteig.
A great natural spectacle despite the fog.
The route is very demanding

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July 30, 2022,Wanderung auf den Rachel im Bayer.Wald

Of course, the walking time is not correct, we were on the road for a total of 7.5 hours. The ascent was easily doable but the way down was very difficult and a bit slippery today.

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April 22, 2025,Großer Rachel ab Frauenau

The start and finish are the same, but unfortunately my watch was dead. So I added another 2 kilometers.

It was a leisurely climb in perfect weather. It was a bit chilly at the summit. For the descent, I chose the route from the Rother hiking guide.

I knew it was going to be something!

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June 14, 2025,Von Oberfrauenau über den Nordssteig zum großen Rachel

Today we took a special route up the Großer Rachel.
From Oberfrauenau, we headed toward the Frauenau Dam, then along the Nordsteig trail to the Rachelwiese.
From there, we continued to the Waldschmidt Haus up to the Großer Rachel.
The return route continued left along the Kleiner Rachel back to Oberfrauenau.

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September 22, 2021,WP Oberfrauenau, WW 5, re. unm. Wegepfad bis z. Trinkwassertalsperre, WW 5(+ 7-Stern), WW 7-Stern (Abzw. Rachel), Rachelwiese, unm. Steig z. Gr. Rachel, Waldshmidthaus, Abst. Aussichtskanzel Rachelsee, FWW E 8, Abst. Kl. Rachel, FWW E 8 (+ a. Rachelsteig)

Demanding, strenuous, extremely delightful and eventful mountain hike through unspoilt trees on sandy paths, mostly on rocky, rooty paths and climbs, especially when crossing the Hochbruck with many stones, boulders, roots almost up to the Rachelwiese with great views, especially with gigantic panoramic views from Big or Small Rachel. PS: A good basic level of fitness is required for this …

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June 27, 2023,🌤 Von Oberfrauenau 🏘 🏞 hoch zum Großen Rachel ⛰

Today I went up to the Big Rachel ⛰. The start took place in Oberfrauenau 🏘.

First, however, the route led around the Frauenau 🏞 drinking water dam. This is fed by the Kleiner Regen and the Hirschbach.

Then the ascent slowly began. It soon became steeper and at some point I reached the Goldsteig 🎗💛, which also leads up …

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