Lago di Santa Croce has no other spot on this map within 40 km of it. straight-line distance
On the clock
11:00 · 13:00 · 18:00
Fills between 11:00 and 13:00 and runs to around 18:00, often holding until sunset. Mornings are usually dead, and a sunny morning over the Alpago with fog or cold in the valley is the sign of a good afternoon.
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
locals call it thermal wind
Direction
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
Character
thermal
fills in: Fills between 11:00 and 13:00 and runs to around 18:00, often holding until sunset. Mornings are usually dead, and a sunny morning over the Alpago with fog or cold in the valley is the sign of a good afternoon.
Typical strength
15-25 knots in the ordinary afternoon thermal, peaking near 20 knots in the early afternoon and reaching about 30 on the strongest spring days. A lower reading of roughly 11-22 knots also circulates for the same thermal, so treat the top of the range as the exception rather than the norm.
The quiver, in words
Suggested sizes run from 8-9 m up to 14 m+. No local school publishes a rider-weight quiver, so treat that spread as indicative.
Direction to shore
Onshore at the main kite beach; the lake thermal blows from south toward north.
Forecast
Month by month
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
riding season from the spot record · no wind series here is trusted enough to name a season
- Jan0
- Feb0
- Mar, riders' month2
- Apr, riders' month0
- May, riders' month0
- Jun, riders' month0
- Jul0
- Aug0
- Sep, riders' month0
- Oct, riders' month0
- Nov0
- Dec0
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)
Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Sep, Oct.
The model is wrong here
The model reads 2% of days at its best month, which does not sit with the season and the wind strength this record states. The figures are kept and drawn as hatching so no wind colour can be read off them, and the ringed months are the ones riders name.
| Month | Windy days | Force 4+ | 12 kn or more | Knots | From | Peaks at | Air | Readings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0% | 0% | 0% | 2.4 kt | N | 14:00 | 3.4°C | 62 |
| Feb | 0% | 2% | 2% | 3.3 kt | S | 15:00 | 5.6°C | 57 |
| Mar | 2% | 3% | 3% | 5.5 kt | S | 16:00 | 7.5°C | 62 |
| Apr | 0% | 8% | 5% | 7 kt | S | 16:00 | 10.2°C | 60 |
| May | 0% | 0% | 0% | 5.6 kt | S | 16:00 | 15.6°C | 62 |
| Jun | 0% | 5% | 2% | 6.7 kt | S | 16:00 | 20.2°C | 60 |
| Jul | 0% | 5% | 5% | 6.6 kt | S | 16:00 | 22.7°C | 62 |
| Aug | 0% | 8% | 5% | 5.8 kt | S | 17:00 | 22.5°C | 62 |
| Sep | 0% | 2% | 0% | 5.1 kt | S | 16:00 | 17.5°C | 60 |
| Oct | 0% | 0% | 0% | 3.4 kt | S | 16:00 | 14.9°C | 62 |
| Nov | 0% | 2% | 2% | 2.9 kt | NNE | 15:00 | 7.4°C | 60 |
| Dec | 0% | 0% | 0% | 2.5 kt | N | 13:00 | 4°C | 62 |
riders' months
Riders and schools name these months. The model reads lower here, and both are shown rather than averaged.
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
Depth depends on how far out you go and on the reservoir level, which is high in the main season and drops out of it. The school area on the right-hand side of the beach as you face the water is shallow with a soft bottom; beyond it the lake goes deep enough for foil and wing. No measured standing depth is published.
Tides
None. It is a freshwater reservoir, but the level is managed and moves with the season: high in the main season, low outside it, and 2026 brought unusually low water with invasive vegetation in places.
Temperature
17°C summer
Wetsuit
Bring a wetsuit even in summer; water runs around 15-20 C at the spot.
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
5 schools name this spot
On your own
Room to launch: ok
Somewhere else
No neighbour on record
No other spot in the atlas sits within reach of this one.
Rescue
Launch
Main kite beach on Viale al Lago in Farra d'Alpago, the north side of the lake next to the campground and beach services. Riders at Farra use the zones marked by signs for kite and windsurf.
Space
ok
Rules & access
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Rider tips
- Read the morning sun over the Alpago ridge as much as the forecast; the thermal is built by the temperature gap with the Veneto plain.
- Park before midday on summer weekends, because the free spaces at Farra go first.
- Rig inside the signed kite and windsurf zones and stay clear of the swimmers' beach.
- Take the onshore seriously: if you cannot hold upwind on a busy day, book a school session in the lagoon instead.
- Pack neoprene even in July; 15-20 C water gets old fast.
- Check the Comune di Alpago ordinances before you drive up in a low-water or algae period.
- Pack neoprene even in July; water at the spot sits at 15-20 C.
- Check the Comune di Alpago ordinance register before you drive up. Two of the August 2026 closures were announced and revoked within three days.
- Do not plan a morning session. The thermal does not arrive before about 11:00 and the useful window is 12:00 to 18:00.
Getting there
Airport
Venice Marco Polo (VCE) is the main nearby international airport; an ATVO Line 29 summer connection runs from Marco Polo airport to Alpago-La Secca.
Route
By car on the A27: exit Fadalto / Lago di Santa Croce coming from Treviso or Venice, exit Cadola coming from the north, then follow the lake round to Farra d'Alpago. The SS51 di Alemagna meets the lake road at Santa Croce del Lago in the south and at Bastia in the north.Roughly 45 minutes from Treviso and 49 from Venice. Two railway stations serve the area, Alpago at the La Secca junction and Santa Croce del Lago on the south shore, each with around thirty trains a day.ATVO line 29 runs from Venice Marco Polo to Alpago in about an hour with no change, and Dolomitibus links Alpago with Belluno and Vittorio Veneto.
Transfer
55 min
Cost level
medium
Staying
Campground, surf-house, B&B, restaurants and bars sit around the Farra kite beach, with more beds in Farra d'Alpago, Poiatte, Santa Croce del Lago and Belluno.
No-wind days
SUP, wingfoil, windsurf, sailing, rowing boats at Poiatte, wakeboard cable, kayaking/canoeing toward Oasi Sbarai, beach time, Cansiglio/Alpago hiking and cycling, Nevegal activities and local mountain sports.
Photos
FAQ
When is the best time to kite at Lago di Santa Croce?
March, April, May, June, September and October are recommended, with March and April the windiest and late July/August prone to a lull.
Is it suitable for beginners?
Yes, local schools teach beginners with no prior level needed, though independent riders should already manage the sometimes gusty onshore launch.
What is the wind like?
An afternoon south to south-west thermal typically runs 15-25 knots between roughly noon and evening, driven by temperature contrast between the Alpago mountains and the Veneto plain.
Are there rules or restricted zones?
Riders must use the areas marked for kite and windsurf at Farra beach, and in 2026 temporary bans applied to algae-affected zones and during firefighting-aircraft water pickups.
What hazards should I know about?
Onshore wind can push weaker riders toward swimmers, the kite area is reported as not very large and can get busy, and lake levels can run unusually low in dry periods.
Last updated: August 2026