Göscheneralpsee, lake in the municipality of Göschenen, Canton of Uri, Switzerland

Göscheneralpsee is a reservoir in the mountains near Göschenen that stores water for the region and supports electricity production. The lake sits at high elevation and is surrounded by tall peaks with a deep blue surface that shifts with the light.

Göscheneralpsee was built as a replacement for a planned reservoir in the Urserental that was never realised. Soil-mechanics studies ran from 1952 to 1955, and the dam on the Göscheneralp was completed in 1960. The hamlet of Hinteralp, nine kilometres west of Göschenen, disappeared beneath the water: its houses and church were dismantled and flooded, and the residents moved to the Gwüest hamlet.

The name refers to the Göscheneralp, the alpine settlement of Hinteralp that was demolished and flooded when the reservoir filled; its residents moved to the hamlet of Gwüest, still part of Göschenen. The dam is a planted earth-fill embankment, and the reservoir supplies the Göscheneralp–Göschenen stage of the Göschenen power plant.

The lake is accessible year-round, but checking conditions before winter visits is wise since snow and ice affect the trails. Bring water and snacks with you, as there are no facilities directly along the shore.

The dam that holds back the lake is a planted earth-fill embankment 155 metres high, with a crest 540 metres long and a base 700 metres wide. Its reservoir holds about 75 million cubic metres of water, collected from the Göschenertal, Voralptal and upper Urserental valleys. The old settlement of Göscheneralp, including its houses and church, was dismantled and submerged when the lake filled; its residents moved to the hamlet of Gwüest.