Bueng Bon

Bueng Bon is a 120-rai reservoir (roughly 19 hectares, about 2.5 metres deep) in the Kosum Phisai district of Maha Sarakham, ringed by a paved path built with Tourism Authority of Thailand funding — 5 metres wide and roughly 2.7 kilometres around. Entry is free, open daily 06:00-18:00.

The path around the reservoir is the main draw: locals use it for morning and evening jogging, walking and cycling, and it stays busiest on weekends. Fishermen work the water from small boats, mostly early in the day, and the reservoir attracts herons, kingfishers and other water birds along its margins — bring binoculars if birdwatching is the goal. Rice paddies and small farming communities surround the lake, typical of this stretch of Isan countryside rather than a manicured park.

The reservoir also serves a practical purpose beyond recreation — it’s a water source for surrounding farmland, which is common for provincial reservoirs like this one across the Northeast. Vendors set up periodically along the access road selling local products: silk fabric, tie-dye textiles, woven pillows and reed mats made in nearby villages. None of this is aimed at tour groups; it’s the same trade that would happen here with or without visitors, which is part of what makes a stop worthwhile if you’re already passing through Kosum Phisai.

This isn’t a marquee sight — it’s a working reservoir that doubles as a local recreation spot, and that’s the honest pitch. The value is in the quiet: a lakeside walk away from any tourist circuit, with fishermen’s conversation and birdcall the loudest things around. Lotus can bloom in the shallows during the wet season, and sunrise or sunset light on the water is the best time for photos. If reservoirs are your thing, Huai Kho Reservoir elsewhere in the province is a similar low-key option.

Water levels shift with the season, as at most reservoirs across the Northeast — fuller and greener-banked after the rains, lower and dustier by the end of the hot season in April and May — but the perimeter path stays walkable year-round. There’s no entrance building, no ticket window, and no set route: you park wherever suits and walk as much or as little of the loop as you want.

Insider Tip: Kosum Phisai Forest Park sits about 100 metres from the reservoir, so pair the two if you’re making the trip out from Maha Sarakham city. Vendors near the lake sell local silk, tie-dye and woven-reed goods, worth a look if you’re after souvenirs that aren’t mass-produced.