Kiteboarding CZ: where to ride on Czech lakes and reservoirs

Kiteboarding CZ means riding on Czech lakes and reservoirs: Lake Milada near Ústí nad Labem, Nechranice between Kadaň and Žatec, Lipno in the Šumava mountains, Nové Mlýny in South Moravia and Rozkoš in East Bohemia. Winter months have the highest average winds at Milada, Nechranice and Lipno in the NASA POWER model, but choose your session from the forecast and conditions on the day.

Milada is close to my homespot near Fojtovice in the Ore Mountains, where I mostly ride on land and snow, about 11 km as the crow flies. I rode Milada on New Year's Eve 2022 too, in low wind on a Kitech FreeRS 15 m foil kite.

If you have just finished a course and a Czech lake is going to be your first session on your own, check with your instructor what you can already do without guidance. You need to control your speed, ride back upwind and manage a self-rescue in deep water. Before you go, find out where launching is allowed, which wind directions work there and who can help you launch and land.

When the wind blows in the Czech Republic

According to the NASA POWER model (wind 10 m above ground, 2001-2025 average), Lake Milada is windiest in January at 4.7 m/s (9 knots) on average and calmest in August at 3.1 m/s (6 knots). A knot is a nautical unit of speed: 1 knot is 1.852 km/h, about 0.51 m/s. Nechranice comes out almost the same and Lipno a little lighter.

The model works with grid cells around 50 km wide and cannot see the wind over a particular lake. What it does show well is how wind strength changes across the year. In practice that means watching the forecast and going on a windy day, and that day often comes when the water is cold. A proper wetsuit is part of the kit.

Nearby hills and buildings affect the wind at your launch in ways a regional average cannot capture. Check for gusty wind before launching, and for light wind kitesurfing, stay within the range your equipment is designed for.

Where kites are allowed and where they are not

Kites on Czech waters fall under the navigation rules, Decree 67/2015 Coll., section 100. It bans them on the busy shipping stretches of the Vltava and the Elbe:

• the Vltava from České Budějovice to Hněvkovice
• the Vltava from Hněvkovice past Orlík to Slapy, apart from a short stretch between Ochoz and Žďákovský most
• the Vltava from Vrané nad Vltavou through Prague to Mělník
• the Elbe from Kunětice to Hřensko

The same section requires a safe distance from everyone else on the water; on the leeward side, downwind of you, that distance is at least the length of your lines. Areas approved for kites are marked with a sign and a plate reading "schváleno pro kiteboard" (approved for kiteboarding).

Outside those stretches the decree does not ban kites. Every lake still has its own rules from the owner or manager, and they differ from place to place, so read them before you ride somewhere new.

Lake Milada

Milada is the flooded Chabařovice mine pit just outside Ústí nad Labem. It covers 252 ha, with a maximum depth of 24.7 m. Don't count on being able to stand up if something goes wrong. I would not choose it for a first independent session after a course: riders contributing to the map warn of unstable wind and recommend it for experienced kiters. I do not have a verified launch and wind direction to recommend here for a beginner.

You may only kite from the kite zone the lake manager set aside on the shore north of Trmice beach. There are published safety instructions for kiters using the zone, and they make sense:

• launch and land only in the kite zone, and look all around you before you launch
• ride at least 30 m from the shore
• no board leash (the line that ties the board to your leg)
• no jumping on the shore
• after landing, secure the kite, wind up your lines and put the board away
• wait to launch while someone is walking through the zone

The visitor rules only allow you to enter the water from beaches and piers. There are stone breakwaters under the surface near the shore, which is why jumping into the water is banned. And without a permit from the manager you can't drive down to the water, so plan for a car park and a walk with your gear.

From snowkiting on Moldava I know that when the wind comes off a forest and you are close to it, the kite gets buffeted and you need to move further away. Milada's 30 m rule is the manager's minimum distance from shore, not a verified boundary for turbulence. Assess the wind direction and obstacles at the launch separately, ideally with someone who knows the spot.

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The spot is on the Lake Milada page and on the map. The spots around it are mostly for land and snow, such as Fojtovice - Adolfov or Knobložka. For landkiting in the Czech Republic, I mostly head to the Ore Mountains.

Nechranice

Nechranice is a reservoir on the Ohře river between Kadaň and Žatec, about 15 km from Chomutov. At 13.38 km² (1,338 ha) it is more than 5 times the size of Milada. Spring and autumn bring favourable winds. Most campsites and beaches are on the right bank around Vikletice, and the beaches are sandy or stony. I do not have a verified launch and wind direction to recommend for a first independent session here. Ask a local instructor to assess your chosen launch before riding.

A large lake can mean a long way back if your kite drops far from the shore and won't relaunch. Watch the wind direction. For independent riding after a course, avoid offshore and side-offshore wind, blowing directly or diagonally away from the shore. A friend on the water cannot replace a rescue boat with a trained operator. Choose side-onshore wind, blowing diagonally towards the shore; the guide to offshore, onshore and sideshore wind explains the differences. Practise self-rescue, getting yourself and the kite back to shore when things go wrong, with an instructor before you need it.

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The spot is on the Nechranice page and on the map, with the landkite spot Výsluní - Husky Hill nearby.

Lipno

Lipno is the largest body of water in the Czech Republic: 4,870 ha at 725.6 m above sea level. I do not have a verified combination of launch and wind direction for a first independent session here. Ask a local instructor to show you where to enter and return to shore; a wind direction listed for the whole reservoir is not enough to choose a launch. Lipno is also among the snowkite spots in the Czech Republic. I was there snowkiting in February 2025 on a very windy day.

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The map lists the water spot Lipno. Winter spots include Lipno - Černá v Pošumaví, Kovářov - Lipno and Blatná - Frymburk airfield.

Nové Mlýny and Rozkoš

Nové Mlýny is a chain of 3 reservoirs on the Dyje in South Moravia. The middle one is the Věstonická nádrž nature reserve and a bird area. There are 2 spots on the kite spot map, Nové Mlýny and Nové Mlýny 3, which according to the map works in southeast, west and northwest wind.

Rozkoš in East Bohemia has 2 launch areas depending on the wind. In south and southeast wind you launch from the campsite, in wind from the north round through the east to the southeast from the surf centre.

Your first solo session on Czech water

A good course also teaches you what to do when your kite drops in the water far from shore. A course that leaves you without that is a rush job, and it is the first gap I would fill. Then, for a first session on your own, this is what I would do:

• Go when other kiters are at the spot. Arrange an experienced helper for both launch and landing, and agree on signals beforehand.
• Pick a day without strong gusts and with side-onshore wind, blowing diagonally towards the shore.
• Follow the lake manager's rules, on Milada above all the kite zone and the 30 m from shore.
• Practise using your quick release, the safety mechanism, and check it before launching as instructed in your bar's manual. The primary release is designed to greatly reduce the pull; you remain attached through the kite leash. Complete separation uses a separate release on the leash. Practise self-rescue with an instructor.
• Look the spot up on the kite spot map before you go, most spots list the wind directions that work.

If you don't trust yourself yet, another course focused on riding independently is worth it. Honza Procházka at Big Day runs courses in Czech that also cover self-rescue, reading a spot and choosing gear.

When choosing kitesurfing spots around the world, I would start with your skills and the help available, just as I would at home. For a weekend or a week by the sea I go to Wiek for kitesurfing on Rügen. For steady wind and shallow lagoons I go on a kite safari in the Red Sea, where the crew helps you launch and land, and where I have been several times.