The "Ob Sea" — officially the Novosibirsk Reservoir — is an enormous body of water created in 1956 when a hydroelectric dam was built on the Ob River south of the city. It is about 200 km long and up to 22 km wide, and has beaches, marinas, and holiday dacha complexes along its shores. In summer it is where Novosibirsk comes to swim, fish, and escape the city heat.
The beaches along the western shore near the city are accessible by public transport. The water is cold even in August — this is Siberia — but entirely swimmable. The reservoir's creation flooded a large area of productive farmland and several villages, which remains a source of grievance; it also altered the local climate, creating warmer winters but cooler summers in the immediate vicinity. Akademgorodok sits on the eastern shore, and the view across the water from there is genuinely striking.