Sacrower See

Lake Sacrow: Channel lake in Königswald forest with steep banks

Lake Sacrow is located between Kladow and Sacrow in a glacial channel, which it shares with Lake Groß Glienicke to the north and Lake Heiligen See to the south. At around 110 hectares, it is the middle and by far the deepest of the three: at its deepest point, the bottom drops to 39 meters, with an average depth of 14.5 meters, and the banks plunge steeply accordingly. It is fed almost exclusively by groundwater; it has no natural above-ground inflow, and the ditch to Lake Groß Glienicke has been dry since 1996. There was formerly a shipping canal to the Havel River, which was closed by a weir in 1986, so the lake is now hydrologically self-contained. The Königswald forest surrounds it, featuring ecologically valuable wetland forest areas. The lake itself is designated as a nature reserve and is also part of a larger landscape protection area. This explains why there is so little development here: no lido, no promenade, just forest all the way to the water.

Tolerated natural bathing areas at the North Beach and in the forest

Swimming is possible at Lake Sacrow at two natural bathing areas, which are officially tolerated. The better-known one is at the northern tip: a real sandy beach with shallow entry, which also works well with small children. The second is spread across smaller spots in the forest, where the shore is occasionally a wet meadow with roots, requiring good footwear. Neither costs an entrance fee, but there is also no infrastructure: no changing rooms and no kiosk you can rely on. Important to know: Lake Sacrow is not among the officially designated bathing areas in the state, so there is no official water monitoring and no bathing flag system. Lifeguards are also not on duty, and the steeply sloping banks mean it gets deep after just a few meters. Those who can assess this will find one of the quietest swimming lakes in the region, where you often swim alone in the mornings. From Lanzendorfer Weg in Kladow, it’s a good 600 meters to the water via bus 234 and a short forest path; cycling through the Königswald forest is a more scenic way to arrive.