The popularity of the canoe trail on the Słupia is rising with each year. The trail is almost as long as the river itself, sometimes quite difficult, requiring rather advanced skills, but it provides the experience of a mountain stream, which is unexpected so close to the sea.
The section of Rynna Sulęczyńska, known as the “extreme Słupia” is famous among canoeists, as it offers rapid currents and hundreds of obstacles along the way, such as shallows, boulders, and tree trunks cropping out from the water. There are also calm and easy sections, where entire families go canoeing. The most famous canoeist to have rowed on the stream of the Słupia was Karol Wojtyła, who later became the Pope, and is now the beatified John Paul II.
Some of the Słupia valley constitutes a landscape park, including forest-covered moraines and numerous historic architectural sites, mainly churches, but also fine parks and palaces. The park features more than a dozen nature reserves aimed at protecting the rare or endangered species of fauna and flora, including the King of the birds, the white-tailed eagle, which can be seen with a bit of luck as it majestically soars above its domain.
Among the wild backwoods of the Słupia valley we can also find very interesting technical monuments. In the first quarter of the 20th Century four hydroelectric power plants were built on the river current, which have successfully operated and provided green energy to the present day. Today they are also a tourist attraction.
The final section of the Słupia is the sea harbour in Ustka. The old name for Ustka – Stolpmünde – means “the mouth of the Słupia”. Ustka is a very old harbour with nearly one thousand years of history. Today it is mainly a tourist and yachting harbour with several-dozen-metre-high sea walls which allow taking a stroll to the sea. The harbour in Ustka, similar to the one in Copenhagen, has since recently featured a bronze Mermaid who stares curiously into the distance.
The Słupia, a 140-kilometre-long river, has for centuries been the axis of the region’s life. Today it is primarily the focus of tourist interest, full of diverse attractions, both for those who love challenges, and for those who just seek undisturbed peace and quiet.
