Map › Germany › Bavaria — Altmuehlsee / Schlungenhof Surfufer › Altmuehlsee / Schlungenhof Surfufer
Laghi interni · Bavaria, Fraenkisches Seenland · Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen · Gunzenhausen
Altmuehlsee / Schlungenhof Surfufer
also known as Altmuehlsee, Surfcenter Altmuehlsee, Altmühlsee, Surfcenter Altmühlsee, Surfzentrum Schlungenhof
Nearby Brombachsee / Allmannsdorf 16 km · straight-line distance
On the clock
07:00 · 16:00
On the clock
12:00 · 17:00
Frontal wind, so there is no daily onset to plan around: it can be blowing at 07:00 and gone by lunch, or fill in at 16:00 and hold into the dark. A mild afternoon lift runs from roughly 12:00 to 17:00 as the air over the lake mixes down, worth about a knot. Indicative pattern from long-run hourly data; nobody local publishes a diurnal curve.
The marks are the clock times the record names, laid on a 24-hour day. The bar between the first and the last covers those hours; it is not a promise of wind.
The wind
Direction
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
Character
synoptic
fills in: Frontal wind, so there is no daily onset to plan around: it can be blowing at 07:00 and gone by lunch, or fill in at 16:00 and hold into the dark. A mild afternoon lift runs from roughly 12:00 to 17:00 as the air over the lake mixes down, worth about a knot. Indicative pattern from long-run hourly data; nobody local publishes a diurnal curve.
Typical strength
Rideable days land in the 12-20 kn band and the gusts on a strong northwesterly go far above the day's average. Across the year only about one daytime hour in fifteen reaches 12 kn, which is why the lake is ridden on a forecast and not on a whim. Indicative: no statistics are published for the lake station itself.
Thermal or synoptic
synoptic/front-driven inland wind
The quiver, in words
For 75-85 kg, a 12 m is the kite that gets used most. Go 9-10 m when a proper northwesterly front is through, and 15 m or a foil for the many marginal days that make up the rest. Indicative sizing worked back from the wind range, not from a local survey.
Direction to shore
NW side-on to side-onshore; W onshore; E offshore at Schlungenhof.
Dominant direction
Northwest is the one that counts: the wind has the length of the lake to settle over and arrives constant. West and north come through nearly as cleanly. Southwest round to south sits in the shadow of the near shore, and southeast round to northeast is offshore and very gusty.
Forecast
Month by month
- Jan21
- Feb18
- Mar16
- Apr13
- May2
- Jun5
- Jul8
- Aug10
- Sep5
- Oct8
- Nov17
- Dec10
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)
- 21%Jan
- 18%Feb
- 16%Mar
- 13%Apr
- 2%May
- 5%Jun
- 8%Jul
- 10%Aug
- 5%Sep
- 8%Oct
- 17%Nov
- 10%Dec
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+) · season highlighted
| Month | Windy days | Force 4+ | 12 kn or more | Knots | From | Peaks at | Air | Readings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 21% | 39% | 31% | 9.7 kt | W | 14:00 | 1.6°C | 62 |
| Feb | 18% | 39% | 30% | 9.6 kt | W | 13:00 | 4°C | 57 |
| Mar | 16% | 32% | 27% | 9.8 kt | W | 14:00 | 5.9°C | 62 |
| Apr | 13% | 28% | 17% | 9.4 kt | W | 14:00 | 8.1°C | 60 |
| May | 2% | 16% | 5% | 8.5 kt | W | 15:00 | 14.2°C | 62 |
| Jun | 5% | 23% | 13% | 9.3 kt | WNW | 16:00 | 18.6°C | 60 |
| Jul | 8% | 29% | 19% | 9.8 kt | W | 15:00 | 19.9°C | 62 |
| Aug | 10% | 15% | 13% | 8.3 kt | W | 15:00 | 20.1°C | 62 |
| Sep | 5% | 23% | 12% | 8.4 kt | ESE | 14:00 | 15.2°C | 60 |
| Oct | 8% | 15% | 13% | 8 kt | W | 13:00 | 12°C | 62 |
| Nov | 17% | 32% | 30% | 9.5 kt | WSW | 13:00 | 5.2°C | 60 |
| Dec | 10% | 24% | 18% | 8.7 kt | W | 14:00 | 2°C | 62 |
modelled
A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.
Modelled from the operational forecast archive at 1.5–7 km (2023-2024), daylight hours only, not a ground station: it resolves thermal, lake and valley winds far better than coarse reanalysis but still tends to understate a strong local thermal. A windy day has at least three consecutive daylight hours at 12 knots or more. The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.
High-resolution weather model (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical forecast archive — best-match operational model (ICON-D2 / AROME / ICON-EU / GFS by region), not a ground station · 2023-2024
The water
Type
lake
Standing depth
Not a standing-depth lake. At low water there is a small beach and a strip you can stand in, then the sand drops away close in. Concrete steps take you into the water at the launch.
Tides
None; artificial inland lake.
Temperature
Summer About 20 C on 26 Aug 2026; high-summer averages run 24-25 C, with peaks up to 27 C.
Winter 3-3.5°C
Wetsuit
Shorty or thin full suit in summer, depending on wind chill; full suit in spring and autumn; cold-water gear in winter. Nobody local has published specific guidance.
Currents
None: no tide, and no lake current at the launch that anyone has measured.
Your level
The scene
What riders come here for
Launch and rules
three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you
With a school or a boat
1 school names this spot
On your own
Room to launch: medium
Somewhere else
Brombachsee / Allmannsdorf, 16 km
Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.
Rescue
Launch
A long grass kite meadow at the Surfufer beside Surfcenter Altmuehlsee, with a narrow path and the ring dike between it and the water; concrete steps give an easy entry and the parking is at the spot. Kiters go in upwind of the windsurfers, who enter directly in front of the station.
Space
medium
Rules & access
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Rider tips
- Launch and get off the shore at once; do not park the kite over the dike, where the turbulence lives.
- Go in upwind of the windsurf school, which enters directly in front of the Surfcenter.
- Forget a standing-depth teaching area; the sand drops away steeply just off the entry.
- East wind is offshore at Schlungenhof; skip it.
- On a strong weekend forecast arrive early; on a NW holiday weekend the parking and the kite meadow fill up.
- From the A6 take the B466 to Gunzenhausen and the B13 toward Ansbach, then turn left to the Surfufer just after Schlungenhof; a paid motorhome area with power and showers sits next to the parking.
- Forget a standing-depth teaching area; the sand drops away steeply just off the entry, though low water leaves a small beach.
- East wind is offshore at Schlungenhof; skip it. Southwest and south come in shadowed by the near shore.
- From the A6 take the B466 to Gunzenhausen and the B13 toward Ansbach, then turn left to the Surfufer just after Schlungenhof; a motorhome pitch with power, showers and toilets sits next to the parking at 8 euro a day.
- A beginner kite course at the Surfcenter runs 259 euro for four hours or 439 euro for eight, taught from a motorboat, with private hours at 60 euro (2026); they will not rent you kite gear straight after it.
- Use the concrete steps for the water entry rather than wading in off the meadow.
Getting there
Airport
Nuremberg Airport (NUE)
Route
About 50 km south of Nuremberg. Come down the A6 or A9, then the B2, B13 or B466; from the A6 take the B466 to Gunzenhausen, the B13 toward Ansbach, and turn left to the Surfufer shortly after Schlungenhof. By train, Gunzenhausen is the station.
Transfer
65 min
Cost level
medium
Staying
A paid motorhome area sits right next to the parking, with power and showers and toilets. Otherwise the Seenland has the usual hotels, guesthouses, pensions, holiday apartments.
No-wind days
SUP, windsurfing or wingfoil at the Surfcenter · Cycling around the lake · Boat trips on Altmuehlsee · Swimming beaches and lake recreation in the Fraenkisches Seenland
Photos
FAQ
Is Altmühlsee / Schlungenhof suitable for beginners?
Independent beginner riding is not recommended because the shore shelves steeply and the standing-depth area is small, though supervised VDWS courses are offered at the Surfcenter.
What is the wind like?
Northwest and west are the main working directions, arriving as gusty, front-driven inland wind, with turbulence near the ring dike during launching.
Are there kite schools or rental?
Yes, Surfcenter Altmuehlsee / Surfschule Peschel offers VDWS-standard kitesurf, windsurf, wingfoil and SUP instruction and rental on site.
When is the best time to go?
The main season runs May to September, with the school also operating in shoulder months April and October.
Last updated: August 2026