R10 – Karwieńskie Błota – Władysławowo – Hel

Logistics

Unfortunately, it is not possible to get to Karwienskie Blota by train. On the other hand, there is a railway connection in the nearby Wladyslawowo, where regional trains run from Gdynia, and in the season long-distance trains from almost every part of Poland: Warsaw, Krakow (via Czestochowa and Lodz), Lublin, Przemysl (via Rzeszow), Jelenia Gora (via Wroclaw and Poznan) or Katowice. Choosing Wladyslawowo as the destination station, we have the opportunity to overcome the bicycle loop forming part of the main EuroVelo 10/13 route and the connector to the Hel Peninsula marked as R10. It is therefore an excellent proposition for an additional trip. Each of the resorts on the Hel Spit has railway connections: Chalupy, Kuznica, Jastarnia, Jurata and Hel.

Characteristics, mileage, tips

The route runs through the following communes: Krokowa, Wladyslawowo, Puck (rural commune), Jastarnia and Hel. The section from Karwienskie Blota through Wladyslawowo to Hel is not the main route of EuroVelo 10/13. Due to the unique tourist values of the Hel Peninsula, this area has been included in the EuroVelo network as a connecting or access route, marked as R10. It was difficult to omit the famous peninsula and not direct cycling tourists to its area. Without a doubt, we are dealing with an episode of outstanding attractiveness. A large part of the course on the Spit runs along the Gdansk Bay or in a very short distance (from Wladyslawowo through Chalupy, Kuznica to Jastarnia). Water is practically at your fingertips there.

In Jastarnia, the route briefly leaves the water and returns over it at the fishing port and on the promenade in Jurata. For most of the route, the surface of the bicycle path is made of concrete cubes, which is already old, but it is planned to replace it with asphalt. To the outskirts of Hel, the trail runs along a forest path along the provincial road, unfortunately without a view of the Bay or the Baltic Sea. The first section from Karwienskie Blota to Wladyslawowo includes a ride through the seaside towns of Ostrowo, Jastrzebia Gora, Rozewie and Chlapowo. It is dominated by asphalt bicycle roads. Particularly attractive is the section from Ostrow to Jastrzebia Gora, where the route runs along the picturesque Czarna Woda river. The return to the main EuroVelo 10/13 route takes place in Wladyslawowo, where the R10 connector reaches Swarzewo, leading along the Gulf of Gdańsk.

R10 – Karwieńskie Błota - Hel

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Possible difficulties

The most difficult part of this stage is an approx. kilometer section along road 215 in Karwienskie Blota Pierwszy from Plazowa Street to Krokowska Street. There is no dedicated bicycle infrastructure there at the moment, so you should pay special attention, because the traffic of vehicles in the season is high. The section is planned to be implemented in the coming years. In Jastrzebia Gora, Zarnowcowa Street may be difficult for some people due to the large driveway. Fortunately, the slope is not very steep and long (about 500 m) and the driveway is facilitated by a good asphalt surface.

Dedicated parking spaces

• Ostrowo – Plazowa Street by the bridge on the Czarna Woda river (shelter, bench, bicycle racks, information board).
• Wladyslawowo – Starowiejska Street, a square at the intersection with Portowa Street (shelters, benches, bicycle racks, information board)
• Chalupy – a square near the fishing harbor Chalupy with a view of the bay (bicycle shed with racks, benches, repair kit, information board).
• Jurata – on the promenade at the shore of the bay (benches, bicycle racks, information board.)

You will see on the EuroVelo 10/13 route and in the vicinity

• Ostrowo (Wladyslawowo commune) – a seaside holiday resort, on the Czarna Woda river there is a canoe marina.
• Jastrzebia Gora (Wladyslawowo commune) – a summer resort whose beginnings date back to the interwar period.
  • cliff and beach – a high cliff has always been a showcase of Jastrzebia Gora, and it was also its greatest threat because the steep shore once retreated inland taking the buildings with it. There are high wooden steps down to the beach.
  • promenade – a small promenade created as the tourist heart of Jastrzebia Gora.
  • the Star of the North – the northernmost piece of Poland, there is a commemorative obelisk here.
  • a Fox Canyon – a picturesque gorge with a length of approx. 350 m and a depression reaching 50 m reaching the very beach, steep slopes are covered with a magnificent, hundred-year-old tree stand with a predominance of beech.
  • Rozewie (Wladyslawowo commune) – a holiday resort famous for the oldest lighthouse in the Pomorskie Voivodeship from 1822. Next to it, there is a second, closed lighthouse, built in 1875. Unlike its older neighbour, it is not open to the public. Directly next to the lighthouses there is a nature reserve called Rozewie Cape.
• Dolina Chlapowska (Wladyslawowo commune) – another impressive gorge reaching the beach, protected as a nature reserve.
• Wladyslawowo – one of the most popular seaside resorts in Poland, situated at the base of the Hel Peninsula.
  • Fisherman’s House – the most characteristic building in Wladyslawowo with a 60 m high tower dominating the area. At the top there is a viewpoint, and inside the tower there is a Butterfly Museum.
  • Fishing port – open to the public, you can watch numerous fishing boats and fishermen’s work up close. The over 700 m long concrete breakwater is also a walking pier.
  • Cetniewo – Sport Star Avenue, the legendary Olympic Preparation Center with extensive sports infrastructure, the modernist church of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
  • Haller House – former villa of General Jozef Haller, currently a museum dedicated to him.
• Chalupy (Wladyslawowo commune) – a holiday resort on the Hel Peninsula known for its excellent conditions for windsurfing and kitesurfing.
• Kunica (Jastarnia commune) – a fishing port with an atmosphere unlike any other on the spit.
• Jastarnia – a neo-baroque church from the 1930s with a marine-style interior, a historic Kashubian cottage with a small fishing museum operating inside, a seaport with a fishing and passenger base and a marina, traditional Kashubian boats, called “Pomeranki” are also mooring here.
  • Jastarnia Resistance Center – a complex of 3 heavy combat shelters (Sep, Saragossa and Sabala) and one light shelter. Their location is peculiar: Falcon is located on the campsite on the beach from the bay side, Vulture on the beach from the sea side and the rest in the seaside forest
• Jurata (Jastarnia commune) – an intimate resort often visited by celebrities, athletes and politicians, the, so called “Miedzymorze” promenade is a unique promenade crossing the Hel Peninsula and connecting the beach on the Baltic Sea with the pier on the Puck Bay.
• Hel – the beginning of Poland or its end, if we take into account the location at the very end of the Hel Peninsula. A popular holiday resort with a long history also associated with the army and military.
  • Wiejska Street – the heart of Hel and the main walking promenade for tourists. Several old half-timbered and brick fishermen’s houses have been preserved, in which restaurants and cafes are located.
  • – Fisheries Museum – located in a former Gothic church from the 15th century.
  • – Port – has a fishing and passenger base and a marina. There is a characteristic egg-shaped building, one of the symbols of modern Hel.
  • – Seal Center – the marine station of Gdansk University is a research and rehabilitation center for seals. For tourists, it is primarily a great attraction where they can observe the animals up close and watch them being fed.
  • – Hel Cape- the final fragment of the Hel Peninsula, surrounded on three sides by the waters of the Baltic Sea. A footbridge runs through the dunes. Numerous military facilities have been preserved on the cape: fire control towers, firing positions, shelters and warehouses.
  • – Lighthouse – located near the promontory at the end of Baltic Street. Built in 1942 on the site of an old lighthouse blown up by the Polish army in 1939. The characteristic red tower is 41.5 m high and is a great vantage point.

Unobvious attractions and other mysterious places on the route and in the vicinity

• Rozewie (Wladyslawowo commune) – remains of the 34th Battery of the Permanent Artillery, some facilities are open to the public, e.g. firing positions.
• Jastarnia – German anti-aircraft battery, preserved structures are located near the entrance to beach no. 54.
• Hel – a former lighthouse on Swedes Hill, preserved in the form of an openwork structure 17 m high, set on a reinforced concrete plinth. The building can only be viewed from the outside.
• Hel – the wrecks of Ship of the Republic of Poland „Grom” and „Wicher” are located on the beach at the war port.