Nors Lake

A trip in the forest

Similar to the other dune plantations of Thy, Vilsbøl Plantation, which borders on Nors Lake on its south and west sides, was established to curb the sand drift. There are great variations in the landscape of the plantation. Well worth visiting is one of the most fertile pieces of forest, located just west of the bathing spot.

Here you can stop at the monument that marks where Nebel home farm was situated until 1632. In 1365, Nebel was owned by a noble family named Bild, and the farm is believed to have been large, with several buildings surrounded by a moat. Archaeological excavations have found building remnants and a coin from 1536. Sand drifts made the quality of the soil increasingly poorer, and eventually the farm had to be moved further to the east where the soil was better. The farm was therefore located on the site south of the bathing spot from 1632-1892. Today this site is covered with tall deciduous trees. In 1892, the farm was moved for the last time. Over the years, the former home farm had been reduced to a smallholding. Around 1950 the last piece of land was sold to the Danish state which planted forest on the land.

As many as 30 orienteering stations have been set up around Vilsbøl Plantation. You are welcome to take one of the orienteering maps in the map holders at Nors Lake or at the forest playground at Vandet Lake. The Nordvestjysk orienteering club has developed route suggestions.

Clean water

In the Stone Age, Nors Lake was part of a bay, which has since been cut off and in the landscape surrounding the lake you can see the old coastal slopes. Most of the subsoil is made of chalk and lime deposits, and apart from a small spring on the south side of the lake, Nors Lake has no natural inlet, so the supply of water to the lake comes from the groundwater and precipitation. The lake has an area of 347 hectares and a maximum depth of around 20 metres. The clean and calcareous water means that the lake has a unique flora. The small aquatic plant, slender naiad, which was thought to be extinct in Denmark, has since been found in Nors and Vandet lakes.

Outdoor activity at the lake

The bathing spot on the south west bank of the lake is very popular. The plantation provides shelter from the west, and there are toilets, campfire sites and barbecue areas as well as tables and benches. Shifting sand which has settled about 100 metres into the lake has created a child-friendly beach with the finest sand.

There are several marked hiking routes from the bathing spot. One of them takes you to the bird tower at the western part of the lake. From the tower there is a good view of grebes, geese and ducks, and sometimes also ospreys and white-tailed eagles.

The lake has a fine stock of fish, dominated by perch and roach, but also pike, eel and the salmonoid whitefish. You can buy fishing licenses for the southern bank from the Danish Nature Agency, Thy or from Thy Tourist Office. The west part of Nors Lake is part of Hanstholm Nature Reserve. In order to protect the vulnerable animal and birdlife, all sailing, windsurfing, canoeing and kayaking is prohibited.