Geeste Reservoir (West Side)

Here is a tourist restaurant with a view of the Geestesee. You can charge e-bikes with your own charger here on request.

The lakeThe artificial lake was built in the 1980s as a cooling water basin for the Emsland nuclear power plant, twelve kilometers away, on the former Lingen state forest "Biener Sand" and "Geester Sand". It is about two kilometers long and 1.3 km wide at its widest point. It is located on the B 70 and 15 meters higher than the surrounding terrain. According to RWE, the water surface is 230 hectares. The lake has no natural inflows other than precipitation and groundwater. Its water is taken from the Ems via the Dortmund-Ems canal and returned when required. The ring dam is a dam made of earth fill.If the Ems water flow is not sufficient to supply the additional water volumes required for normal operation of the power plant block, this can be taken in whole or in part from the reservoir. The stored water is fed to the block's extraction area via the Dortmund-Ems Canal.

TourismAt the reservoir there is an 850 m long sandy beach with a lawn for sunbathing, restaurants, a sun terrace, a large children's playground, a halfpipe for inline skaters and a beach volleyball court. There are also numerous outdoor activities, such as windsurfing, sailing, diving, stand-up paddling and a mountain bike trail. Around 15 km of paved cycling and hiking trails open up the lake, 5.8 km of which are on the crest of the dam. The Emspark Auenwald holiday park has been located directly on the lake since 2006. There is also a youth campsite, a mobile home site and a youth house at the reservoir. The house is run by the Jugendhaus am Speicherbecken Geeste e.V. association.The Geester Seemeile takes place on the second weekend in July, an open-air shanty on the second Sunday in August and a kite festival in spring/summer.