"The Lake Garda Beaches are wonderful, and perfect for an afternoon Siesta!"
You will find a huge number of Lake Garda beaches all around the lake. In fact, there are over 28 miles (45km) of free beaches on Lake Garda, as well as a few private ones too! You are never too far from a beach, even if it's a small one. Sometimes you can find them tucked away where you don't expect to see one.
Lake Garda Beaches
Being a lake, the beaches are naturally shingle, as there is not constant, large waves and tides to move the stones around enough to eventually form sand. The shingle does vary in size form larger sizes of 5-10 cm (2-4 inches) in diameter, down to fine and very small (like coarse sand). The majority of beaches contain medium-sized shingle, probably around 2-5 cm (1-2 inches) in diameter. The shingle found here is smooth because the gentle movement of the lake water is enough to wear them down very slowly.
Some of the the Lake Garda beaches are sandy though! They're not naturally sandy...sand has been poured over the shingles to create a soft, sandy beach. There are only 3 beaches we have found that are like this. The best sandy beach is probably the one on the south side of Lazise. The sand here is really deep and fine, and is lovely to walk and lie on (part of this beach is private and belongs to a large camping site here). Maderno also has a sandy beach, and although it's not quite as deep, it's still very nice. Garda also had some areas which are sandy, and although these are small areas found along the shore heading west towards Torri, they are great for kids.
You'll find some large shingle beaches, particularly at the bottom half of the lake. On the Desenzano side of Padenghe, there is a really long shingle beach, and you will also find lots of beach areas at Toscolano. Garda has extended beach areas and we have often enjoyed lazy day here lying around or taking a dip in the lake. Desenzano also has some beach areas and, surprisingly, Riva (right at the top of the lake) has quite a secluded beach which you would never think was there at first! Torbole is another place which has quite a lot of beach, but this tends to be busier due to all the windsurfers here.
The Lake Garda beaches are generally quite long and narrow because the sides of the lake are quite steep and there is, of course, no tide like the sea. The width of the beaches can vary, depending on the amount of snow and rain the area gets in the proceeding weeks and months. In years when precipitation is low, then the level of the lake can drop a few feet and this makes the beaches a bit wider.
There are many small beaches tucked away all over Lake Garda and if you explore the quiet parts of the lake, you can often make great finds! As a general rule, if you are coming to Lake Garda for a beach holiday, then the south end is probably the best. Some of the beaches found just below where the lake gets really mountainous can also be wonderful, as the views from
them are amazing!
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