Riedener Waldsee: parking, boats, paths and places to eat

A reservoir that looks like a natural lake

The Riedener Waldsee lies in a hollow between wooded slopes, around one kilometre outside Rieden. Stand in front of it for the first time and you will take it for a natural lake. In fact it is one of the younger stretches of water in the region: the Rehbach was dammed in 1982, and the water has filled four hectares of the valley ever since. At its deepest point it measures eight metres, and the surface sits at around 370 metres above sea level.

One unusual feature only shows itself at second glance. Above the main lake lies a smaller body of water, a pre-dam basin, and the two are linked by a cascade waterfall. Walk the lakeside path and you pass right by it.

Where Rieden actually lies

Rieden is a village of 1,214 inhabitants (as at 31 December 2025) in the municipality of Mendig, district of Mayen-Koblenz. The hamlet of Riedener Mühlen holds the official status of a Luftkurort, a recognised climatic health resort.

That classification matters more than it sounds, because a good deal gets muddled online:

The region is called the Osteifel, and after the volcano that shaped it, the Laacher See volcanic region. The lake itself lies in the Rhein-Ahr-Eifel protected landscape area; the neighbouring “Gänsehals, Schorenberg, Burgberg und Schmitzkopf" nature reserve covers around 555 hectares.

Swimming: the essentials in one paragraph

The state of Rhineland-Palatinate lists the lake as an official bathing water and has monitored it since 2006. The water quality is graded excellent, the best of four grades. The official swimming season in Rhineland-Palatinate runs from 1 June to 31 August, and readings are taken regularly during that time.

Two things surprise people on the spot. There is no lifeguard, so you swim at your own risk. And underwater visibility is often less than a metre, which is why the operator is obliged to point out that this makes rescuing anyone in difficulty harder. If you are coming with children, you should know that.

The water temperature follows the upland setting. Official readings in summer are mostly between 17 and 23 degrees; the highest of the 2026 season was 25.5 degrees on 1 July.

What you will find at the lake, and what you will not

The facilities according to the state’s official checklist, as at August 2026:

Camping and caravans are not allowed — the byelaws of the Zweckverband say so expressly, and breaches can be punished as a regulatory offence. If you arrive in a motorhome, the only place you may stand is the car park below the dam, and then as parking, not as camping.

What parking costs

Access to the lake is free; the car parks have been charging for years. The charges went up on 1 January 2026, so older figures online are out of date:

Charges apply Monday to Sunday from 8:00 to 20:00, public holidays included. There are car parks at the Seehütte and below the dam, and you pay at the machine. Source: schedule of charges dated 12 December 2025, in force from 1 January 2026.

Dogs at the Waldsee: the rules that really apply

We answer this one plainly on purpose, because finding out only once you are here spoils the day.

Dogs are not allowed into the designated bathing area and its lawn. The state’s bathing water portal lists the Waldsee with the pictogram “No dogs allowed", and the water-law permit expressly obliges the operator to prohibit dogs swimming in the lake and being walked on the lawn and along the bathing shore. This applies all year round. According to the local water authority, swimming with dogs is not permitted at any official bathing lake in Rhineland-Palatinate.

What you can do:

• the lakeside path, on the lead
• the walking trails all around, on the lead
• the restaurants by the lake, where dogs are welcome at both
• our houses, each with a fenced terrace

There is more on all of this, including vets’ addresses and walks from the door, in Dog-friendly holiday home in the Eifel.

Out on the lake by boat

On the shore behind the Eifeler Seehütte, a private operator hires out boats. No more than five muscle-powered craft and three pedalos are allowed on the water at any one time, and motorboats and sailing are banned.

Life jackets are included in the price. One important note from the operator: the hire station has no regular opening times. If you want to be sure of getting on the water, ring 0175 2419999 beforehand. The prices are those of the last season the operator updated, so do ask on the phone whether they still apply.

During the swimming season, boats have to stay out of the bathing zone, and the northern third of the lake above the Seehütte is closed to them altogether.

Fishing: the honest answer

People do fish at the Waldsee, but not in the way guests expect. Fishing here is tightly regulated by the authorities: no groundbaiting, no taking of pike or zander, carp and bream must be removed, and a catch log is compulsory. Above all, the operator has to keep a register of authorised anglers with names and addresses.

In practice that means there is no open sale of day tickets to holiday guests. If you would like to fish, ask the Zweckverband in advance through the Verbandsgemeinde Mendig council office. Claims online that permits are available at the Seehütte we could not confirm, and nor could we confirm the assertion on one angling forum that fishing is banned outright.

Walking from the lakeshore

Two certified trails start right at the lake.

Waldseepfad Rieden, 14.2 kilometres, 464 metres of ascent, around four and a half hours, graded moderate. It starts at the Am Waldsee car park. The Deutsches Wanderinstitut awarded it 55 experience points; just under 40 per cent of the surface is unsurfaced track and only 13 per cent is asphalt.

Traumpfädchen Riedener Seeblick, 5 kilometres, 157 metres of ascent, around one hour 45 minutes, graded easy. This is the short circuit for arrival day. It crosses the dam and comes back at the end along a path by the shore. Because of the climbs it is not suitable for pushchairs.

All told, the Traumpfadeland Rhein-Mosel-Eifel comprises 27 Traumpfade and 14 Traumpfädchen. Of those, 32 lie within around 25 kilometres of Rieden and 17 start within 15 kilometres. Stay a week and you can walk a different trail every day without ever driving more than half an hour.

The Gänsehalsturm, the goal above the lake

The high point of the Waldseepfad is the climb to the Gänsehals, a ridge of around 575 metres between Rieden and Bell. At the top stands a 74-metre radio tower, built in 1976 and opened in 1977.

One clarification is worth making here, because the figures look contradictory. The 74 metres are the height of the whole structure. What is open to the public is the 360-degree viewing platform at 24 metres, reached by 108 steps. Everything above it carries the antennas and cannot be entered.

Access is free. From the first frosts until Easter the tower is closed, because condensation turns to ice. On a clear day the view runs across the Eifel, the Pellenz, the Neuwied basin, the Siebengebirge, the Westerwald and the Hunsrück.

Not to be confused with it: the old Gänsehalsturm of 1889 stands around 50 metres away. It is a good nine metres high, privately owned and not open to visitors.

Where to eat by the lake

Two places to eat sit right by the water, both within walking distance.

Two notes to save you a wasted walk. From mid-June to mid-September the Seehütte opens daily, with no closing day. And until June 2024 the Al Lago was called the “Pizzeria am Waldsee"; under that old name, incorrect times are still circulating online, above all the wrong closing day. As at August 2026 — if in doubt, give them a quick ring.

Shops and services in the village

Rieden is a village, not a holiday resort. What it has and what it does not is worth knowing before you set off:

• Bäckerei Hilger, Oberstraße: the bakery also sells groceries, drinks and magazines and doubles as the post office. Tue to Fri 6:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 18:00, Sat 6:00 to 12:00.
• Metzgerei Rausch, Kirchstraße: the butcher’s opens Tue, Wed, Thu 8:00 to 12:00, Fri 8:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 16:30, Sat 8:00 to 12:00.
• There is no supermarket in Rieden. The nearest is a Lidl in Weibern, around 6 kilometres away, then an Edeka in Kempenich, around 7 kilometres.
• There is no pharmacy in Rieden. The nearest is in Weibern, around 5 kilometres away.
• GP surgery in the village: the Eifelpraxis in Langenbahn, though by appointment only.
• Nearest hospital with an emergency department: St. Elisabeth in Mayen, around 13 kilometres away. The out-of-hours medical service is on 116117 nationwide; in an emergency, 112.

As at August 2026. The practical advice: everything in the village is closed on Sundays, and the big supermarkets in Mayen or Mendig are a quarter of an hour away. If you arrive on a Friday, do your shopping on the way.

Getting here by car

Take the A61 to junction 33, Wehr (Eifel), and from there it is around seven kilometres to Rieden on the B412 and the K19. This is the shortest and simplest route.

A common misconception: there is no “Maria Laach" motorway exit. If you want to drive via Maria Laach, take junction 34, Mendig. Coming from Trier or Koblenz, the route runs along the A48 and the Mayen exit.

Driving distances from Rieden, worked out with a route planner, as at August 2026:

Getting here by bus and train

It works without a car, but it takes planning. By train to Mayen Ost, where the RB 23 and RB 38 lines of the Lahn-Eifel-Bahn each call once an hour. From there bus route 820 (Kempenich to Mayen) runs to the Rieden (Eifel) Waldsee stop, which is right by the lake. The journey takes 20 to 25 minutes.

Three limitations you need to know about:

• Monday to Friday there is no clean hourly service: journeys are missing in the late morning and the early afternoon.
• On Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays the bus runs every two hours.
• Some journeys are RufBus services that have to be booked, by 22:00 the previous day on 02633 2009600.

As at the 2026 timetable. Do check your particular connection before you travel.

The lake through the seasons

Spring. The tower on the Gänsehals opens at Easter. From the beginning of March until the end of July the woods are in the nesting and breeding season, so dogs need to stay on the lead throughout.

Summer. The only time with swimming and official monitoring, and the only time the car parks fill up. Arrive at midday on a hot Sunday and you will spend a while looking for a space.

Autumn. The best time here. The Waldseepfad walks cool and dry, the trails are empty, and the view from the Gänsehals is often clearer in October than in high summer.

Winter. The lake is freely accessible, but with no facilities at all. The tower is shut and the Seehütte has its closing day. In return, on clear frosty days the lakeside path lies utterly still.

FAQs

Our three holiday homes by the lake

We let three holiday homes on the Sonnenterrasse above the lake, around 150 metres from the water: Susi for two to four guests, Annika and Tommy for up to six. Each house has its own outdoor sauna on the terrace, a whirlpool bath in the bathroom, a wood-burning stove with firewood ready for you, free Wi-Fi, an EV charging point and a fenced terrace. Prices from 195 euros per night.

The first Traumpfad begins around 100 metres from the front door. We live here ourselves and let the houses direct, with no booking portal in between; questions about the lake, the parking or the trails we answer on the phone faster than any form could.