Lake Garda, measured: 369.98 km2 and 346 m deep

Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy at 369.98¹ square kilometers, 346¹ meters deep at its deepest and 51.6¹ kilometers long, and its water takes 26.8² years to renew, more than six times as long as Maggiore's.

The full set of measurements

The Comunità del Garda, the body of the lakeside municipalities and provinces, gives Lake Garda a surface of 369.98¹ square kilometers and a maximum depth of 346¹ meters.

The Sarca is the main river flowing in, and the Mincio carries the water out at an average of 58.4¹ cubic meters a second.

One number is disputed. The 2004 comparative table of the Lombardy lakes observatory gives 350¹ meters for the same lake bottom; this page keeps the lakeside body's 346¹, the more recent figure, and flags the gap instead of hiding it.

26.8 years to renew the water

The theoretical renewal time of Lake Garda is 26.8² years, against 4.1 for Maggiore and 4.2 for Iseo.

The arithmetic is simple enough to check: 49 cubic kilometers of water, one outflow at 58.4¹ cubic meters a second. Whatever reaches the lake stays in the system for decades, which makes Garda a slow lake to recover from anything that goes into it. More in Garda takes 27 years to renew itself.

The largest, and mostly foreign

Garda is larger than Maggiore, the second Italian lake by surface, which covers 212.5³ square kilometers.

82.2%⁷ of lake holiday nights in Italy are spent by foreign visitors. That's a figure for the lakes as a travel product, not for Garda alone, and no Garda-only share is in the data here.

The north end belongs to Trentino. Riva del Garda, with 17,784⁸ residents, sits at the lake's 65 meters above sea level, and its local winds have names, the Ora among them.

Five islands, one private

Lake Garda has five islands: Isola del Garda, Isola di San Biagio, Isola del Trimelone, Isola degli Olivi and Isola del Sogno.

Isola del Garda is private, so you can't wander it at will. No boat timetable for the others is among the facts verified here.

When to go: water and boats

Surface water runs 43 to 50°F (6 to 10°C) in the winter months and 75 to 90°F (24 to 32°C) from June to August, on the lakeside authority's own figures.

The boats set the other limit. In 2026 they run on a spring timetable from April 1 to May 15 and a summer one from May 16 to October 4, plus the Maderno to Torri car ferry; outside those windows scheduled service isn't guaranteed.

A one day pass for the whole network, fast boats included, costs €39.50⁶ for adults and €20.00 for ages 4 to 11 on the 2026 fares, and the three day version doubles it. So: June to August for warm water, and until October 4 if the boats matter more than the swim. Compare the two big lakes in Lake Garda or Lake Como, or see Italian lakes.

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