Viewpoints
a brick and granite tower from 1911 on a hill by the park, seen from outside
Parks and nature
28 themed gardens on 5 hectares, from a Japanese garden to Baba Yaga's garden
Hills and trails
a cycle route along the Oder through four landscape parks, ending at the Castle of the Pomeranian Dukes
Parks and nature
a forest park with natural monument trees and the old layout of paths on the former Bredow Cemetery
Parks and nature
Poland's only site of the downy oak, on the steppe slopes of the Oder valley
Lakes
the largest lake of the Wałcz Lakeland, with two strongholds and a nature reserve
Lakes
an endorheic lake in the Beech Forest with a beach and trails from Binowo
Lakes
Lakes
Parks and nature
a park on the Dzierżęcinka with a castle pond, 124 species of trees and a fragment of the town walls
Parks and nature
the largest heathlands in Poland on a former training ground, with a yellow trail, loops and a viewing tower
Parks and nature
the sources of the Drawa River and five lakes in a deep channel, crossed by two waymarked trails
Parks and nature
heathland and xerothermic grassland with a path up a 60-metre hill and a viewing platform
Cemeteries and monuments
a bronze bench from 2022 with a figure of the inventor of three-phase current, in Turzyn
Cemeteries and monuments
a modernist monument from 1963 on the Kołobrzeg boulevard, designed by Wiktor Tołkin
Lakes
a ribbon lake with a bathing site, a camping site and a legend of a sunken town
Lakes
an artificial reservoir on the Radew from 1922, with a hydroelectric power station and wooded shores
Lakes
a town lake with a beach, a 70 m pier, a promenade and a trail all the way round
Lakes
a town lake with a bathing site, a holiday centre and a campsite on the north shore
Lakes
Lakes
the largest lake of the Trzcińsko-Zdrój municipality, with a bathing site, by a Natura 2000 area
Parks and nature
park of 1973 on the former Majdański Cemetery, with ancient beeches, yews and a layout of cemetery paths
Parks and nature
173 ha of the Beech Forest with trails, viewpoints and a path to Emerald Lake (Jezioro Szmaragdowe)
Parks and nature
a 9.3 km circular trail around a lagoon lake and a refuge for wetland birds near Niechorze
Free things to do in West Pomerania: over two hundred places, from the Kołobrzeg Pier to the Turquoise Lake in Wolin National Park.
The free places here are mostly lakes, parks, trails, hills with views and piers on the Baltic. It is a list for anyone who wants to spend a day outdoors and build it around a single lake, river or city park.
Start with places that combine water, a view and easy access from a large town: Kołobrzeg Pier, Międzyzdroje Pier, the Szczecin Lagoon and Wolin National Park. Each gives you a whole day of walking without buying an entry ticket.
The Kołobrzeg pier is 220 metres long and stands in the Spa District, where a wooden jetty from 1881 once stood. The one in Międzyzdroje is longer, 395 metres, where excursion boats moor and two white towers mark the entrance. Wolin National Park has Baltic cliffs, five viewpoints and a natural history museum.
In Szczecin most free places are parks and waterside areas: Zdroje, the Old Town, Łękno and the city centre have several each. Several dozen places are easy to arrange into routes by district.
In Łękno lies Jan Kasprowicz Park, Szczecin's biggest municipal park, close to 27 hectares, with the Summer Theatre and rare trees. Nearby is the Rose Garden, Różanka, laid out in 1928 on two hectares, where over nine thousand roses grow. In Śródmieście-Północ stretches Jasne Błonia, a green square from 1925-1927 with 213 plane trees. In the Old Town you can walk through Stefan Żeromski Park, the second largest city park, with 177 tree species and sculptures.
Zdroje is home to Emerald Lake, a man-made lake in a disused chalk pit that filled with water in 1925, set in the Bukowa Forest, with viewpoints around it. Lake Dąbie is a delta lake of 54 km2 in Szczecin, with marinas and sailing harbours. In Arkońskie-Niemierzyn, visit Syrenie Stawy, a chain of ponds lying in the Niemierzyn Valley. The Bismarck Tower on Zielone Wzgórze is closed to visitors during renovation, so it is not worth planning.
The Szczecin Central Cemetery in Gumieńce is a working cemetery designed as a park, set up in 1901 on more than 170 hectares, where a historic avenue and a nature trail with plant labels run through. It is a burial ground, so visitors should keep the quiet it requires. A separate city list is on Bezpłatne: Szczecin.
The best lakes for free leisure lie around Czaplinek, Szczecinek and Złocieniec: Drawsko, Lubie, Wielimie, Siecino and Wierzchowo. They have beaches, islands and trails around the shores, and some have sailing bases.
Lake Drawsko is the largest lake of the Drawsko Lakeland, second only to Hańcza in depth, with twelve islands, beaches and sailing bases. Lake Lubie covers almost 1,500 hectares, with beaches, holiday centres, and canoe and cycling trails. In the Szczecinek municipality lie Lake Wielimie, with the largest island within a lake in Poland, and Lake Wierzchowo, with long sandy beaches, from which the Gwda flows. Lake Siecino attracts cyclists: a 38.9 km trail runs around its shore.
Near Borne Sulinowo lies Lake Pile, the largest lake of the Szczecinek Lakeland, and in Wałcz Lake Raduń with Poland's one suspension bridge across a lake. For quieter spots there is Lake Karwowo near Łobez, a small lake in a beech forest.
Jamno and Kopań lie by the Baltic, while Myśliborskie, Morzycko and Ińsko are in the south of the region. They differ in character: coastal lagoons, municipal bathing lakes and lakes inside landscape parks.
Lake Jamno in the Mielno municipality is cut off from the sea by a spit and has sailing harbours and tourist boat cruises. Lake Kopań near Darłowo is a bird nesting site and a windsurfing spot. Lake Myśliborskie is the largest lake of its lakeland, within the town, with two bathing areas. Lake Morzycko in Moryń has a bed below sea level, and Lake Ińsko lies in the Ińsko Landscape Park, with a reserve on an island and a municipal swimming spot. A colourful accent is the Turquoise Lake in Wolin National Park, formed in a chalk quarry, with bluish-green water.
For a full-day trip, choose the rivers Drawa, Parsęta and Rega, or the walking and cycling trails: the E9 by the sea and the route around the Szczecin Lagoon. The rivers are for canoeists, the trails for walkers and cyclists.
The Drawa is almost 186 kilometres long, and its canoe trail runs from Czaplinek to Krzyż; the stretch in Drawa National Park is open during set periods, and paddling through the military training ground is forbidden. The Parsęta flows from the Drawsko Lakeland to Kołobrzeg, and the route is easy from Białogard, harder in the upper and middle course. The Rega flows through Łobez, Resko, Płoty, Gryfice and Trzebiatów to the Baltic at Mrzeżyno.
For walkers: the European E9 long-distance path, coastal section runs from Świnoujście to Jarosławiec. For cyclists: Around the Szczecin Lagoon, a Polish-German loop of 296 km divided into seven stages.
For views and natural curiosities, the best are Chełmska Hill in Koszalin, Czcibor Hill near Cedynia, the Crooked Forest, the beech avenue from Jacinki to Nacław, the Trygław boulder and the Dendrological Garden in Przelewice. Each needs a short walk rather than a full-day trip.
Chełmska Hill is a moraine ridge in Koszalin whose top, the Krzyżanka hill (136.2 m), carries a shrine and a lookout tower from 1888 that visitors can climb. Czcibor Hill in the Cedynia Hills commemorates the battle of Cedynia in 972: a 15-metre eagle monument stands there, and 270 steps lead to the top. The Crooked Forest in Nowe Czarnowo is a natural monument with pines bent at the base at about 90 degrees, and the beech avenue from Jacinki to Nacław is about 400 old beeches along a road, forming a tunnel about 5 km long.
The Trygław boulder in Tychowo is the largest erratic boulder in Poland, a natural monument in a cemetery, with glacial scratches and a cross from 1874. The Dendrological Garden in Przelewice, an arboretum next to the palace, was created in 1933-1938 and grows roughly twelve hundred plant species.
By the Szczecin Lagoon and on Wolin island you can spend a day by the water and in the forest: the Lagoon, Lake Wicko Wielkie, the Turquoise Lake and Wolin National Park lie close to each other. It is a good option for people who do not want to head to the open sea.
The Szczecin Lagoon is a coastal lagoon of the Baltic on the Polish-German border, linked with the harbours of Trzebież, Stepnica and Nowe Warpno, with bathing places on the Polish shore. Its former bay is Lake Wicko Wielkie, a lake of 12 km2, mostly within Wolin National Park, with the ports of Lubin and Wapnica. The Turquoise Lake lies south of Wapnica, so the two are easy to combine in one day. Międzyzdroje Pier with its landing for excursion boats completes the set.
For a quiet walk as a couple the two piers and the viewpoints are best, and on your own lakes, trails and parks work well. More than a hundred places on the list suit a solo trip, and almost a hundred are places with beautiful views.
Marked for couples are, among others, Kołobrzeg Pier and Międzyzdroje Pier. For a solo trip choose Lake Wielimie, with a view over the surface from Gwda Wielka village, or Lake Myśliborskie, the largest in its lakeland, with two bathing areas. Emerald Lake belongs here too, because there are viewpoints nearby and the lake itself formed in a former chalk quarry.
Simply choose one town and add two or three places. Szczecin has the most places, followed by Stargard, Koszalin, Kołobrzeg, Wałcz, Szczecinek and Stare Czarnowo.
In Koszalin a free day can be built around Chełmska Hill, and in Kołobrzeg around the pier and the Parsęta. Wałcz has Lake Raduń with its suspension bridge and a red trail to Drawa National Park. Lists for individual towns are Bezpłatne: Stargard, Bezpłatne: Koszalin, Bezpłatne: Kołobrzeg, Bezpłatne: Wałcz, Bezpłatne: Szczecinek, Bezpłatne: Stare Czarnowo and Bezpłatne: Cedynia.
Two piers stand out on the list: Kołobrzeg, 220 metres, and Międzyzdroje, 395 metres. The E9 trail also runs along the Baltic, and the Szczecin Lagoon has bathing places on the Polish shore.
The largest is Jan Kasprowicz Park in Łękno. Others are Stefan Żeromski Park in the Old Town, the Rose Garden and Jasne Błonia, and in Zdroje Emerald Lake.
Yes. Around the Szczecin Lagoon runs a 296 km loop in seven stages, and around Lake Siecino a trail of 38.9 km. The E9 by the sea is intended for walkers.
Canoe trails run along the rivers Drawa, Parsęta and Rega. On the Drawa in Drawa National Park paddling is allowed during set periods, and it is forbidden through the training ground. Rentals are not part of this list.
The lookout tower on Chełmska Hill in Koszalin, the summit of Czcibor Hill, the viewpoints of Wolin National Park and the surroundings of Emerald Lake in Szczecin.
Yes, because the Lagoon, Lake Wicko Wielkie and the Turquoise Lake are marked as free, and you will find bathing places on the Polish shore and the harbours of Trzebież, Stepnica and Nowe Warpno.
Not always. Drawa National Park charges a fee for access to its grounds, and in Wolin National Park the bison reserve and the museum have their own rules. The current rules are best checked on the park's website.
