Sylvia Lake, Europe’s most narrow waterski lake

Have you ever been dreaming of having your own waterski lake? You have, right? I think every waterskier has that dream. Four years ago Gabor Nemeth and his wife Szilvia, made their dream come true. They found their spot 20 km south of Budapest. A small, narrow lake only 36 meters wide was already there, they had to dig another 70 meters in length to make it long enough to get the slalom course in. Sylvia Lake was born. They also built a house and a few years later started their own competition, the Canal Cup.

Visiting this site was on my list for a few years but last September I finally got the chance, because my husband wanted to enter the competition. The lake is only a 45 minutes drive from Budapest, so we decided to book a hotel in the city center so we could explore the city in the evening.

Marek Mlynek at Sylvia Lake

Skiing at the lake can be a little bit scary in the beginning. Because the lake is so narrow, the slalom buoys are very close to the shore. But after a few passes, you get used to it and several skiers found out that it was actually very good skiing. Some even skied PB’s in the competition! They drive a Mastercraft Prostar 6.2 and have an eight buoy course. The sides of the lake are covered with thick bushes so there is no back wash at all.

During the two days of the competition Gabor, Szilvia and their team made sure we were well taken care of. Lunch was included both of the days and they have coffee and cold drinks too. On the first day they served us their famous hamburger, that I heard very good things about. And I have to be honest, my meat-loving husband liked it a lot (and my veggie one was also delicious).

We had a great weekend at Sylvia Lake. Nice setting, fabulous weather, very friendly people from all over Europe, we liked it all. And the combination with the city of Budapest was also nice. The city is very beautiful with lots of historical buildings and monuments, and the city center is filled with restaurants.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have that much time to explore the city but after this first visit, we decided: we’re coming back next year!

For information:

The lake is private but they welcome international skiers that want to have a ski set with them. See for more information their website sylvialake.hu

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