The Three Lakes Circuit at Kühtai, near Innsbruck, Austria

As we stepped out of our hotel in Innsbruck, the weather looked to be quite mixed. We had checked the forecast but didn’t quite know what to expect weather-wise. Predictions suggested cool temperatures between 12 and 15 degrees centigrade, so we dressed in long-sleeve tops, and packed waterproofs just in case rain decided to roll in later in the afternoon. As it turned out, we needn’t have worried – it turned out to be another glorious day in Tyrol.

Even on an overcast day, Innsbruck is still beautiful. The Vordere Brandjochspitze (2,559 metres) – the westernmost major prominent peak of the Nordkette range (and part of the Karwendel Alps) – was poking through the clouds in dramatic fashion as we made our way to Innsbruck Hauptbahnhof to catch the bus to Kühtai.

The bus journey unveils yet more stunning scenery. The thick cloud layer began to lift, revealing bright blue skies and towering alpine peaks.

Stepping off the bus, Kühtai looked strikingly different from our winter visit 18 months earlier. Last year, we had snowshoed through this exact valley when the surrounding slopes carried a real risk of avalanches, forcing us to keep a respectful distance. Returning in high summer to lush green meadows and open trails offered a wonderful new perspective.

While the air was fresh initially, it didn’t take long once we got walking to feel more than warm enough.

The route was exceptionally clear and easy to follow. Right from the roadside at Kühtai, yellow signs pointed us onto the circular path.

And it wasn’t long at all before we had acheived sufficient elevation to properly admire the surrounding mountains, looking along the Sellraintal valley, its northern wall dominated by the Rietzer Grieskogel ridge.

The path is clear and obvious marked out with occasional red-and-white striped trail blazes (mirroring the Austrian flag).

Our climb soon took us to the first of the three lakes – an Alpine tarn known as the Hirschebensee (2,164m), which literally translates to mean ‘lake of the deer plain’ since this is an area where red deer historically roamed.

As we walked, we admired the changing flora; pictured here is the Scheuchzer’s Bellflower (Campanula scheuchzer) which is native to the European Alps and thrives in high-elevation rocky crevices and alpine meadows.

Continuing up the trail to a heigh of 2,311 metres brought us swiftly to the second water body, the Unterer Plenderlessee (Lower Plenderlessee).

The third and highest lake is the Oberer Plenderlessee (2,344m) located just a little further along and before you loop back down past the Finstertal dam overview toward Kühtai.

Positioned close to this lake is the Drei-Seen-Hütte (2,311m), a mountain lodge perfect for a welcome refreshment while taking in the high-altitude surroundings, as well as play area for younger ones if they’re not already exhausted!

Even the toilet has a view!

Refreshed, we took one final short climb to clear a rocky crest, before starting the main descent back down toward the resort.

The descent was slightly technical in places but perfectly manageable so long as you were careful to watch your footing.

Kuhtai looked very different in the Summer to how we had seen it in the winter – the area we were now walking was one that was at risk of avalanche on our last visit, so we had kept well away.

As we neared the valley floor, we spotted our lunch destination: the Kühtaier Dorfstadl (th building on the far left of the picture).

The final stretch of trail led us through a short pedestrian tunnel which, looking back through its archway, beautifully framed the rugged mountain landscape we had just traversed.

According to our GPS tracking, we had covered approximately 7 kilometres and with an elevation gain of roughly 300 metres. While official guidebooks typically suggest allowing 3 to 3.5 hours, our moving time had been less than 2.5 hours – but that would be about right, factoring in a leisurely stop at Drei-Seen-Hütte.

Back at the road, there was no missing Kühtaier Dorfstadl with its bright multi-coloured cow statue greeting guests on the lunch terrace and another less colourful one perched on the roof of the main building.

There we took full advantage of the terrace, opting for the prawn and chicken poke bowls followed by a classic Austrian apple strudel.

It was the perfect finale to our walk before hopping on the afternoon bus back down to Innsbruck.

Disclosure: Our trip was sponsored by Innsbruck Tourism.