The shore is just one point of view

When we think of a lake, we almost always picture what we can see from the land: a beach, a lakeside promenade, a trail or a village overlooking the water. It is the most immediate way to experience it, but it also reveals only one part of the landscape.

Move just a few dozen metres away from the shore and everything begins to change. The sounds become more distant, the mountains open up around you, villages take on different proportions and places appear that simply cannot be reached from land.

It is one of the reasons we love experiences on the water so much: you do not have to travel far to feel as though you have entered somewhere completely new.

Step into the landscape instead of simply looking at it

In a Canadian canoe, we can move slowly through reed beds, small bays and shallow waters. On a SUP board, we are almost in direct contact with the surface of the lake. On a catamaran or windsurf board, on the other hand, wind and speed completely change our relationship with the water once again.

Each offers a different perspective, but they all have something in common: once we are on the water, we are no longer simply standing in front of the landscape. We become part of it.

Even familiar places can suddenly become surprising. A shoreline seen from the lake, an island approached slowly or a rocky cliff viewed from below can tell a completely different story of the surrounding landscape.

Every lake has its own character

One of the most fascinating things about our area is that lakes located relatively close to one another can offer completely different experiences.

Lake Maggiore has wide open spaces, varied shorelines and views that constantly change. Lake Varese lets us enter environments rich in vegetation and birdlife. Lake Monate, smaller and quieter, naturally invites us to slow down.

The same is true as we move towards Lake Orta, Lake Mergozzo or smaller lakes such as Lake Comabbio. Their size, vegetation, surrounding mountains, exposure to the wind and human presence all change the way it feels to be out on the water.

There is no single experience called “going to the lake”. There are many different ways to experience one.

You don't have to travel far to find adventure

When we think about adventure, it is easy to imagine long journeys and remote destinations. But adventure does not necessarily depend on how far we travel.

Sometimes it means setting off from a familiar shore and discovering what lies beyond a small headland. Entering a reed bed without knowing exactly what will appear on the other side. Stopping in the middle of the lake when there is almost nothing to hear around you. Or learning for the first time how to control a board with a paddle or the wind.

The lakes of the Italian Prealps offer countless opportunities for experiences like these, often just a few kilometres from our towns and cities.

The best way to discover a lake? Experience it

We don't believe there is one activity that is always the best way to discover a lake. It depends on the place, the season, the conditions and, above all, on what we feel like experiencing that day.

We can look for the quiet rhythm of a canoe, the simplicity of a SUP board, the energy of windsurfing or let the wind carry us across the water on a catamaran.

What matters is leaving our usual point of view behind, at least for a few hours.

Because sometimes it takes only a few metres from the shore to realise that what we thought we knew was just one of the many faces of the lake.