Lepenica Lake

The middle sister of the Fužine reservoir chain, Lepenica is the wildest and least-visited of the three — a long, sinuous forest lake surrounded almost entirely by dense spruce and beech woods, with a single lakeside road on its northern shore and virtually nothing on the southern. Created in 1953 alongside Bajer as part of the hydropower system, it is 3 km long and the water is astonishingly clear, with visibility often exceeding 5 m. This is where locals come to escape the summer weekend crowds at Bajer: a small unofficial pebble beach at the eastern end is popular for swimming, and the whole shoreline is dotted with quiet fishing spots. A 6-km loop walk around the lake takes around 2 hours and rewards you with total forest silence and the occasional roe deer sighting. Kayak rentals are available from Bajer in Fužine and the paddle across is 30 minutes. In winter, when the lake freezes solid, ice-skating and even ice-hockey matches occasionally take place. Bring your own picnic — there is no food service on the lake at all.