Franconian Lake District

The Lake District comprises of 7 lakes and several “waters”. The total expanse of water is about 20 km².

• Great Brombach Lake, 8.7 km² (Großer Brombachsee)
• Small Brombach Lake, 2.5 km² (Kleiner Brombachsee)
• Igelsbach Lake, 0.9 km² (Igelsbachsee)
• Altmühl Lake, 4.5 km² (Altmühlsee), near Gunzenhausen
• Roth Lake, 2.2 km² (Rothsee)
• Hahnenkammsee, 0.23 km² (Hahnenkammsee)
• Dennenloher Lake, 0.22 km² (Dennenloher See)

The Franconian Lake District is equal in size and infra-structure to the Upper Bavarian Lake District: the Altmühlsee, for example, is the same size as the Königssee, and the Große Brombachsee has the same area as the Tegernsee.
The biggest lake of the district is the Great Brombach Lake, a storage lake of about 12.7 km², with about of shoreline. Its depth is about 32 m. The scenic Small Brombach Lake is situated in the Brombach and Igelsbach valley. Full beaches and the activity on the water show the highly attractive nature of the recreational Small Brombach Lake. With its 2.5 km², the lake invites to people to go swimming, surfing, sailing, fishing, and boating.
The biggest European Trimaran passenger ship, "MS Brombachsee", crosses the Lake daily. The coastline is unspoiled; there are bike paths and hiking trails around the lake. Four recreational establishments and 1,000 sailboat berths make this an ideal surf and sailing destination. A great viewpoint is the Two-Lake-Place in Enderndorf am See.
The Altmühl Lake, situated in the broad valley of the Altmühl, sits between single villages and meadows. It was created as the first lake in the lake district and has a length of and an area of roughly 4.5 km². The ship "Gunzenhausen" crosses the lake.
The Roth lake, which is 2.2 km², is divided into a economic part and a swimming area. Surfing and sailing are possible in most parts. In the north western corner there is a large nature reserve. The Roth Lake also has three recreational areas.
The Lake District besides its obvious tourism value also serves to move water from the relatively "wet" Old Bavaria to Franconia and was built in conjunction with the Main Donau Kanal
;Cities, towns and villages

• Gunzenhausen
• Hilpoltstein
• Pleinfeld
• Roth
• Spalt – the hops and beer town

By rail

The next station for high-speed trains (ICE) is Nuremberg, with regional train connections to Roth (15 min), Georgensgmünd (23 min), Pleinfeld (30 min). Additionally, intercity trains stop in Ansbach and Donauwörth. From there, regional trains connect to Gunzenhausen (18 min from Ansbach); Ellingen (35 min from Donauörth) and Pleinfeld (40 min).

By car

Autobahn A6 (Nuremberg–Heilbronn), exits Roth, Schwabach-West or Ansbach, or A9 (Nuremberg–Munich), exits Allersberg, Hilpoltstein or Greding; B2 from Augsburg, or B13 from Ingolstadt or Ansbach.

By air

The closest airport to the Lake District is at Nuremberg (NUE)

• Wakeboard and water ski

  phone: +49 157 52681335
  address: Zeltwiese Absberg, Badehalbinsel am Kleinen Brombachsee, 91720 Absberg
  Opened in 2016 and still being extended, this brings additional water sport fun to the region. Online booking and courses available.

• Zeltwiese Absberg camping

  phone: +49 157 52681335 (M-F 09:00-17:00)
  address: Zeltwiese Absberg, Badehalbinsel am Kleinen Brombachsee, 91720 Absberg

• Weißenburg in Bayern, 21 km southeast of Gunzenhausen
• Ansbach, 28 km northwest of Gunzenhausen
• Nuremberg, 30 km north of Roth
• Dinkelsbühl, 35 km west of Gunzenhausen