Fishing
11 places in Cologne
Aachener Weiher
A 1920s artificial lake in Cologne's Inner Green Belt, framed by a beer garden, East Asian art, and the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Park.
Baadenberger Senke, Stöckheimer See and Große Laache
A sprawling nature reserve of former gravel pits in Cologne's north-west – now a landscape of lakes, woodland and one of the most important amphibian spawning grounds west of the Rhine.
Bleibtreusee
Man-made lake from former lignite mining in the Ville, now a popular spot for water skiing, wakeboarding and swimming.
Decksteiner Weiher
since 1929Artificial rowing lake in Cologne's Outer Green Belt — 5.8 km loop trail, boat hire, and a goshawk breeding site on its island since 1987.
Escher Seen
Two gravel-pit lakes in Cologne's northwest — the northern one is a public bathing lake, the southern a fenced-off fishing reserve.
Fühlinger See
Former gravel pits turned into a 100-hectare lake in northern Cologne, home to a 2,300 m regatta course that hosted the 1998 Rowing World Championships.
Heider Bergsee
A reclaimed open-cast coal mining pit turned swimming lake near Brühl — 35 hectares of still water in the Rhineland Nature Park, with a beach resort.
Höhenfelder See
A 20-hectare gravel pit lake in Cologne's Dellbrücker Wald — swimming is banned year-round, the water is leased to anglers, and the surrounding woodland serves as recreational space.
Liblarer See
Artificial swimming lake in a former open-cast lignite pit — one of the largest lakes on the Villeseenplatte and a popular summer destination near Cologne.
Otto-Maigler-See
Swimming lake formed in a former brown coal pit near Hürth, purpose-built with six side-by-side regatta lanes for international races and water sports.
