No eFoil on Starnberger See or any state lake
You cannot eFoil on Starnberger See. Ammersee, Tegernsee and Chiemsee are closed too, along with every other lake the Bavarian state runs through its palace and lakes administration, the Schlösserverwaltung.
The administration spells it out. Motorized water sports devices, it says, among them e-surfboards with or without foil, e-kayaks and e-canoes, are not permitted on its lakes, without exception, and violations are pursued. Private boards, paid courses and electric jetboards are all caught.
Seventeen lakes fall under that rule: Alpsee, Ammersee, Bodensee, Chiemsee, Großer Alpsee, Hintersee, Kochelsee, Königssee, Leitgeringer See, Schliersee, Schwansee, Soinsee, Spitzingsee, Staffelsee, Starnberger See, Tegernsee and Waginger See.
Motor boats on Starnberger See and Ammersee run under a separate system: a navigation permit from the district office, the landowner's consent for a fee, and caps of 280 and 150 combustion sports boats drawn from waiting lists (Schifffahrtsbekanntmachung no. 3.1). Nothing in those quotas, as we read them, opens either lake to an eFoil.
Bavarian water law and the motor board
The starting point is the Bavarian Water Act (BayWG). It gives everyone a right of common use on public waters, and that right covers bathing and craft without their own power (Art. 18 (1), text in force from 1 January 2026). A paddle board, a kayak or a wing board fits inside it. A motorized board does not. As we read it, wherever common use applies you may launch a SUP or a wing foil board by right, and an eFoil never.
Anything with a motor needs someone's permission. Under BayWG Art. 28 the State Ministry decides which waters are open to navigation (para. 1). On every other water you need a permit from the district office (Landratsamt) or the city, which may refuse it or attach conditions (para. 4).
The Bavarian Shipping Ordinance (BaySchiffV) of 9 August 1977 applies on all surface waters in Bavaria except Lake Constance and the federal waterways (§ 1 (1)). Waters not generally open to navigation need a permit, unpowered craft excepted (§ 3 (1)). We read § 1 as including privately owned gravel lakes. On waters inside yards, gardens, parks and works that belong to the owners of the plot, common use does not apply at all (BayWG Art. 18 (2)), so by our reading a lake in a gravel works is the owner's to open or to keep closed.
Munich's own rivers are closed as well. The city's bathing and boating ordinance of 21 December 1976 bans even small craft without their own power on the Isar, its side arms and its canals outside named stretches (§ 6), keeps windsurfers off the still waters from 15 May to 15 September (§ 5) and sets fines of up to €5,000 (§ 7). Motor craft need a BayWG Art. 28 permit.
These are our readings of the published texts and no substitute for legal advice. The authority named for each water settles any doubt.
Allowed, closed or on hold, water by water
Closed waters sit close to Munich; the places that take an eFoil are fenced into an operator's permission or lie north, on the Danube and its gravel lakes. “Course only” means you ride under the operator's permit and only inside its sessions.
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| Water | eFoil | What decides it |
|---|---|---|
| Starnberger See, Ammersee, Tegernsee, Chiemsee and the other state lakes | Closed | The Schlösserverwaltung bans motorized boards without exception, courses included |
| Isar in Munich | Closed | City ordinance of 1976; motor craft only with a BayWG Art. 28 permit |
| Isar in the Landkreis München | Special permit only | Granted by the Landratsamt in exceptional cases |
| Mandichosee near Augsburg | Not allowed | The district office told the rental firm Shar-e-foil so, and riders there risk fines |
| Olympia-Regattastrecke, Oberschleißheim | Course only | EFOIL BASE courses; riding outside course times is forbidden |
| Aquapark Moosburg | Not bookable | The eFoil Center's shop is offline |
| Lorenzisee, Geisenfeld near Ingolstadt | Lessons and rental | eFoil Riders at the Wake & Groove cable park |
| Danube at Matting near Regensburg | Lessons; own board with a mark | Federal waterway below Kelheim |
| Danube at Ingolstadt and Neuburg | Permit needed (our reading) | Bavarian water above Kelheim; the City of Ingolstadt decides inside the city |
| Main at Bischberg near Bamberg | Lessons | eFoil Riders |
| Brombachsee and Altmühlsee | Not named | Electric boats up to 6 kW with a holiday permit; eFoils not mentioned |
| Tyrol, Achensee included | Closed | Electric motors over 500 W banned on the lakes |
Aquapark Moosburg, a former gravel pit on the Sempt by the A92 between Freising and Landshut, has had a new site operator since 1 August 2026, first on a trial basis, and its eFoil Center's shop is offline, so treat it as not bookable for now. At Brombachsee and Altmühlsee a holiday permit for electric boats up to 6 kW costs €30 for up to 28 days a year, but the rules never mention eFoils, so ask the district office first.
Austria offers little relief. Tyrol bans craft with electric motors over 500 W on its lakes (LGBl. Nr. 56/1998, last amended by 54/2022), Salzburg's listed lakes stop them above 100 W, and Upper Austria, as we understand it, closes the Attersee, Traunsee and Mondsee. More on our eFoil Austria page.
Oberschleißheim: eFoil lessons on an Olympic rowing basin
Six kilometers north of the Olympiapark lies the Olympia-Regattastrecke, built for the rowing and canoe races of the 1972 Games. The basin is 2,230 m long, 140 m wide and 3.5 m deep, a straight sheet of flat water with clear sight lines and shelter from the banks. The venue praises its clear, cool water.
It is still a rowing venue first. The house rules of Olympiapark München GmbH, dated 1 December 2014, make canoeing and rowing its main purpose (§ 1) and forbid bringing boats other than canoes and rowing boats, sailing and surfing (§ 2), with exceptions only from the management of the Leistungszentrum (LZM). Daily training runs there, plus up to 20 events a year.
The Munich club EFOIL BASE e.V. teaches on the basin. Its eFoil course lasts 70 to 90 minutes, costs €145, and is open to all levels, with complete beginners in mind. The board, wetsuit, helmet, impact vest and trainers are included, and you should be able to swim. A Foil Assist course costs the same. Riding at the Regattastrecke outside the course times is expressly forbidden, the club says, so the basin is a place to learn and never one for your own board.
Courses run in set weekday slots, listed on the club's booking page, and booking goes through Eventbrite. The course pages are in German only. For eFoil and Foil Assist you enter from Dachauer Straße; pump foiling, the motorless option, uses the Kuppelfeldstraße entrance.
Pump foiling is the cheaper way in. EFOIL BASE charges €70 a person for 90 minutes with Duotone gear, wetsuit, helmet and impact vest, for at most 12 people with 4 trainers. The club also runs its winter and night sessions as pump foiling, which matters if you arrive in Munich outside summer.
In 2026 the basin hosted the first Munich Water Days, a three-day event. The organizer counted more than 4,000 visitors and 120 riders in two categories, thanked the Landratsamt München, and has announced a second edition for August 2027.
eFoil Riders from Munich north to Ingolstadt and Regensburg
The other name you will meet is eFoil Riders, a company with several Bavarian bases and one online shop for all of them. Its Munich eFoil center runs in the summer season with Fliteboards, Awake jetboards, Seabobs and Foil Drives, and services boards as well. The lesson page does not say which water it uses, so ask when you book.
Lessons run in German and English. A Beginner Lesson costs €99 and an eFoil Rental €89, each about 45 minutes, with up to two riders sharing a slot in Munich. Riders must be 16 or older, the alcohol limit is 0.0 per mille, and rentals have to be booked 48 hours ahead.
North of the city, the Ingolstadt spot sits on the Lorenzisee at the Wake & Groove cable park, Am Lorenzisee 1, 85290 Geisenfeld, with parking on site. Prices match Munich, with up to three riders per slot, on Fliteboard eFoils and Awake jetboards.
For river riding the company goes to Matting on the Danube, 15 minutes from Regensburg, where it teaches on Fliteboards and describes calm river conditions. Further north it launches by the Main at Bischberg near Bamberg.
A third option comes without a lesson. Shar-e-foil in Mering near Augsburg rents eFoils for self-pickup from €180. It runs no courses, only a handling briefing at pickup and tutorial videos, and its FAQ puts the Danube about 35 minutes from the pickup. The firm also passes on what the district office told it: riding on the nearby Mandichosee is not allowed, and riders there risk fines.
Lesson and rental prices around Munich
Look at the minutes as well as the euros. EFOIL BASE books 70 to 90 minutes for its course, while an eFoil Riders slot runs about 45 minutes and may be shared.
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| Operator and water | Session | Price |
|---|---|---|
| EFOIL BASE, Regattastrecke | eFoil course, 70 to 90 min, gear included | €145 |
| EFOIL BASE, Regattastrecke | Foil Assist course, 70 to 90 min | €145 |
| EFOIL BASE, Regattastrecke | Pump foil course, 90 min, no motor | €70 per person |
| eFoil Riders, Munich and Geisenfeld | Beginner Lesson, about 45 min | €99 |
| eFoil Riders, Munich and Geisenfeld | eFoil Rental, about 45 min | €89 |
| Shar-e-foil, Mering | Self-pickup rental, no lesson | from €180 |
eFoil operators around Munich
EFOIL BASE
Oberschleißheim, Olympia-Regattastrecke München, Germany
Gyßlingstraße 72, 80805 München
- Lesson: €145
eFoil Riders
Geisenfeld, Lorenzisee, Germany
Am Lorenzisee 1, 85290 Geisenfeld
- Lesson: €99, 45 min
- Rental: €89, 45 min
Shar-e-foil
Mering, Germany
- Rental: from €180, 12 h
Updated October 31, 2026
Own board: federal water below Kelheim, permits above it
What your own board may do in Bavaria depends on whose water you are on. The federal government runs the Danube only from Kelheim down to the Austrian border at Jochenstein, the Main from the Hallstadt railway bridge downstream, and the Main-Danube Canal (Federal Waterways Act, WaStrG, Annex 1). The Isar, Inn, Lech, Amper and Würm are not federal waterways. Matting near Regensburg lies below Kelheim, on federal water. Ingolstadt and Neuburg lie upstream, on a Bavarian river.
On the federal Danube you need no license for an electric motor of up to 7.5 kW in S1 continuous rating (Sportbootführerscheinverordnung of 3 May 2017, § 5 (1) No. 1 b). The board does need an official small-craft mark, which costs €29.70 (WSBGebV No. 301) from the shipping office WSA Donau MDK, Erlanger Str. 1, 93059 Regensburg. Whoever steers must be at least 16 between Kelheim and Jochenstein (Danube Shipping Police Ordinance of 27 May 1993, § 1.09 No. 1). Commercial ships use the river, and PEGELONLINE publishes its levels.
Upstream of Kelheim the Danube is a Bavarian river under the Bavarian Shipping Ordinance, and as far as we can tell a private eFoil needs a permit before it touches the water. Inside Ingolstadt the city issues it. On the Isar outside Munich it is the Landratsamt München, which grants motor permits only in exceptional cases. On a gravel lake run by a business, such as the cable park lake at Geisenfeld (Landratsamt Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm) or Moosburg (Landratsamt Freising), the owner's consent comes on top, by the same reading. A permit names its holder and does not pass to friends (BaySchiffV § 4 (1)).
Where a permit is granted, the distance rules of BaySchiffV § 46 shape the ride. Motor craft keep 300 m from the shore or the reed edge, or stay in the middle third of narrower water, and use the shore zone only to come and go by the shortest path at up to 10 km/h. Reed, rush and water-lily beds, oxbows and groin fields are off limits. On a lake 300 m wide that leaves a strip of about 100 m. BaySchiffV also requires anyone steering a craft with an engine over 4 kW to be 18 or older, sets a blood alcohol limit of 0.5 per mille (§ 26) and caps motor craft at 40 km/h (§ 40).
This is how we understand the federal and Bavarian texts, and it does not replace advice from a lawyer. The wider picture across Europe is on our eFoil rules page.
Two days on the water from a Munich base
Plan for summer, and for a long weekend with one weekday in it, since EFOIL BASE teaches only in weekday slots.
Day one: the Regattastrecke by S-Bahn
The S1 reaches Oberschleißheim in 19 minutes. From the station it is just under 3 km to the basin, by taxi, bus 291 or on foot. Driving, leave the A 92 at the Oberschleißheim junction, turn toward Dachau at the lights, and the entrance comes up on the left after 300 m. Parking on site is paid. The tarred road around the basin, about 5 km long, has gates that the venue closes regularly, especially from May to September.
Back in town, the EFOIL BASE showroom at Gyßlingstraße 72 sits by the Englischer Garten on the Eisbach. It offers workshop, storage and advice for Lift Foils, Duotone, Fliteboard, Jetwave and Waydoo. If the lesson leaves you thinking about a board of your own, compare the Lift, Fliteboard and Waydoo ranges before you go in.
Day two: north to the gravel lake or the Danube
Take the car north to the Lorenzisee, Am Lorenzisee 1 in Geisenfeld, where the cable park has parking on site and eFoil Riders shares a slot among up to three riders. Riders who want moving water drive on to Matting, 15 minutes from Regensburg, for a lesson on the Danube.
If you would rather spend the day on Starnberger See, leave the motor behind. Under the common-use rule in BayWG Art. 18, as we understand it, a paddle board or a wing foil board may go where an eFoil may not.
Booking a slot and packing for it
Five checks cover most bookings around Munich.
- Choose the water before the operator. The Regattastrecke and eFoil Riders come with an instructor; Shar-e-foil in Mering gives a briefing at pickup, and the choice of water, permit question included, stays with you.
- Settle the language. eFoil Riders teaches in German and English; EFOIL BASE books through Eventbrite from German pages, so ask about the language of instruction.
- Meet the limits. eFoil Riders takes riders from 16 with 0.0 per mille, and EFOIL BASE expects you to be able to swim.
- Pack light. eFoil Riders asks for a towel and a swimsuit, a secure bikini or a sports bra; your own wetsuit is optional and the helmet and impact vest are provided. EFOIL BASE includes the eFoil, wetsuit, helmet and impact vest.
- Weather rarely stops a lesson. eFoil Riders goes out in rain and cooler weather, while a thunderstorm or storm warning, or high or low water, moves or cancels the slot with a full refund.
How rentals work elsewhere, from deposits to age limits, is on our eFoil rental guide. For a summer trip south of the Alps, the Lake Garda page sorts out which shores take an eFoil.
