Lake Niedrājs

The surroundings of Lake Niedrājs is a popular recreation spot for the people of Smiltene and the guests of the region. The surroundings are suitable for leisurely walks and enjoying peace, as well as for active recreation and sports – mushroom picking, running, skiing and cycling and others. In the surrounding area there are several well-equipped swimming areas with boardwalks, as well as rest areas with fireplace. Go on a bike ride along one of the bike paths that lead through the forests of Lake Niedrājs. It is possible to choose the one that best suits your strengths and wishes, one of the 3 different length trails – 10, 20 and 30 km. There is also bicycle route called “Around the Lakes of Smiltene”, which is 29 km long, starts in Smiltene city and leads past various tourist attractions of the Smiltene region. Information about bicycle rental and service is available on section “rent”. Not far from Lake Niedrajs, there is a Pārkaļņu money stone, of which only the upper part of the stone, about 25m², is visible above the ground. It is difficult to determine the volume, but it could be one of the largest boulders in Latvia. The stone is included in the list of protected natural monuments. Hidden treasure enthusiasts have excavated the area around the stone in hopes of finding it. Possibility to rent SUP boards and kayaks from the active recreation equipment rental providers “Annes laivas” and “Airi und pedaļi”. The water of the Lake Niedrājs is clean and transparent, so it attracts many Latvian divers. Thus, in August 2002, the underwater diver Edgars Miculis found an old boat – a single tree, which had been lying in the lake under a layer of mud for several hundred years. In September, the boat was pulled out of the water with the participation of underwater specialist V. Rains and magazine “Diena” photographer R. Purviņš. At first it was yellow, but when it came into contact with air, it changed color and became black. Then boat was carefully wrapped in plastic and taken to the Jurmala City Museum.

The average depth of Niedrāja lake is 4m, the greatest depth is 8.5m. It is connected to six lakes – Mellūzis, Salainis, Niedrītis, Bezdibenis, Zummers and Bezvārdis. The most popular of them – Salainis, is famous for its geographical shape, because from a bird’s eye view, this small swamp lake resembles the outline of the country of Latvia.