Liptovska Mara Lake: Beaches, Swimming and Water Temperature

Where are the beaches on Liptovská Mara?

Liptovská Mara, which many visitors know as Liptovska Mara lake, does not have one main beach. All around the reservoir there are lots of places where you can get down to the water, and most of them are open to everyone free of charge. At the free beaches, though, there is usually no lifeguard and no toilets.

Three places worth knowing:

• Liptovský Trnovec beach (Plážové kúpalisko) on the north shore. The best-equipped beach on the lake: grass and sand, with a lifeguard, buoys, toilets, refreshments and a car park. It is ideal for families with children.
• Sielnická zátoka bay near Liptovská Sielnica, also on the north shore. A grassy, stony beach where you can hire a boat or a board and buy a coffee, a beer or a quick bite at the snack bar.
• Bobrovník and Marina Liptov. A sports and leisure centre in a bay, where people come to kayak, paddleboard or windsurf rather than to lie by the water all day.

Our guests have it easiest. The pebble beach is about 50 metres from the cabin, so a morning or evening swim is just a few steps away.

Liptovský Trnovec beach: prices and opening hours

The beach is run by the village of Liptovský Trnovec. According to Visit Liptov, it has about 1 km² of open space for relaxing and a swimming area of around 0.7 km², marked out with buoys. In the summer season it is open daily 9:00 - 19:00. The village publishes the exact schedule for each year, such as shorter weekday hours in June, in its operating rules.

The village website lists these full-day ticket prices (in euros):

• adults: €5.50
• children: €3.50

Besides children, reduced tickets are also available to seniors aged 62 and over, people with disabilities (ZŤP), students with an ISIC or EURO26 card and organised groups. The ticket includes toilets, parking in the beach car park and the water rescue service, so you pay nothing extra for your car.

If you want to launch your own boat, ask the beach manager on 0911 509 444 (+421 911 509 444 from abroad).

How warm is the water in Liptovská Mara?

Liptovská Mara lies in the foothills between the Western Tatras and the Low Tatras, so the water is not as warm as in lowland lakes. In its bathing water profile, the Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic (ÚVZ SR) gives an average temperature of 20.5 °C during the bathing season. The season usually runs from 15 June to 1 September.

In the warmest weeks the water gets warmer; tourist guides talk of around 25 °C in summer. It is usually warmest at the end of July and in August; in June it is still a bit cold for children.

The Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute (SHMÚ) publishes the current temperature of reservoirs on its Reservoir water temperatures page (Teplota vodných nádrží). It is worth checking in the morning when you are planning your day.

Is the water clean, and what about blue-green algae?

In the bathing water profile, Liptovská Mara is rated excellent, the highest rating there is. During the bathing season the water is monitored by the Regional Public Health Authority in Liptovský Mikuláš (RÚVZ), which publishes a weekly update on the state of natural and artificial bathing sites in the Liptovský Mikuláš and Ružomberok districts.

If the water quality got worse during a hot spell, or blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) appeared in the water, you would find it in these weekly reports. It is worth reading them before small children go in, especially after a long heatwave.

Paddleboarding, kayaking, windsurfing and sailing

Mara is big and open, so you can do almost anything here that can be done on water. You can hire boats and boards in several places:

• Marina Liptov, Bobrovník. A water sports centre offering windsurfing, paddleboarding, fishing, rowing, kayaking and sailing. It hires out single and double kayaks, paddleboards for two and a JUMBO paddleboard for six people, boats with petrol or electric motors, Linder aluminium boats, canoes and rowing boats. It also runs sightseeing trips on a catamaran with a skipper.
• PeZa Šport, Sielnická zátoka. Paddleboards, kayaks and motorboats right by the beach in Liptovská Sielnica.

On a paddleboard, stay close to the shore, especially when it is windy. Mara is a wide open stretch of water, and paddling back against the wind is hard work. Always put children in a life jacket on the water.

With children by the water

For small children, the Liptovský Trnovec beach is the best choice. There is a lifeguard, the swimming area is marked out with buoys, and the toilets and refreshments are just a few steps from your picnic blanket.

A few practical tips:

• On the pebble beaches, water shoes are handy; children will stay in the water longer in them.
• On most beaches the only shade is under the trees, so a parasol is worth bringing.
• If the water is still too cold for the children, Tatralandia is 5 minutes away by car.

Families will find more ideas for summer with children on our summer at Liptovská Mara page.

What to combine it with

A cycle path runs all the way round the lake, and it combines nicely with a swim. From Sielnická zátoka bay it is not far to Havránok, a Celtic hillfort above the water.

You will find more summer tips on our summer at Liptovská Mara page. After a whole day by the water, you can sit by the barbecue in the garden of our log cabin or warm up in the infrared sauna. We are a local host and nobody pays us for our recommendations.