In the summer it features flowers Gentiana scabrida and swathes of dwarf bamboo, and in the fall there is a sea of clouds rising from the Laonung River. In the winter the sedge Baeothryon subcapitatum waves in the wind along its banks. Each of these offers great material for photographers. "There are no large trees along the lake's banks; all the eye can see is a continuous stretch of dwarf bamboo.
以嘉明湖為例，夏季有玉山龍膽、箭竹林；秋天雲海從荖濃溪升起；冬季湖畔整片隨風翻捲著玉山針藺，都是創作的好題材，「嘉明湖畔，沒有任何大樹，放眼所及都是連綿起伏的矮箭竹草坡，生態景觀在所有高山湖泊中特別突出。」