MapGermanyFehmarnGrüner BrinkFehmarn

Grüner Brink

Schleswig-Holstein · Puttgarden / Burg auf Fehmarn

also known as Gruener Brink, Fehmarn Grüner Brink, Fehmarn Gruner Brink

Part of Fehmarn →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

not for beginnersmedium crowds

On this page

The spot
Wind
Forecast
Month by month
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
Schools
Tips
Getting there
Photos
FAQ

Riding essentials

Season

Mar–Nov

Months riders and schools name

How windy

under Typical strength, below

Character: mixed

Room to launch

access rules on record, below

Water

mixed

18 °C in summerShallow Baltic water, flat in the lee and choppy or small waves once the wind is up, so do not expect a lagoon

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Intermediate to advanced

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

medium crowds · busy June July August September

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

110 min

Hamburg Airport (HAM)

When it fills in

There is no daily onset to plan around. The wind here is synoptic Baltic wind, so it blows when the pressure gradient does, at any hour, and you pick the day off the forecast rather than the clock. No local thermal or afternoon pattern is documented.

Nearbystraight-line distance

Backup spotsWhere riders go when the wind doesn't work here.

Westermarkelsdorfno page yet
Altenteilno page yet
Puttgardenno page yet
Presenno page yet
Katharinenhofno page yet
Goldno page yet

The spot

Grüner Brink is on the north/east coast of Fehmarn, next to the Grüner Brink nature reserve, and the only water you may ride is the marked kite zone reached from the Grüner Brink parking area by the yellow-board waymarks. Northeast through east is the wind that works here, from about 4 Bft; the water is shallow Baltic, flat in the lee, chop or small waves once it picks up.

Access and skill requirements

It is not a first-lesson spot. Access is regulated, space is finite, and an onshore northeast wind pushes a rider with weak kite control straight back onto the beach, which is why beginners reportedly get sent away. Locals ride it in April, May, September and October and mostly on weekends in summer; on the long-term numbers the season runs March to November. What you get in return is a quiet north-coast beach without the school and campsite bustle of the big Fehmarn spots, though on a warm summer weekend it still fills up.

Local rules and boundaries

Reserve boundaries, bathing zones and the exact usable strip matter more here than the riding does, and whether there are seasonal closures on top of the permanent zoning is unconfirmed.

The wind

Direction

cross-onNE

Direction to shore

cross-on

Dominant direction

NE, ENE and E are repeatedly cited as the best directions for the spot; Windy also lists E, ESE, SE, SSE and S as working directions.

Kite sizes

45678910111213141516

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

Indicative for 75-85 kg, since no local size table is published: around 12-14 m at the 4 Bft that makes the spot work at all, 10-11 m at 5 Bft, 8-9 m at 6 Bft, and 7 m or under above that. Shallow water and a hard onshore component argue for the smaller end of any bracket.

Character

mixed

When it fills in: see above ↑

Typical strength

Local source Kitedrop rates the spot from 4 Bft; Windy lists 1-5 m/s as light, 5-8 m/s as normal, and 8-12 m/s as strong for the spot.

Generally clean in easterly/northeasterly flow, but exposed synoptic Baltic wind can be gusty or unsuitable when offshore.

Gruner Brink works in April, May, September and October, and in summer mostly on weekends. The wind season runs March to November; July, August and September are the best months on the long-term numbers. Fehmarn has 17 water-sports areas facing different wind directions, so there is no single season for the island: you pick the spot by the forecast.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

Jan92
Feb89
Mar, riders' month82
Apr, riders' month81
May, riders' month76
Jun, riders' month71
Jul, riders' month81
Aug, riders' month72
Sep, riders' month69
Oct, riders' month88
Nov, riders' month84
Dec82

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov.

18 ktJan4°
19 ktFeb4°
15 ktMar5°
15 ktApr8°
15 ktMay13°
13 ktJun18°
15 ktJul19°
14 ktAug20°
14 ktSep18°
17 ktOct14°
16 ktNov9°
16 ktDec6°

avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted

Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (2020-2024), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds.

Every figure, month by monthForce 4+ · Knots · Wind from · Air · Water

Month	Force 4+	Knots	Wind from	Air	Water
Jan	92%	18.2 kt	WSW	3.8 °C	4.4 °C
Feb	89%	19.1 kt	WSW	4.3 °C	3.7 °C
Mar	82%	15.1 kt	WSW	5.1 °C	4.9 °C
Apr	81%	15.2 kt	WNW	7.4 °C	7.6 °C
May	76%	14.7 kt	WNW	12 °C	12.6 °C
Jun	71%	13.3 kt	WNW	16.7 °C	17.9 °C
Jul	81%	15.1 kt	WNW	17.9 °C	19.3 °C
Aug	72%	13.5 kt	W	18.8 °C	19.6 °C
Sep	69%	13.8 kt	E	16.1 °C	18.2 °C
Oct	88%	16.6 kt	SSW	12.2 °C	13.6 °C
Nov	84%	16.1 kt	SSW	7.7 °C	9.3 °C
Dec	82%	16.4 kt	WSW	4.1 °C	5.7 °C

How this is modelledmodelled · 2020-2024

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

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.

ERA5 reanalysis grid point (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical weather API — ECMWF ERA5/ERA5-Land reanalysis, not a ground station · 2020-2024

The water

Type

mixed

Standing depth

Knee to chest deep depending on the water level, over sand that stays shallow a long way out. The submerged outer bank that builds the wave ramps is put at about 200 m from the beach in one account and about 700 m in another. Beyond it the water is deep everywhere.

Tides

Non-tidal. Baltic water levels here move with wind and air pressure rather than with a tide clock, so a persistent easterly setup piles water onto this coast and offshore days drop it, which changes how far out you can stand.

Temperature

18 °C summer · 3 °C winter

Modelled monthly average: 4–20 °C

Wetsuit

A wetsuit is normally needed; Kitedrop notes that only on very warm summer days might a shorty or boardshorts be enough.

Conditions

Shallow Baltic water, flat in the lee and choppy or small waves once the wind is up, so do not expect a lagoon. The beach sits against the Grüner Brink nature reserve and the usable water is only the marked zone.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

not for beginners here

Intermediate and up. Ratings for this beach conflict, and we take the conservative one: the beach is regulated, the useful wind is onshore, and beginners reportedly get sent away. Until a local moderator confirms otherwise, treat it as not a beginner spot.

The scene

What riders come here for

flat-water freerideshallow-water practice for independent ridersnatural quiet-session settingnortheast/east wind days on north Fehmarn

Quieter than the big Fehmarn school and camping beaches, but well enough known that warm summer weekends get busy.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

4 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: ok

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

6 spots nearby

All 6 spots within 40 km are under Nearby

Rescue

No kite rescue. DLRG lifeguards watch the bathing zone next door in summer, for swimmers, and the NE-E wind you come for pushes you toward exactly that zone. A NABU warden is on the reserve in summer, for the birds. Emergency number is 112.

Launch

Sandy beach launch inside the marked zone only, roughly 300 m to the right (east) of the bridge from the Grüner Brink parking; from the car park it can be a walk of up to about 500 m to the water.Rigging and derigging happen on the meadow behind the bridge, but launching and landing there is not allowed - carry the gear down. The usable water starts east of the bathing area, from the small water inflow onwards, and the yellow-board signposting marks the zone.

Hazards riders report 10 reported

Wind

A northeast wind is onshore here; a rider without solid upwind ability gets pushed straight back onto the beach.
Offshore or cross-offshore winds from land are unsafe without reliable rescue; there is no kite-specific rescue here.
Good-wind days crowd the narrow legal strip, which asks for board control you may not have after a long drive.

Crowds and zones

Seasonal bathing use and marked swimming areas may reduce usable space in summer.

Bottom

Very shallow water and sandbanks can make crashes hard on fins, boards and ankles.
A stone groyne sits at the eastern end of the riding area and is a collision risk on a fast reach.

Protected areas and rules

Nature reserve restrictions limit where you may launch/ride
Nature-reserve boundaries and protected bird habitat around Grüner Brink restrict where riders may launch and ride.
The reserve boundary runs 150 m out into the water, so drifting west puts you inside a closed area rather than just off the beach.

Other

Cold water for most of the year: single-digit Celsius from December to April.

Rules & access

1 min read

Zones and reserves

2026: ride and launch only inside the marked Fehmarn watersports/kite zone, which is the water east of the bathing area; on the water the western boundary is the sight line from the nature-reserve sign and the utility building, and the green poles on the beach mark where the reserve starts. 2026: the Grüner Brink nature reserve runs about 2.5 km along the coast and extends from the dike crown up to 150 m out into the sea, so a chunk of the water is closed, not just the land.

Seasonal closures and rigging

2026: the bathing beach and the reserve can be closed off during bird breeding periods; the signs at the parking are the current version, not last year's memory. 2026: rig and derig on the meadow behind the bridge, but do not launch or land there.

Landing and permits

2026: landing inside the DLRG-watched bathing zone draws heavy penalties, and repeated breaches are said to put the whole surfing permission at risk. 2026: no spot-specific paid kite permit was found; parking charges are reported and unconfirmed, with campervan places charged separately.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Schools that ride here

Rider tips

Check the yellow-board signs at the parking before rigging; the reserve boundary is the edge of your session and it follows the signage, not your memory of last year.
Come here on a NE to E/ENE forecast; on anything offshore or awkward, drive to one of Fehmarn's other signposted spots that faces the wind.
Arrive early on summer weekends; the Grüner Brink parking and the rigging strip both fill.
Do not bring a total beginner here without a local school confirming the current access rules and a safe teaching zone; there is no kite rescue, only the DLRG watching the bathing zone.
Wear booties: the shallows mean long walks over shells, and the water is cold outside high summer.
From the parking follow the path to the water and walk right a few metres; that is the marked zone.
Rig on the meadow behind the bridge, then carry down. Pulling a kite up there is the fastest way to lose the spot for everyone.
Suit thickness by season: 5/4 or 6/5 in spring, 4/3 in autumn, 3/2 for a few weeks of high summer, and full winter rubber from November on.
Sight the reserve sign and the utility building and hold that line in your head; everything west of it is closed water.

Getting there

Airport

Hamburg Airport (HAM); Lübeck is closer but has limited commercial service.

Route

Reach Fehmarn by car via the A1/B207 and the Fehmarnsund Bridge, then drive north/east toward Puttgarden and Grüner Brink; about 95-120 minutes from Hamburg Airport in normal conditions and 10-20 minutes from Burg auf Fehmarn depending on where you stay.Public transport gets you to Burg or Puttgarden with onward local transport or a taxi, but carrying kite gear is much easier by car.The beach itself is about 300 m east of the bridge, and the car park sits back from the water.

Transfer

110 min

Cost level

medium

Staying

Use Burg auf Fehmarn, Puttgarden or north/east-coast holiday apartments for the shortest access; Fehmarn also has campsites and beach-oriented holiday rentals around the island.

No-wind days

Birdwatching and walking around the Grüner Brink nature reserve, beaches on Fehmarn, Burg old town/cafes, Fehmarn marine centre/aquarium attractions, cycling, and switching to another Fehmarn surf spot for a better wind angle.

Photos

FAQ

Is Grüner Brink suitable for beginners?

No, it is rated for intermediate and advanced riders, since it is a natural, access-restricted beach where local guidance says beginners are likely to be turned away.

What is the wind like?

Northeast, east-northeast and east are the best-cited directions, arriving as onshore conditions that can push weaker riders straight back toward the beach.

When is the best time to go?

The windy season runs March to November, with July, August and September named as the strongest period.

Are there rules or restricted zones?

Yes, riders must launch and ride only inside the marked watersports/kite zone using Fehmarn's yellow-board signposting system, since the adjacent Grüner Brink is a protected nature reserve.

What are the main hazards?

Very shallow water and sandbanks can make crashes hard on fins, boards and ankles, and offshore or cross-offshore wind is risky since no dedicated kite rescue service is verified.

The bigger pictureEverything about Fehmarn

Last updated: August 2026