The Lake of Santa Croce is a natural lake located in the heart of the Alpago basin, in the province of Belluno. It is the largest in the province and the second in Veneto. On its shores, there is an important natural site, the Sbarai Oasis, a vast wetland characterized by different environments linked to the variations in the lake's water levels.
The main inflows of the lake are to the north the Cellina Canal, which collects the waters of the Piave River at Soverzene, and the Tesa stream; the lake has only one outflow, the Rai stream, which serves as a safeguard in case of floods and flows into the Piave at Cadola di Ponte nelle Alpi. Until the mid-18th century, the lake had no outflow, but the proximity of the Cansiglio Forest, from which a large amount of construction timber was extracted, led to the excavation of the 7 km long Rai stream, which discharged into the Piave.
On the lake, the inhabited centers of Farra d'Alpago to the north, the hamlet of Poiatte to the east, the town of Santa Croce del Lago to the west, and the hamlet of La Secca to the north overlook. Additionally, the entire western slope of the lake is crossed by the state road 51 of Alemagna, which was the main communication route between the province of Treviso and the province of Belluno before the inauguration in 1995 of the Vittorio Veneto-Belluno stretch of the A27 motorway.
It is a perfect place for walking and relaxing moments; on the beach, there is a well-equipped area where you can rent sunbeds, umbrellas, pedal boats, and canoes. Thanks to the particularly windy climate, the lake has become a sought-after destination for windsurfing, kitesurfing, and sailing enthusiasts: throughout the pleasant season, you can see colorful sails gliding over the waves in front of the imposing mountains that surround the basin.
