About Lake Tarnița
Lake Tarnița fills the Someșul Cald valley between the communes of Gilău, Râșca and Mărișel, west of Cluj-Napoca. It formed behind the dam completed in 1974 and stretches for almost 9 km, covering about 215 ha and reaching depths of more than 70 m near the dam. The banks are steep and covered in broadleaf forest, and the lake winds between them in bays and tight bends.
The dam is a double-curvature concrete arch, 97 m high and about 237 m long at the crest, regarded as the slenderest dam of its kind in Romania. The power station at its foot has an output of 45 MW. The lake is not only there for electricity: next to the dam is the intake that supplies Cluj with drinking water, and the reservoir also helps hold back floods on the Someș.
For people in Cluj, Tarnița is the weekend escape from the city, with holiday homes, guesthouses and jetties scattered along its shores.
What you can see
From beside the dam you see the curved concrete wall and, upstream, the lake enclosed by wooded hills. On the water there are sailing boats, kayaks and SUP boards, hired out by the clubs on the shore; petrol motorboats are banned, so the lake stays quiet. Waymarked trails start near the dam: one up to the Piatra lui Lucaci rock, with a view towards the far end of the lake, and one along the northern shore past the Râșca bay to the head of the lake.
Good to know
Within 200 m of the dam all activity on the water is forbidden, as drinking water is drawn there. The Romanian Waters authority warns that swimming in reservoirs is dangerous: the water is deep and cold, and its level can change.
- The view of the dam's curved 97 m wall and of the lake enclosed by wooded hills.
- An outing on the water by sailing boat, kayak or SUP board, hired from the clubs on the shore.
- The red-dot trail from the dam up to Piatra lui Lucaci, with a view towards the head of the lake.
- The blue-stripe trail along the northern shore, between the dam, the Râșca bay and the head of the lake.
Good to know before you go
- Getting there
By car: from Cluj-Napoca take the DN1 west to Gilău (~17 km), then the DJ107P up the Someșul Cald valley for another ~10 km to the dam, next to the village of Someșu Cald; about 30 km in all. The DJ107P continues along the lake towards Mărișel. After torrential rain the road has occasionally been blocked by debris (most recently in June 2026).
Public transport: we could not confirm any regular service to the dam; the safest option is to drive or take a taxi from Cluj-Napoca or Gilău.
- Fees & discounts
Access to the lake and the dam area is free. Boat hire is paid separately at the clubs on the shore; we could not find published rates we could confirm.
- Rules
Only boats powered by oars, sails, pedals or electric motors are allowed; fuel-powered motorboats, jet skis and seaplanes are banned. No boats are allowed within 200 m of the dam, and near the beaches the speed limit is 10 km/h. The lakeside trails have narrow, slippery sections and are not recommended in the rain.
- Facilities
Boat hire clubs (sailing boats, kayaks, SUP) · guesthouses, chalets and restaurants on the shores · Salvamont mountain rescue base and climbing wall near the dam · waymarked trails from the dam area
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