Al Qudra Lake is free to enter, carries no published closing time, and sits 30 to 45 minutes by car from Downtown Dubai. The lakes are man-made, set in the Saih Al Salam desert inside the Al Marmoom Desert Conservation Reserve.
One thing catches visitors out. Three separate places share the Al Qudra name, and the bus that looks like it serves them stops half an hour’s walk short of the water.
| Detail | What applies |
|---|---|
| Entry fee | Free at all three sites |
| Timings | No published closing time; much of the area is unlit after dark |
| Where | Saih Al Salam desert, off the D63, inside Al Marmoom Desert Conservation Reserve |
| Driving from Downtown Dubai | E66, exit 29 to the E77, exit 27 to the D63; 30 to 45 minutes |
| By bus | Route 67 from Al Ghubaiba, or route 68 via Lehbab, then a walk of about 30 minutes |
| Best season | October to March |
| Cycle track | 86 kilometres, free |
Every detail above comes from Visit Dubai, the emirate’s official tourism site, and was checked on 21 September 2026.
Three places share the Al Qudra name
Al Qudra Lakes, Love Lake and the Al Qudra Cycle Track are three different sites in one stretch of desert. Visit Dubai gives each of them its own page, lists each under a different heading, and nowhere on any of the three does it set out how they sit in relation to one another.
The first is the cluster of artificial lakes. It gives the area its name. Love Lake is a separate pair of heart-shaped pools, with its own entrance and its own car park. The cycle track is a dedicated bicycle road crossing the same desert.
That distinction decides your day. Arriving at one of the three does not put you at the other two, and each has its own approach road off the highway.
Getting to Al Qudra Lake
Driving is the only direct way in. Visit Dubai routes you from Downtown Dubai along the E66, exit 29 onto the E77, then exit 27 onto the D63 towards Al Qudra. It gives the journey as 30 to 45 minutes.
The main entrance also opens off Emirates Road, the E611, or the Dubai-Al Ain Road, the E66. Anyone happy with a longer desert drive can compare the run in our Dubai to Oman road trip guide.
Public transport reaches the area without reaching the water. Route 67 from Al Ghubaiba Bus Station and route 68, a circular service via Lehbab, both stop nearby, but Visit Dubai puts the distance left over at “around a 30-minute walk from the bus stop to the lakes”. In summer heat that walk is not a small detail.
Love Lake needs one more step. Visit Dubai advises taking route 67 to Nakheel Stables, then a taxi for roughly 20 minutes.
The return leg is the harder half. Visit Dubai’s warning on its cycle track page applies across the whole area: “this area has few taxis and much of the track is not illuminated after dark”.
What is out there
Birds and desert wildlife
Visit Dubai counts 170 bird species at the lakes, among them swans, geese, ducks and flamingos. Two endangered visitors it names are the steppe eagle and the Asian houbara.
Mammals range, in its wording, “from desert foxes to the oryx”. Dawn is the hour it recommends for seeing any of them. October to March are the comfortable months.
Love Lake
Love Lake is shaped into two large interconnected hearts. Heart sculptures sit around it, and trees are trimmed to spell the word love when seen from above. Visit Dubai counts more than 100 species of animals, flowers and plants on the site.
A jogging path runs through it. Parking is plentiful, and barbecues are allowed in designated areas.
Opening hours and any entry charge are absent from the official page, so neither is stated here. For a shorter romantic outing nearer the city, Promise Bridge sits inside Dubai itself.
The 86-kilometre cycle track
The Al Qudra Cycle Track measures 86 kilometres and costs nothing to ride. Rest stations along the route carry benches and shade. Restrooms sit next to the Trek Bicycle Store and where Bab Al Shams Road meets Al Qudra.
Bikes can be hired at that Trek store, at the end of Al Qudra Road. Riders preparing for the Spinneys Dubai 92 Cycle Challenge train on these same desert roads.
Third-party guides give the length variously as 50, 86 and 180 kilometres. Only 86 kilometres appears on the official page.
Common questions
Is there an entry fee for Al Qudra Lake?
No. Visit Dubai tags the lakes, Love Lake and the cycle track as free entry, and none of the three official pages lists a ticket price. What a visit costs you is fuel, or a taxi fare, rather than admission.
Where is Al Qudra Lake located?
It lies in the Saih Al Salam desert in southern Dubai, inside the Al Marmoom Desert Conservation Reserve. The main entrance opens off Emirates Road, the E611, or the Dubai-Al Ain Road, the E66.
Is Al Qudra Lake man made?
Yes. These are artificial wetlands dug in the Saih Al Salam desert, not a natural oasis, and they form part of a conservation reserve that Dubai created around them.
How long is the Al Qudra Cycle Track?
Visit Dubai gives one figure for the whole track, 86 kilometres. Guides elsewhere quote 50 and 180 kilometres for the same place. Neither number appears on any official page.
Can we go to Love Lake at night?
Nothing on the official pages sets a closing time, so an evening visit is possible. Visit Dubai’s own caution is what shapes it: much of the track is unlit and taxis are scarce, which turns a casual night out into a difficult journey home. The mistake people make here is rarely the fee or the season. It is assuming that getting back will be as easy as getting there.
For an outing in the same October to March window that stays on a paved road, Dubai Miracle Garden reopens for the cooler months.
