Vandet Lake and the dune plantations

Bathing, fishing and sailing on the lake

There is a bathing spot on the west side of the lake in Nystrup Plantation. From Nystrupvej (between Klitmøller and Vang) turn east down Søvej or Egevej. In connection with the bathing spot, there are tables and benches as well as campfire and barbecue areas with free firewood.

The lake has a good stock of fish, dominated by perch and roach, but also includes pike, eel, whitefish and rudd. Fishing licenses for angling from the lake's west bank can be purchased from the Danish Nature Agency, Thy or from Thy Tourist Office.

Sailing without an engine (also applies to windsurfing) is allowed everywhere on the lake, as long as you have permission. You can always sail on the state-owned areas, but you will have to make your own arrangements with a private landowner. A pending conservation order will probably change the guidelines for windsurfing and sailing. Motorboats can only be used by landowners.

Around Vandet Lake

There are many Bronze Age and Iron Age grave mounds surrounding the lake, for instance Edshøjene grave mounds north of Vester Vandet church. Findings of coins and precious metals suggest that there was a trading centre in the period between the Viking Age and the Middle Ages. The outlet from Vandet Lake, Klitmøller Å river, used to supply water to the three water mills in Klitmøller.

The surrounding plantations have a forest playground, two mountain bike routes, several marked hiking routes and two primitive places to spend the night.

Observation platform

The breeding birds of the lake include great crested grebes, mute swans, shelducks, tufted ducks and common goldeneyes. In some years bitterns and marsh harriers also breed here. In ice-free winters, many coots, diving ducks and whooper swans rest here. Bean geese, greylag geese and pink-footed geese are seen on the lake as well as on fields and meadows nearby. Birds of prey such as ospreys, peregrine falcons, golden eagles and white-tailed eagles also visit the area.

An observation platform was built in 2012 on the top of the high coastal slope at Årbjerg. From the observation platform you can watch the birdlife to the west end of the lake. Turn down towards the lake from Klitmøllervej at the 12.1 km mark. From the car park, a small path takes you to the platform and a small area with tables and benches; all wheelchair-friendly. From the same car park, some steps take you down to the lakeside, where there are also tables and benches. During the summer, there is a bathing jetty that takes bathers to the finest sand bottom, so they do not have to walk across the stones.