All activities / Sea Kayaking / Canoeing / Upper Sure Lake
Sea Kayaking / Canoeing in Upper Sure Lake
Luxembourg's largest body of water, a wooded reservoir on the Sure river in the Ardennes of the north-west, at the heart of the Natur- & Geopark Oewersauer. The lake is the country's main watersports centre, with the village of Lultzhausen and its base nautique on the shore.
Why here
The Upper Sure Lake is Luxembourg's inland sea and the best flat-water paddling in the Grand Duchy. The reservoir, formed by a dam on the Sure in 1960 to supply the country's drinking water, winds for several kilometres between steep wooded slopes in the Ardennes, its arms and inlets making a sheltered, low-traffic paddling ground with no current and, on most of the lake, no motorboats. From the base nautique at Lultzhausen you can push off in a kayak, a canoe or on a stand-up paddleboard and spend a morning exploring quiet bays, forest shoreline and the drowned side valleys, with swimming beaches to stop at along the way. It sits inside the Natur- & Geopark Oewersauer, so the paddling comes with a nature-reserve calm rather than a resort buzz. For a first multi-hour paddle, a family outing or a supervised group session, this is the country's natural home for it, warm and protected all summer.
Best months
The watersports season runs from about May to September, when the base nautique rents boards and boats and the water is warm enough to swim; supervised group paddling can be arranged from April to October. The lake is sheltered and free of current, so conditions are gentle and well suited to beginners, though open stretches can pick up wind in the afternoon. Motorboats are banned across most of the reservoir, which keeps the water calm. Parts of the lake are protected swimming and nature zones with their own rules.
Getting there & around
The lake is in the north-west near Esch-sur-Sure, about 45 minutes from Luxembourg City by car and reachable by the free national buses to Lultzhausen. The base nautique at the Lultzhausen youth hostel rents kayaks, canoes and stand-up paddleboards through the summer for three or six hours, runs beginner courses and takes bookings for supervised group activities. Bring swimwear and a change of clothes; the shore has beaches, a hostel and a nature-park visitor centre at nearby Esch-sur-Sure.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate
Schools & guides (2)
Natur- & Geopark Öewersauer
OrganizerNatur- & Geopark Öewersauer is the nature park that manages the Upper Sure Lake and its catchment, Luxembourg's largest drinking-water reservoir. It protects the lake as a nature and bathing reserve, sets the zones where paddling, swimming and boating are allowed, and runs a programme of guided kayak and canoe outings and nature activities on the water through the Lultzhausen base nautique, alongside a visitor centre in Esch-sur-Sure.
Youth Hostel Lultzhausen
OutfitterThe Lultzhausen youth hostel runs the base nautique on the Upper Sure Lake, the main watersports centre in Luxembourg, part of the national Youth Hostels network and a member of Hostelling International. From May to September it rents kayaks, canoes and stand-up paddleboards by the half or full day, and its qualified instructors give beginner courses in technique and safety and lead supervised canoeing, kayaking and paddleboarding sessions for groups and families on the sheltered reservoir.