General Information
Covering ca. 380ha, the Lac de la Haute Sûre is Luxembourg’s largest body of water and is thus a popular hotspot for watersport enthusiasts and the odd sunbather. Chances are, you live or are staying in the south of Luxembourg, so the drive to the lake is somehwat cumbrous and will without exageration take you an hour, but the trip will be well worth it (briing your GPS/ SatNav, or you WILL get lost!). It is not for nothing that this region has been proclaimed a nature reserve, as its rolling hills and valleys make not only for an excellent drive, but also for a nice hiking excursion.
This is why I am unsure whether to classify the lake as a fishing or hiking trail: there are so many activities to be done here, that its impossible to not have fun. As long as you leave the water within 5km distance of the main dam alone, visitors can swim, fish, sail (only solar boats, no motors allowed) and even scooba dive to your heart’s content. The reason for this restriction is simply that 70% of Luxembourgish households derive their drinking water from this very lake, and they would greatly appreciate it if we didn’t use their to-be-water as a swimming pool.
As to hiking and fishing: As long as you keep the distance from the dam, you can fish as much as you want, obviously as long as you posess a valid fishing license. Personally, I would recommend the Special Type A one as I do not have access to any boats and am always restricted to the riverbank. However, the Upper Sûre Lake is ideal for fishing of a boat, so if you have the money and time, why not rent one? Apart from that, you are set to fish on the giant water snake as this site refers to it. Obviously, if you are hiking there is no need to bring anything apart from some water, as a circular trip will take you a LONG time. There are some bridges crossing the lake, but they are far and few in between, so if you want to return to where you parked your car (most likely in the Beach at Insenborn) it is just easiest to walk back the way along the lake you came.
Personal Information
Before going to deeply into my personal experience, I should stress the fact that I went there in early spring, when tress were still bare, the temperature was freezing, and fishing was illegal. In fact, the day I went was the day after trout, pike and perch all became unfishable due to their breeding season (just my luck). Instead, I walked a several kilometre trail from inside Insenborn to get a flavour of the Lake for future trips.
It has to be said, that even though the weather was unforgiving in terms of cold, the views accross the lake were still stunning and already worth the trip, believe me! Needless to say, it is easy to picture yourself here in warmer weather either fishing or spending time with friends.
The few negatives about the lake do not outweigh the positives, but are still important. The long trip is the main drawback, as you do need to plan the drive into your day carefully, so the lake is not ideal for a quick walk, swim or fishing trip. Instead, I’ve learned to use it as a semi-day long break. Then, there’s the paths. They might have fixed it by now, but at the time of my wandering, the paths were in horrendous condition, as they were torn up, muddy and simply unfinished (note: bring some boots if it rained!). Lastly though, it might have been the fact it was early spring, but I get the feeling that the lake’s location in a deep valley means it is a) colder than other parts of the country, and b) gets darker earlier. Naturally these are not exactly life-changing problems, but just be aware that the water will be cold!
Nevertheless, I cannot really say too much more about the Upper Sure Lake. Make sure to bring a camera, as you will find plenty of beautiful places and views to turn into a new screensaver… I know I have.
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