Monticolo Lakes

The municipality of Appiano offers enchanting landscapes at different altitudes. One of them is the one around the Monticolo Lakes (Montiggler Seen, in German - Laghi di Monticolo, in Italian) in the 100 ha protected area of the Monticolo Forest. Rocks and trees line the shores, and hikers, mountain bikers, riders, sun lovers and swimmers populate the banks, the circular trail between the two lakes and the forest paths in between.

The Big Monticolo Lake at 492 m a.s.l., featuring a shore line of 2.2 km and a max. depth of 11.5 m, covers a surface of 17.8 ha. On its western shore there are the Monticolo Lido, hotels and restaurants as well as a small parking space. Furthermore, around the lake you can admire the reed belt with its wooden walkways and the romantic "Schlössl", a stunning castle-like building with gables and pointed arches, hidden along the shore line. It was built in 1888 by Josef Zastrow from Germany and later served as a popular motif for painters.

The Small Monticolo Lake lies slightly higher, at 514 m a.s.l. and covers a third of the bigger lake (0.89 km shore line). With a max. depth of 14.8 m, however, it is considerably deeper than the Big Monticolo Lake. It features a lido and the rest of the lake is open to the public. Especially in autumn, the wood with its pines, spruces and fir trees, beeches, chestnuts, lime trees and wild cherries characterises the landscape with beautiful colours. A circular walk starts at the parking space near the Big Monticolo Lake and leads in 1.5 hours to the Small Monticolo Lake and back.