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One of the most beautiful lowland forest trails in Poland.


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Map Key

37.9

Miles

61.0

KM

99%

Runnable

350' 107 m

High

214' 65 m

Low

1,631' 497 m

Up

1,688' 514 m

Down

2%

Avg Grade (1°)

24%

Max Grade (14°)

Dogs Leashed

Features Birding · Commonly Backpacked · Fall Colors · Geological Significance · Historical Significance · Views · Wildflowers · Wildlife

Per the land manager, all dogs must be leashed. It is forbidden to use open fire outside the designated areas. During summer droughts due to fire danger, it is forbidden to use any fire.

Need to Know

The accommodation in the Kampinos Forest is very poor. There is only one camping site - in Roztoka, about halfway along the trail. The most troubling is the lack of drinking water sources. If you have a water filter in your backpack, you can use the water from the canals. There is only one shop - in Górki. It is located about 1.5 kilometres from the trail. In Tułowice, in the Puszczańska Osada PTTK ("Polish Tourist Country-Lovers' Association"), you can use the restaurant and rent a tourist cottage.

The trail is marked with three lines: white-red-white one above the other.

Description

The Kampinos Forest is located in central Poland. It occupies a fragment of the Vistula Valley in the Mazovian Lowlands. It neighbours directly with the capital city of Poland, Warsaw, and is a popular place for relaxation of its citizens.

The most characteristic feature of the landscape of the Kampinos Forest is the contrast between alternately arranged strips of ancient, forest-covered dunes and swamps. The dunes are old sandy meadows and tufts. The marshes and peat bogs, on the other hand, occupy the area of the former primaeval Vistula's streams, which were cut off into drainage-free lakes and then overgrown with vegetation.

The Main Trail of the Kampinos Forest runs along the entire length of the National Park, from east to west. The route starts at the end station of the suburban bus in Dziekanów Leśny and leads westwards near the buffer zone. Next, it reaches the wetlands in the region of the Sieraków Strict Protection Area.

At Mogilny Mostek, the trail turns south, crossing the dunes. In the area of the Długie Bagno peat bog, the route turns west again towards the Palmiry Cemetery - the site of the Nazi executions of World War II. After a short section along the paved road, turns back into the westerly direction. It reaches the village of Roztoka, which is located at road 579. There, behind the parking lot, there is a clearing where camping is allowed.

The trail then continues westwards to the remains of an early medieval fortification in the Zamczysko Strict Protection Area. There it turns north. By the Pine of the Insurgents (named after the participants of the January Uprising hanged on it), the route runs along the paved road to Górki. Nearby (about 1.5 km north along the road) there's a shop where you can resupply water.

In Górki the trail leads from the asphalt road to the northern part of the Kampinos Forest. Leading along the dunes, it passes the mighty Oak of Professor Kobendza, a lovely abandoned forester's lodge near Famułki Królewskie, and the remains of the tracks of the former narrow-gauge railway.

Further on, the trail leads to the western end of the forest, where it enters the paved road to Sochaczew. In Tułowice you can stay at the Puszczańska Osada PTTK. Numerous bends in Tułowicki Borek lead to another paved road through the villages of Janów and Brochów. The trail ends at the medieval defensive church.

Flora & Fauna

The Kampinos Forest is dominated by pine forests growing on sandy dunes. Some trees are over 200 years old and very tall. Broadleaved forests (in the form of alder and riparian forests) nowadays grow mainly on swamps.

Many rare plant species grow in the Kampinos Forest. These are e.g. leatherleaf, sour cherry and black birch.

The most frequently seen animal is the elk. Also, you can meet beaver, Eurasian lynx, Old World otter, red fox, red deer, European roe deer, wild boar, raccoon dog, European badger. The grey wolf has also returned to the forest in recent years. Birds include black stork, white-tailed eagle, crane, grey heron, corncrake and Eurasian bittern.

Contacts

Land Manager: Kampinoski Park Narodowy

Shared By:

Bartosz Bukowski

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#2

in Poland

#16,826

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