Nuevo Arenal Lakeside Park & Boat Ramp
Park · Arenal & La Fortuna
A small grassy park right on the shore below Nuevo Arenal, next to the town's boat ramp. Local families come down to picnic and cool off in the lake.
- Cost
- Free
- Time there
- 45 min
- Best time
- late afternoon
- Kids
- 8 / 10
- View
- 7 / 10
- Crowds
- 2 / 10
- Swimming
- 6 / 10
- Effort
- 1 / 10
- Location
- 10.53624, -84.89159 — Google Maps
Before you go
- Parking
- Free
- Swimming
- Only when the water is calm
- Facilities
- restrooms
- Season
- Windy roughly November to April, so the lake gets choppy.
- Checked
- 2026-10
Tip
Pick up bread or a casado in town first—there's next to nothing to buy down at the water.
Be careful
Swim at your own risk: no lifeguards, the shoreline shifts with the water level, and from about November to April the wind whips up waves.
Getting there
Downhill from the center of Nuevo Arenal toward the lake, following the road to the boat ramp.
Places nearby
- Enter Costa Rica (Pacific Trade Winds)Trip Planners · from $63Inbound tour operator by Lake Arenal that has been building fully customized Costa Rica trips since 2007.
- Casa ItaliaFood & CoffeeA small Italian kitchen just outside the center of Nuevo Arenal run by a Sicilian owner: homemade pasta (carbonara, alla Norma, ragù), pizza and desserts finished in a wood-fired oven.
- Tom's Pan German BakeryFood & CoffeeThe classic coffee-and-pastry stop on the lake road in Nuevo Arenal, run by a German family for 25+ years: fresh bread, strudel, cinnamon rolls, bratwurst and schnitzel.
- Café Con AmorFood & CoffeeGourmet coffee shop and restaurant 200 m south of the gas station with Lake Arenal views from the patio, big sandwiches, Geisha coffee and local-liquor cocktails.
- Gingerbread Restaurant & HotelFood & CoffeeLively, quirky restaurant on Route 142 by Nuevo Arenal where chef Eyal often cooks off-menu for each table.
- Soda La Parada (Nuevo Arenal)Sodas & Local FoodFamily soda at the Nuevo Arenal bus stop that surprises travelers with hearty casados, arroz con pollo and soups at very fair prices, open from 5 am on weekdays.
Sources: OpenStreetMap way/670135426 · https://www.costaricavibes.com/lake-arenal/ · https://www.twoweeksincostarica.com/nuevo-arenal/ · https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/670135426 · https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/4924944022