The route runs along Żuławy’s asphalt roads or its roads made of concrete slabs (often used in this marshy area to harden the surface). Along the way, you can see the old Stutthof concentration camp in Sztutowo (you should devote 2-3 hours to further your knowledge of the camp), a water junction in Rybina and two drawbridges. Along the route, there are several towns that reveal partially preserved Żuławy architecture. The bulk of the trail leads through polders below sea level.
You can start your journey either from Sztutowo or Stegna. Here, you will find car parking. There are no rail links in this area, so you will have to travel by bike from Gdańsk, Malbork or Elbląg, or hire it on the spot, or transport your bike by car.
Length: 32 km
Difficulty: easy
Predominating surface: asphalt and concrete slabs
Time needed to complete the trail: 3-4 hours
Recommended type of bicycle: trekking bike
Route: Kąty Rybackie – Rybina – Kąty Rybackie
Course:
0 km – Kąty Rybackie. This is a large residential resort with a fishing port and a marina, and the Vistula Lagoon Museum. In the vicinity, there is a cormorant reserve and a fragment of the Vistula Lagoon that is located the farthest from any connection to sea.
4.9 km – Sztutowo. A large locality with a communal office, as well as a popular seaside resort. Its broad, sandy beaches are separated from the village’s buildings by a nearly-1-km-wide dune belt of the Vistula Spit, which is blanketed over by a beautiful pine forest. In the locality, there is the Stutthof Museum in Sztutowo. This, sadly, presents the dark and tragic history of this place. Between 1939 and 1945, a Nazi concentration camp was located in Sztutowo. This was the place of death for more than 60,000 people, mainly Poles from Pomerania, as well as Jews. The museum is open to visitors.
11.9 km – Rybina. A junction of water trails noted for its moveable bridges, harbour and pumping station (in Chłodniewo). This last is one of the Poland’s largest intermediate pumping stations, and drains polders with an area of 21,700 ha.
Rybina is the largest water trail junction in the region. The Wisła Królewiecka River begins here, branching off from the Szkarpawa (which, in turn, is one of the largest distributaries of the Vistula). In the vicinity, there is also an estuary – the junction of two smaller rivers in Żuławy: the Linawa and the picturesque Tuga, which flows through Nowy Dwór Gdański. Both rivers take their source above Nowy Staw. Here, too, you can find a water-sports harbour and the region’s characteristic, historical moveable bridges. One of these is a vertical-lift bridge, and the other is the only working manually operated swing bridge in Europe.
17.4 km – Groszkowo.
21.1 km – Łaszka. Remnants of Żuławy architecture.
25.5 km – Sztutowo (a drawbridge). Do not enter the centre of the town, turn right after the bridge and go east along the Szkarpawa.
28.6 km – Kobyla Kępa. Remnants of Żuławy architecture.
32.4 km – Kąty Rybackie.
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