Randers Fjord

Water type: Estuary
Basin: Kattegat -> North Sea
Continent: Europe
Climate: Temperate
Country: Denmark

Largest tributaries

Randers Fjord is a 30 km (19 mi) long Danish fjord in Northern Europe leading to the sea of Kattegat, between Denmark and Sweden.

The fjord is the outlet from Denmark’s longest river, Gudenå.

The upper 13 km (8.1 mi), starting at the town Randers, looks more like a broad river than a fjord.

The lower 17 km (11 mi) have extensive reed plains bordering the shores. To some extent this inhibits the recreational use of and access to the fjord. In some places, the reed beds are harvested for traditional roof thatching. The shallow eastern part of the fjord is known as Grund Fjord, being an extension of Alling Å.

Anglers from Denmark, as well as from other countries, such as Germany and the Netherlands, travel to Voer in Randers Fjord to catch herring in the season. The season starts in spring and continues throughout summer and autumn. At Voer there is a reed free stretch of bulwark in connection with a shipping channel close to the shore, where the water gets deep fast making it suitable for angling. This relatively deep and narrow stretch also tends to concentrates shoals of herring. Access by car is easy, with space for parking along a dam and unpaved road following the shore a couple of kilometers down from Voer.

For anglers the small marinas a couple of km up from Voer in, Uggelhuse, are also interesting, as fresh water fish, not least, perch, can gather in the marinas to avoid salt water intrusion from the sea in combination with incoming tides. Usually the tidal difference in Randers Fjord is less than 30 cm – one foot.

At Voer lies the Coast and Fjord Centre, (Kyst- og Fjordcentret, in Danish) a nature centre with exhibitions, conference- and accommodation-facilities aimed at informing and teaching about nature and outdoor activities related to Randers Fjord, including the fjords history. At the visiting centre it is also possible to rent boats and to participate in waders-based sessions in the fjord, aimed at various kinds of groups, such as school-classes.