The recreation area Nová Duchonka represents a significant tourist potential. The large area of 17 hectares is located in the birch-pine forest with open area around the water reservoir. In the socialist era, Nová Duchonka was one of the most popular locations for recreation in Czechoslovakia with quite wide range of visitors. The goal of the landscape-architectural solutions was to adapt the natural potential to current needs and use, as well as to trends that will contribute to the regional development of the territory. Landscaping includes various measures that aim to preserve and improve the natural environment with the support of biodiversity and at the same time create an attractive and functional environment for visitors. The article deals with various landscape solutions, attitudes and design work with an emphasis on recreation, created by students at the Institute of Landscape Architecture from SPU in Nitra. From the point of view of the research by design approach, the paper defines key principles of design that students applied in their design solutions.