Austria’s Grüner See became famous around the world for photographs that looked almost impossible: scuba divers floating above grassy paths, benches and trees in what appeared to be a completely submerged park.
For years, the seasonal lake near Tragöß in Styria offered one of Europe’s strangest diving experiences. Snowmelt from the surrounding Hochschwab Mountains would fill the basin in spring, covering parts of the landscape with exceptionally clear, emerald-green water.
There is just one problem for divers hoping to experience it today.
Diving at Grüner See has been prohibited since 2016. The lake was closed to diving and other water sports in order to protect its sensitive environment, meaning those remarkable underwater photographs now document an experience that visitors can no longer recreate.
Fortunately, Grüner See is hardly Austria’s only spectacular freshwater diving destination. In fact, the country is packed with Alpine lakes containing underwater forests, dramatic rock walls and remarkably clear water.
Here are five alternatives where diving is still possible.
1. Lake Attersee — including an underwater forest
If what attracted you to Grüner See was the idea of swimming through an underwater forest, Lake Attersee may be the closest replacement.
Located in Upper Austria’s Salzkammergut region, Attersee is Austria’s largest lake by surface area and one of the country’s best-established diving destinations. Diving takes place here throughout the year, with numerous designated entry points around the lake.
But one site in particular stands out.
The Unterwasserwald, or Underwater Forest, features enormous tree trunks scattered across the lakebed. Some lie on top of one another while others project diagonally out into the open water, producing an eerie submerged landscape.
The official tourism description places the underwater forest at around 21 metres below the surface and describes the scene as distinctly mystical.
Attersee offers plenty beyond the forest, too. Divers can encounter steep walls and other varied underwater terrain, while diving schools and filling stations are located around the lake.
It isn’t Grüner See’s temporarily submerged Alpine park, but visually, this might be about as close as you can now get in Austria.
2. Lake Weissensee — dive through submerged forests or beneath the ice
Head south to Carinthia and the experience becomes even more unusual.
Lake Weissensee is a turquoise Alpine lake surrounded by mountains and forests, but some of its most interesting scenery is hidden beneath the surface.
Divers can explore underwater forests as well as steep drop-offs, while the lake is also home to pike, carp, perch and other freshwater fish. Around 20 selected dive spots are promoted around Weissensee, accessible from shore or by boat.
Then winter arrives.
Rather than bringing the diving season to an end, freezing conditions create an entirely different experience: ice diving.
When conditions permit and the lake freezes over, specialist operators take properly trained divers beneath the ice. The official Weissensee tourism organization says winter visibility can reach as much as 30 metres, with sunlight filtering through the frozen surface above.
That makes Weissensee one of the most unusual year-round diving destinations on this list.
If Grüner See offered divers the surreal experience of swimming through a summer landscape, Weissensee provides its own Alpine equivalent: descending beneath a frozen winter one.
3. Grundlsee — clear-water diving in the same region as Grüner See
For anyone who wants to stay closer to Grüner See, Grundlsee has an obvious advantage.
It is also located in Styria.
The lake sits in the Styrian section of the Salzkammergut and remains an active diving destination, meaning it offers a way to combine a trip to Grüner See with somewhere visitors can actually get underwater.
Austria’s national tourism organization highlights Grundlsee for its combination of steep rock faces, shallow areas and varied fish life, while a local diving school notes that the lake is particularly well known for its excellent visibility.
The attraction here is less about a single novelty and more about the complete Alpine diving environment.
Above the surface there are mountains, forests and a spectacular Austrian lake. Below it are rocky walls and freshwater habitats that can be explored rather than merely admired from shore.
For a trip inspired by the original Grüner See photographs, it is one of the most logical alternatives.
4. Lake Wörthersee — an underwater jungle in Carinthia
Wörthersee looks very different from Grüner See above the surface.
The large Carinthian lake is better known for swimming, lakeside resorts and warm summer days. Yet put on a mask and descend beneath the water and another landscape appears.
Austria’s tourism board specifically highlights water-lily forests, stonewort algae and dense stands of milfoil among the underwater sights awaiting divers in Wörthersee.
In other words, this isn’t necessarily the place to look for submerged benches and walking paths.
Instead, the vegetation itself becomes the scenery.
Moving through freshwater plants can create an almost forest-like effect, particularly when shafts of sunlight penetrate the water from above. Combined with the lake’s large size and mountainous Carinthian surroundings, it offers a very different take on Austria’s underwater landscapes.
It is also a reminder that the country’s lakes aren’t simply beautiful from the shore.
Some of their most interesting scenery begins below it.
5. Lake Wolfgangsee — dramatic cliffs above and below the surface
Our final alternative demonstrates just how dramatic an Alpine lake can become once you follow its mountains underwater.
Wolfgangsee, another of the Salzkammergut’s famous lakes, is surrounded by peaks including the Schafberg and Zwölferhorn.
One of its particularly interesting diving areas is around the Falkenstein Wall.
According to Austria Tourism, the rock face plunges approximately 120 metres toward the lake before continuing for roughly another 90 metres beneath the water. The Franzosenschanze dive site near St. Gilgen provides access to this underwater environment.
Local tourism authorities continue to list diving among the year-round water activities available at Wolfgangsee, and a diving centre in St. Wolfgang offers guided dives and courses.
It’s a completely different spectacle from Grüner See.
Rather than floating above a submerged meadow, divers can follow enormous rock formations into the depths of an Alpine lake.
Grüner See is still worth visiting — just not with scuba gear
None of these lakes completely duplicates Grüner See.
That is precisely why the original location became so famous.
Every spring, snowmelt fills Grüner See with crystal-clear water, temporarily covering walking paths, wooden bridges and benches. As summer progresses, the water level gradually drops again.
Visitors can still travel to Tragöß and see this extraordinary seasonal phenomenon from dry land. They simply cannot dive into it.
For those who want to experience Austria beneath the surface, however, there are plenty of alternatives — and some might be every bit as interesting.
Attersee has its underwater forest. Weissensee offers diving beneath winter ice. Grundlsee combines clear water with the scenery of Styria. Wörthersee hides forests of aquatic plants, while Wolfgangsee’s mountain walls continue far below the surface.
Grüner See may have closed one remarkable chapter in Austrian diving, but the country’s underwater world is considerably larger than one famous green lake.
Photo by Steiermark Tourismus
