Lake Aklais, Lake Belte
Lake Aklais (also Lake Belte) (Aklais ezers) is a relic lagoon -type brown water lake in the territory of the city of Jūrmala in the Sloka marsh between Sloka and Ķemeri . It is included in the territory of the Ķemeru National Park in the nature reserve zone. The shores are low, difficult to access. The bottom is rocky (dolomite), muddy. Several ditches flow into it, a 200 m long culvert flows to Lake Slokas. It is home to pike, bream, roach, tench, crucian carp, silver crucian carp, perch.
lv.wikipedia.org
Lake Aklais is located in the Vecais Swamp, 0.2 km southeast of Sloka Lake. (Sloka Swamp is to the west of the Vecais Swamp.) It is approx. 3 km from Sloka and approx. 0.7 km from Ventspils highway A10. The area of the lake mirror is 42.0 hectares. The average depth is 0.5 m, the maximum – 0.7 m. It is a shallow coastal lake with strongly calcareous water, seaweed, reeds, reeds and rushes. There are also several rare species of aquatic plants growing there – holly-leaved Naiad, horned Pondweed, great Fen-sedge and soft Hornwort1. The locals call it Lake Belte after the name of the nearby house.
At the southern end of the lake is a meadow with a beautiful view on the lake. A quad bike trail leads to this meadow, which may not be passable in wet seasons. BalticMaps shows that there is a trail on the western edge of the lake that can be reached to the southeastern end of Sloka Lake. If you want to get to it from the meadow south of the lake, you have to go through a wet forest and cross some ditches. When the spring waters have dried up, it is possible. As you walk along this path, the lake is visible through the trees. To get to it, you have to go through a small strip of forest. The shores are wet and you have to climb higher places to get to the water. But it is worth it, because the landscape of the lake is changing and interesting. Small islands have formed in the shallowest places. In dry summers, when the lake's water level is low, you can even see its dolomite bottom exposed. Unfortunately, the trail disappears halfway, and in its place is a swampy area a few meters wide and overgrown with sphagnum moss and cranberries. Walking on it is neither comfortable, nor dry, nor safe. Therefore, you have to look for a way further from the lake, where there is a dry forest with blackberries, or you have to go around higher places next to the swampy area. When the sky starts to peek through the trees, because Lake Sloka is approaching, then you can go on a narrow forest path and walk comfortably to Lake Sloka. Continuing to the right may lead to the Lake Aklais culvert in Sloka Lake. There is already a wider forest road to the left along the Sloka Lake and later, still to the left, there is a road to the Akais Lake.
The BalticMaps map shows that there is also a trail leading from Kurzeme Street in Sloka to the southeastern end of Lake Aklais.
Lake Aklais is beautiful, but due to its difficult access, convenient trails have not been created to it.
