Slowinski dunes and Leba

Moving Sand Dunes Up To 40 M High On A Baltic Sand Spit, The Polish Sahara, Inside A UNESCO Biosphere Reserve (Slowinski National Park, 1967). Leba Is The Base Town. The Dunes Slowly Bury The Forest And Move Several Metres A Year · Leba, Pomeranian

The Slowinski National Park, on the Baltic coast near the small resort of Leba, protects a sand spit where wind has built dunes up to about 40 m high. The best known is the Lacka dune, a bare sandy hill that looks like a desert, nicknamed the Polish Sahara, and it moves inland by a few metres a year, burying the pine forest in its path. The park is a UNESCO biosphere reserve and also holds lakes, peat bog, bird habitat and a stretch of wide empty beach. Most visitors start from Rabka, walk about 6 km one way through forest and sand, or ride an electric cart or bus along part of the route. On windy days the sand stings the face and gets into cameras. Leba itself is a busy summer town of guesthouses, fried-fish stalls and an amusement strip. Out of season it is very quiet and many places close. Parts of the park are closed to protect nesting birds and the dunes. Do not expect shade, shops or toilets on the dune itself, and note that the dune is small beside real deserts.

Rabka dune car park near Leba, on the Baltic coast of the Slowinski park, about 80 km west of Gdansk, Leba, Pomeranian, Poland

The park is commonly open daily in the main season, roughly April to October, from morning until around dusk, with a ticket booth at the Rabka gate that closes earlier than the dunes do. Entry to the dune area needs a ticket, while the Leba beach and the town promenade are free and open at all hours. Parts of the dune trail are closed in strong wind, storms, bird-nesting periods and some of winter, and the electric carts or bus often stop running off season. Weekday hours are the same as weekends. There is no fixed closing day, but confirm hours and closures with the park before going, since seasonal rules change and I cannot give exact times.

Slowinski dunes and Leba on Spottos · Explore more places on Spottos