Spirited Travelers, bite-sized travel stories.

Sun, sea and sand dunes on Poland’s Baltic coast

four people coming off the dune Słowiński

It was going to be another hot, sunny weekend, so we followed our friend’s advice and went to the beach. Rather than go to the beach at nearby Ustka, we went Łeba, a town about 60 km east of us.

Łeba, the entrance to Słowiński National Park

In addition to being a seaside resort town, Łeba is also the eastern entrance to Słowiński National Park. The area that is now the park was once a bay, but over time sand dunes formed, creating lakes that are separate from the Baltic Sea. The sand dunes are said to be as high as 40 meters; we decided to see for ourselves.

Inside Słowiński National Park

The sand dunes are impressively high. The sand is fine with hardly any rocks or other aggregate. On the Baltic Sea side of the dunes, the beach is deep, long and unpopulated. On the land side of the park, the terrain is varied: lakes, peat bogs and pine forests. We took the well-developed hiking trail partway through the forest, then cut across to the beach before finally arriving at the dunes. It was about 5 km (3 miles) each way, but it was worth it.

I took a bunch of photos and hopefully they (and their captions) will give a better feel for the park and Łeba. Thanks for reading!

view up the dune Słowiński
The dunes cover a large area and are a sensitive environment, so a rope fence guides visitors to the top of the tallest dune.
rope guide to top of dune Słowiński
The deep, loose sand makes the climb to the top of the highest dune slow going. But it’s worth the effort.
dunes to the west Słowiński
The dunes extend to the west.
pano from top of dune Słowiński National Park
In this east-facing view, the Baltic Sea is in the upper left and Lake Łebsko is in the upper right.
view of lagoon Słowiński National Park
The sand dunes give way quickly to the forest which in turn gives way quickly to Lake Łebsko.
cyclists with dog Słowiński
Cycling is a popular way to experience Słowiński National Park.
photoshoot wind Słowiński
A bit of wind adds drama to this photographic setting.
photoshoot flag Słowiński National Park
This photo assistant isn’t planting a conquering flag on the dunes, he’s actually using the fabric to help block the hard sun from the model.
dune meets forest Słowiński National Park
Where the dunes meet the forest the elevation changes significantly.
pine trees Słowinski National Park
The area around the sand dunes is thick with pine trees.
beach Słowinski National Park
The beach at Słowiński National Park is long, wide and not heavily used.
kites Słowinski National Park
Poland’s Baltic coast is usually windy, making it a great place to fly kites.
boiling dunes Słowiński
The wind-blown dune looks as if it might be boiling.
wind across dune 2 Słowiński
The wind and the setting sun on the dunes in Słowński National Park
rope and shadows Słowinski National Park
Section of rope fence and shadows
feet in sand Łeba
The sand on Łeba’s beach is fine with very few rocks or other aggregate.
beach with dog Łeba
Łeba’s beach is wide and long with very fine sand.

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Comments

  1. Scott, you are rockin those lavender pants! Glad to see you and Rosemary are still living the good life!

    • I would look great in lavender ? but that’s Rosemary, not me. You can see my big foot on her right side.

  2. Great photos. I appreciate getting to travel vicariously through your pictures. Pinch Rosemary for me.

    • Thanks for reading. I hope all is well with you and that you are still ruling the racquetball courts with your “unArthurdox” style. Rosemary says “hi.”