Kitesurfing, wing foiling and foiling on the IJsselmeer

The IJsselmeer and Markermeer are the flat water living room of the Netherlands: no tide, no current, and spots like Workum, Makkum, Medemblik, Mirns and Muiderberg with shallow, quickly warming water. That flat water makes the area supremely suited to wing foiling and foiling, since you are up and going early. Because it is inland water, the wind behaves differently than at sea: gusts are sharper and thermals play a part in summer. For kitesurfing, fixed kite zones and seasons apply at a number of spots, while wing foiling is generally allowed more freely; check the rules per spot. The big advantage: because the shores all around the lake face every direction, you will find a shore where the wind sits safely onshore for almost any direction.

The spots in the IJsselmeer

• Medemblik (IJsselmeer) →

  Best wind: northeast, east and southeast. Offshore (no-go): west.

• Muiderberg (IJmeer) →

  Best wind: north, northeast and east. Offshore (no-go): southwest.

• Workum (IJsselmeer) →

  Best wind: southwest, west and northwest. Offshore (no-go): east.

• Makkum (IJsselmeer) →

  Best wind: southwest, west and northwest. Offshore (no-go): east.

• Mirns (IJsselmeer) →

  Best wind: southeast, south, southwest and west. Offshore (no-go): north and northeast.

• Hindeloopen (IJsselmeer) →

  Best wind: southwest, west and northwest. Offshore (no-go): east.

• Schellinkhout (Markermeer) →

  Best wind: southeast, south, southwest and west. Offshore (no-go): north and northeast.

• Stavoren (IJsselmeer) →

  Best wind: south, southwest and west. Offshore (no-go): northeast.

• Enkhuizen (IJsselmeer) →

  Best wind: north, northeast and east. Offshore (no-go): southwest.

• Lelystad (Bataviastrand) →

  Best wind: south, southwest, west and northwest. Offshore (no-go): northeast and east.

• Almere (Muiderzand) →

  Best wind: north, southwest, west and northwest. Offshore (no-go): east and southeast.

• Edam (Galgenveld) →

  Best wind: northeast, east and southeast. Offshore (no-go): west.

• Gouwzee (Monnickendam) →

  Best wind: east, southeast and south.

• IJmeer (IJburg) →

  Best wind: northeast, east, southeast and south.

Live wind and your personal go/no-go per spot are on the spot pages. How the advice works is explained on the method page.

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