VESELSKÉ SANDPITS

The Veselské Sandpits are an ideal place for recreational swimming, long-distance swimming, and sport fishing. They are also a beautiful part of the Protected Landscape Area and the Třeboňsko Biosphere Reserve.

The Veselské Sandpits area covers 240 hectares between the town of Veselí nad Lužnicí, its settlement Horusice, and Vlkov. There are five separate sand-gravel lakes, formed after gravel sand mining between 1952 and 1986. The individual lakes are called Vlkovská pískovna, Veselí Lake, and Veselí I (on the right bank of the Lužnice River), as well as Horusice Lake and Horusice I (on the left bank of the Lužnice River).

Although this is not an officially managed swimming area, there are seasonal paid parking spaces with refreshments available.

From a tourist perspective, the Veselské pískovny educational trail is particularly noteworthy. This 7 km circuit around Vlkovská pískovna and Veselí I Lake features 14 informational panels. These panels provide visitors with insights into the history of the landscape and, most importantly, the nature of the lakes. The information is available in Czech, German, and English.

The main attraction is Stop Number 7, which focuses on the "Písečný přesyp u Vlkova" nature reserve. This sand dune is considered the best-preserved in the Czech Republic. It was created in an era when the surrounding landscape was almost treeless with sparse vegetation. The constantly blowing winds shaped sand dunes from the floodplain sands of the Lužnice and Nežárka rivers, forming a strip from Veselí nad Lužnicí to Majdalena. Today, they are covered by pine forests, with only two remaining open sand areas – a larger dune near Vlkov and a smaller one near Lužnice.

During the tourist season from July to September, the Refreshment in the Sandpit organizes a series of cultural and sports events, concerts, and film screenings.