R10 – Jantar – Krynica Morska – Piaski

Logistics

No rail access to the beginning or end of the section. The best solution is to ride a bicycle from Gdansk along the EuroVelo 10/13 route (see the description of stage 6) and continue east in Jantar. There are appropriate markings on the EuroVelo 10/13 junction and the R10 connecting route. Work and talks are still underway to launch a bicycle bus that would transport cyclists from Gdansk to the Vistula Spit. There is also the idea of courses from Nowy Dwor Gdanski. During the holiday season, you can use the narrow-gauge railway, which runs from Nowy Dwor Gdanski.

Characteristics, mileage, tips

This is a connecting section that does not form the main EuroVelo 10/13 route. It runs through the following communes: Stegna, Sztutowo and Krynica Morska. Due to its high tourist attractiveness, it was included in the system of international routes. It starts in Jantar, at the junction of the main EuroVelo 10/13 route, which leads south to Nowy Dwor Gdanski. However, it is best to extend this stage to Mikoszewo and treat the trip along the Vistula Spit as a whole. In total, the route from the ferry crossing in Mikoszewo to the border in Piaski will then be less than 60 km long. Unfortunately, you have to reckon with the fact that you have to return from Piaski to Jantar to continue the EuroVelo 10/13 expedition towards Nowy Dwor Gdanski.

The route of the R10 connector through the Vistula Spit is one of the most attractive sections of bicycle routes in Poland. Cyclists especially appreciate the fragment leading from Przebrno to Krynica, which runs close to the edge of the cliff reaching the beach. There is a perfect view of the Baltic Sea. A large part of the section leads through the forest on a comfortable road with a good quality gravel surface: between Jantar and Sztutowo, then from Katy Rybackie to Krynica and the final section from the exit from Krynica to the state border in Piaski. The route bypasses the center of Stegna from the north, however, convenient access to the village down the Morska Street. From the  John Paul II roundabout in Stegna, it is worth taking the asphalt bicycle road along the provincial road 501 towards Sztutowo to visit the Stutthof Museum. The return to the forest section of the R10 takes place via a specially prepared connector, located 200 m west of the entrance to the museum. The entire loop was designed to provide bicycle access to the Stutthof Museum and to the valuable 17th-century church at the roundabout in Stegna.

Through Sztutowo, the route leads along the streets in the northern part of the town and, at the exit towards the east, it reaches the provincial road 501. Passing Katy Rybackie, it enters the forest again. In Krynica Morska, the trail uses the seaside promenade and a fragment of a bicycle road with a unique resin surface. The route does not run through the center of Krynica, but from the promenade you can get there by almost any perpendicular street. Outside Krynica, in the forest section up to the state border in Piaski, there is only a gravel surface. Remember to take an obligatory, commemorative photo at the gates on the border.

R10 – Jantar - Piaski

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Possible difficulties

No significant difficulties are to be expected. Most of the route leads away from vehicle traffic. Only sections in Sztutowo in fragments use streets with very low traffic intensity. The connector to Stegna ( Morska Street) also runs bicycle traffic on general terms, but it is not the main route, but only access to the village. There are bicycle paths on sections along the provincial road 501 in Sztutowo and Katy Rybackie. Inconvenience may occur at the construction site of the Vistula Spit between Skowronki and Przebrno, but the designated detour is well marked. However, be careful on the short section of the provincial road.

You'll see on the R10 and around

• Stegna – a popular seaside resort with a rich leisure infrastructure, a half-timbered church from the 17th century with a valuable decoration (including the main altar, pulpit, organ prospect and painting on the ceiling), fishing port, amber museum Amber Room.
• Sztutowo – a seaside resort, the Stutthof Museum (former Nazi concentration camp), the Four Armoured Bridge on the Wisla Krolewiecka (the building played in one of the episodes of the popular series).
• Katy Rybackie (Sztutowo commune) – Museum of the Vistula Lagoon (a branch of the National Maritime Museum), nature reserve Katy Rybackie (a breeding colony of cormorants and grey herons is protected here).
• Przebrno (Krynica Morska) – boundary stones of the Free City of Gdansk from 1919 preserved in the forest.
• Krynica Morska – the largest and most popular holiday resort on the Vistula Spit, a rich accommodation, gastronomic and entertainment base, a seaport with a passenger, yacht and fishing base from the side of the Vistula Lagoon, a small fishing port from the Baltic Sea, a lighthouse with a characteristic red tower (open to visit), viewpoints on Pirate Mountain and Camel Hump.
• Piaski (Krynica Morska) – a cosy summer resort on the border with Russia (currently part of Krynica Morska), a charming fishing and yacht port from the Vistula Lagoon and a fishing harbour from the Baltic Sea, a brick building of the former sea rescue station has been preserved in the forest.

Suggestions for bicycle trips

An attempt to designate an additional bicycle trip on the Vistula Spit from Katy Rybackie towards Piaski may prove difficult due to the width of the Spit itself, which is approx. 700 m. (around Krynica), and around 2 km (close to Przebrno). The situation is different in the area between Jantar and Katy Rybackie, which borders the sea only from the north. Although, apart from the EuroVelo 10/13 routes and the R10 connector discussed in the guide, there are no other marked bicycle routes, it is possible to plan short trips to the Vistula Lagoon using local roads. A good starting point may be Sztutowo, from which you can get to the mouth of the Wisla Krolewiecka or the Nogat to the Vistula Lagoon.