25 Stunningly Beautiful Alpine Lakes That You Have To See To Believe

This lake in Banff National Park gets most of its water from glacial runoff.

If you’ve never seen alpenglow, now you have. It’s an optical phenomenon in which although the sun is below the horizon, its rays reflect off of snow, water, or ice particles in the atmosphere to illuminate the peaks of the mountains!

Found in the Trinity Alps of California, the lakes look quite surreal.

What else would you expect? It’s Switzerland!

The only way to get here is by bus and seats are usually booked up to three months in advance!

And the only way to get to this one is by cable car!

This lake’s rocky, tree lined shore is a favorite among hikers in the American northwest.

Yes, those are vine terraces with mountains in the background. Can anything be more relaxing/epic?

With a quaint village nestled up against the foreboding Alps, Lake Misurina definitely has its charm.

Found high in the Andes, this is largest lake in South America by volume.

It’s known as Europe’s cleanest lake, and all you have to do is see the color of the water to know why!

It’s not just one lake, but a bunch of lakes!

Located in the Pyrenees on the border with France, this lake is found in one of Spain’s fourteen national parks.

It’s famous for the island church sitting in the middle of the lake.

No list of alpine lakes would be complete without mentioning New Zealand!

It literally translates to something along the lines of “Lake of Death”. Nobody is sure why it is called that though.

One of the highest altitude lakes in the country, it completely freezes over in winter.

Meaning “at the water” in the local language, Lake Atitlan is the deepest lake in Central America.

It’s the largest of all the Italian Lakes and also one of the most beautiful!

After being dammed off, this lake gained some volume and has since been used to generate electricity.

Famed for the color of its water, the surrounding peaks, and the glaciers that you can see from its shores, visiting this lake is sure to make some memories.

Once again, Switzerland lives up to the hype!

Located in the caldron of Mt. Mazama, it’s what some have called the deepest, bluest alpine lake in the world.

Found in Sequoia National Park, fishing and camping are quite popular pastimes among visitors.

It’s not the highest lake on this list, but do you see that sunset!?