Alpine Lakes & Dog Swim Spots near St. Moritz

The east bank of Lej da San Murezzan at the St. Moritz-Bad end has a tolerated dog swim corner where leashed dogs can paddle in shallow water from June to early October. The main rowing club bay (north) and the public bathing area (Badeanstalt St. Moritz-Bad) prohibit dogs. The corner is between the rowing club and the Hotel Waldhaus am See pontoon, identifiable by a small grass apron and a wooden bench. Lake temperature reaches 18 degrees Celsius in late July.

The largest lake in the Upper Engadin (3 km long, 1,791 m) with a sandy bay at the Surlej end that is the closest thing to a beach in the Engadin. Dogs are welcome leashed on the entire 9 km loop trail, and a tolerated dog swim corner sits 200 m east of the public Surlej bathing area, behind the wind-surf school. The lake is the kitesurf and windsurf capital of the Alps (Maloja wind blows reliably from 13:00). Reach by PostAuto bus 15 min from St. Moritz-Bad with the Engadin Card.

The southernmost and most pristine of the Engadin lakes (1,797 m), a protected nature reserve at the foot of the Maloja pass. Nietzsche walked here every summer from 1881 to 1888. The reed-fringed eastern shore at Sils Maria has a tolerated dog paddle corner; the western shore is strict nature reserve (dogs leashed on path only, no swim). The Lej da Segl is the launch point of the historic Switzerland's oldest passenger boat (1909). Reach by PostAuto 25 min from St. Moritz with the Engadin Card.