Lake Lipno

Lipno was created between 1952 and 1959 by damming the upper Vltava, and at about forty-eight square kilometres it is the largest area of water in the Czech Republic - long, narrow and unusually shallow for a reservoir, averaging around six metres, which means it warms quickly in summer and freezes solid in winter. It sits at over seven hundred metres in the Sumava with forest to the shore. The southern bank spent forty years inside the border zone and was empty of everything, which is why large stretches remain undeveloped and are now inside the national park. The northern shore is the resort side: Lipno nad Vltavou has a ski slope, a treetop walkway, a bobsleigh run and a marina, and the lake is one of the main sailing and windsurfing waters in the country. In hard winters a skating route of many kilometres is maintained on the ice.

What you actually see

• The largest lake in the country - about forty-eight square kilometres, shallow and warm.
• An undeveloped southern shore - kept empty by forty years of border closure.
• A resort north bank - marina, ski slope, treetop walkway and bobsleigh run.
• A winter skating route - many kilometres maintained on the ice in hard years.

When to go

June to September, or a hard winter for skating. Two days.

Honest expectations

The northern shore is heavily developed and busy in summer. Water levels vary. The skating route depends entirely on ice conditions and is not guaranteed. National park rules restrict access on the south side.

Nearby

Cesky Krumlov is downstream; the Sumava ridges rise west.