Balk (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈbɑl(ə)k]) is a town in the northern Netherlands.

It is a village of the municipality De Fryske Marren, province Friesland, and is located about 17 km southwest of Sneek.

In the middle of the 19th century a big group emigrated to America to settle themselves there near Goshen, Indiana The biggest faith community in Balk is the one of the protestantism.

The village and the river are said to have inspired the poet Herman Gorter to his famous poem 'Mei' in which Gorter does not speak of a village and a river but of a small city and a canal: Een nieuwe lente en een nieuw geluid Ik wil dat dit lied klinkt als het gefluit Dat ik vaak hoorde voor een zomernacht In een oud stadje, langs de watergracht.

For cyclists and sailors there is a traditional skûtsje as a sailing ferry between Heeg and Balk.