The reservoir at the Bernina Pass is fed with "glacial milk" (glacial water containing silt). This gives the lake its milky, whitish colour. The Lago Bianco is also a watershed: eastwards the water flows into the Black Sea, southwards into the Adriatic. The famous Bernina Express of the Rhaetian Railway, which is a Unesco World Heritage Site, winds along the shore.

Hikers enjoy the beautiful path to the southern dam wall and on towards Alp Grüm, while mountain bikers like the route along the lake down into the valley to Poschiavo.