Lakes of Schwyz 2026: 15 lakes, shores on three big ones
Schwyz has shores on three big lakes: Lucerne, Zurich and Zug. The largest lake entirely within the canton is the Sihlsee, 10.8 km².
Number of lakes in Schwyz: 15
15 lakes of half a hectare or more, and yet the national map shows 222 bodies of standing water in Schwyz. The gap is not imprecision; it is a way of counting.
- 1222 water surfaces appear in swisstopo's landscape model for the canton.
- 227 of them are at least half a hectare (5,000 m²).
- 319 carry an official name, however small.
- 415 are both, named and at least 0.5 ha. That is what we count as a lake.
Anyone reading a different figure has almost always drawn a different line: count every water surface and Schwyz has 222; count only lakes over one square kilometre and you get 6. Even a plain name such as "Weiher" counts as official: what decides is the entry in the swissNAMES3D gazetteer. Our count states where the line is, so it can be checked.
Lake Finder: find any lake in Schwyz
Every officially named lake in Switzerland with area, elevation and canton. Filter by elevation and canton, search in all national languages.
- Municipalities: Weggis · Gersau · Ennetbürgen · Beckenried · Luzern · Stansstad · Horw · Meggen · Seedorf (UR) · Seelisberg · Emmetten · Sisikon · Flüelen · Ingenbohl · Vitznau · Morschach · Alpnach · Hergiswil (NW) · Buochs · Greppen · Küssnacht (SZ) · Ennetmoos · IsenthalOfficial names: Lac des Quatre-Cantons · Lago dei Quattro Cantoni · Lai dals Quatter ChantunsArea by canton: Lucerne 36% · Nidwalden 30% · Uri 17% · Schwyz 15% · Obwalden 2%
- Municipalities: Rapperswil-Jona · Freienbach · Zürich · Altendorf · Wangen (SZ) · Lachen · Schmerikon · Tuggen · Wollerau · Wädenswil · Meilen · Horgen · Stäfa · Richterswil · Thalwil · Männedorf · Küsnacht (ZH) · Kilchberg (ZH) · Rüschlikon · Oberrieden · Erlenbach (ZH) · Herrliberg · Zollikon · Hombrechtikon · Uetikon am SeeOfficial names: Lac de Zurich · Lago di Zurigo · Lai da TuritgArea by canton: Zurich 67% · Schwyz 21% · St. Gallen 12%
- Municipalities: Zug · Risch · Arth · Küssnacht (SZ) · Meierskappel · Walchwil · Cham · HünenbergOfficial names: Lac de Zoug · Lago di Zugo · Lai da ZugArea by canton: Zug 63% · Schwyz 31% · Lucerne 6%
- Municipalities: Steinen · Lauerz · Schwyz
- Officially 2 water surfaces with the same name
Source: swissTLM3D, swissNAMES3D, swissBOUNDARIES3D (© swisstopo, 2026 edition). Area = entire water surface, including the foreign part for border lakes. Elevation = water level in the landscape model. Analysis by ConvivaPlus.
Largest lake in Schwyz: Sihlsee
The largest lake touching Schwyz is the Vierwaldstättersee (113.9 km²), but only 15% of its surface lies in the canton. The largest lake belonging entirely to the canton is the Sihlsee: 10.8 km² at 889 m.
| Lake | Area | Elevation | Share in canton |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vierwaldstättersee | 113.9 km² | 434 m | 15% |
| Zürichsee | 88.0 km² | 406 m | 21% |
| Zugersee | 38.4 km² | 414 m | 31% |
| Sihlsee | 10.8 km² | 889 m | 100% |
| Wägitalersee | 4.10 km² | 898 m | 100% |
| Lauerzersee | 3.01 km² | 447 m | 100% |
| Glattalpsee | 28 ha | 1852 m | 100% |
| Hirschlensee | 6.4 ha | 409 m | 100% |
| Waldisee | 5.1 ha | 1404 m | 100% |
| Rämpensee | 4.1 ha | 640 m | 100% |
Highest lake in Schwyz: Silberenseeli
The highest lake in Schwyz is also one of the smallest: the Silberenseeli in Muotathal lies at 1945 m and covers 1.9 ha; only 3 of the 15 lakes are smaller.
The canton's lowest-lying lake is the Zürichsee at 406 m. The canton's median lake sits at 889 m. Elevation is the water level in the landscape model; for reservoirs it varies with how full they are. 6 of the 15 lakes in the canton have a dam or embankment (structures in swissTLM3D): Sihlsee, Wägitalersee, Waldisee, Rämpensee, Freyenweijer and Stoos-Seeli.
Shared lakes: which lakes Schwyz shares
72% of the lake surface in Schwyz lies in lakes it does not own alone. Schwyz shares 3 of its 15 lakes with other cantons; the table shows how much of each lies in the canton.
List of lakes in Schwyz
The list shows all 19 officially named bodies of water in the canton, by area. The 15 lakes of half a hectare or more come first; smaller ponds are marked.
- 1.Vierwaldstättersee · 23 municipalities113.9 km²434 m
- 2.Zürichsee · 25 municipalities88.0 km²406 m
- 3.Zugersee · 8 municipalities38.4 km²414 m
- 4.Sihlsee · Einsiedeln10.8 km²889 m
- 5.Wägitalersee · Innerthal4.10 km²898 m
- 6.Lauerzersee · 3 municipalities3.01 km²447 m
- 7.Glattalpsee · Muotathal28 ha1852 m
- 8.Hirschlensee · Reichenburg6.4 ha409 m
- 9.Waldisee · Muotathal5.1 ha1404 m
- 10.Rämpensee · Vorderthal4.1 ha640 m
- 11.Freyenweijer · Wollerau2.1 ha647 m
- 12.Silberenseeli · Muotathal1.9 ha1945 m
- 13.Seeblisee · Oberiberg1.7 ha1432 m
- 14.Sihlseeli · Unteriberg1.6 ha1825 m
- 15.Stoos-Seeli · Morschach0.55 ha1328 m
- 16.Goldseeli · Arth0.35 ha479 m
- 17.Seeli · Riemenstalden0.21 ha1936 m
- 18.Träsmerenseeli · Muotathal0.15 ha2049 m
- 19.Blindsee · Steinerberg520 m²1217 m
Lakes by size: 7 larger than 10 ha
7 of the 15 lakes in Schwyz are larger than ten hectares, or 47%. Across Switzerland the share is 20%. By the number of lakes over 10 ha, Schwyz ranks 10 of the 26 cantons.
Measured by area, the small lakes almost vanish: the 6 of the 15 lakes of half a hectare or more that stay under five hectares together cover less than 1% of the lake surface in Schwyz.
The median lake in Schwyz sits 1018 m lower than the median Swiss lake (1907 m).
Lakes by municipality: Muotathal has the most
The municipality with the most lakes is not on the canton's largest lake (Zürichsee): Muotathal, with 3 lakes, all above 1400 m. Counted are lakes lying entirely within the canton and in no more than two municipalities; a large lake belongs to many. The Lake Finder can search by municipality.
- Muotathal3Glattalpsee · Waldisee · Silberenseeli
- Einsiedeln1Sihlsee
- Innerthal1Wägitalersee
- Morschach1Stoos-Seeli
- Oberiberg1Seeblisee
Lake names in several languages
Some lakes in Schwyz carry official names in several national languages. They come from swisstopo's gazetteer; none is our translation.
- Vierwaldstättersee · Lac des Quatre-Cantons · Lago dei Quattro Cantoni · Lai dals Quatter Chantuns
- Zürichsee · Lac de Zurich · Lago di Zurigo · Lai da Turitg
- Zugersee · Lac de Zoug · Lago di Zugo · Lai da Zug
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❓ Frequently asked questions about the lakes of Schwyz
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891 lakes of half a hectare or more, 15 of them in Schwyz, number 14 among the 26 cantons by count of lakes. Grisons has the most, with 236.
57 lakes of 0.5 ha or more; the largest entirely within the canton is Gigerwaldsee, 68 ha.
Residents, taxes, rents, wages and events: Schwyz in figures.
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ConvivaPlus Editor · Data & Switzerland
Writes about Switzerland in figures – official data recalculated, counting method explained.
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Source: swisstopo (swissTLM3D, swissNAMES3D, swissBOUNDARIES3D, 2026 edition), analysis by ConvivaPlus. Switzerland as a whole: 891 lakes out of 17'873 water surfaces; parts with the same name no more than 50 m apart count as one lake. Area = water surface at the shoreline of the landscape model; reference works using a different shoreline or water level sometimes give other values.
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