Lemster Baai is the strip of fine sand and shallow water on the IJsselmeer just east of the town centre, the closest thing the Netherlands has to a freshwater coast. The lake is shallow and warms quickly in summer; on a hot July day half of Friesland comes out to swim, sail dinghies, and rig up windsurf rigs.
The beach is unsupervised but family-friendly — the water is fresh, the bottom is sandy, and there is a long grass strip behind for picnics and kite-flying. A couple of beach pavilions serve coffee and chips. Parking fills up by 11am on weekends in season.