A landscape park in the Oder floodplain, with a network of canals and backwaters of the Oder, canoe routes and a refuge for wetland birds, south and west of Szczecin.
The Lower Oder Valley Landscape Park lies in the Międzyodrze (the Oder floodplain), between the point where the Oder splits into the East and West Oder, from north of Widuchowa to the Leśny Canal. It was established on 1 April 1993, covers 6,009 hectares and borders the German Lower Oder Valley National Park. Together they form the international Lower Oder Valley Park. It consists of peat bogs, wetlands and a network of canals that the Oder floods.
The park's manager, the West Pomeranian Voivodeship Landscape Parks Complex, names the canoe as the most convenient way of exploring. Most of the park, apart from the nature reserves, is open to visitors. Outside the main river channels, motorboats are banned. The park describes four canoe routes, including a loop from Żabnica through the Żeglica canal and Moczyły, and a route from the marina in Siadło Dolne through the Kwiatowy Canal and the Kurowskie Błota nature reserve.
In the Międzyodrze itself walking is difficult, because the bridges, footbridges and locks are destroyed and the canals cannot be crossed on foot. The manager advises choosing areas next to the park: the upland and the edge of the valley. The “Zielona Odra” cycle route runs from Gryfino through the natural monument Crooked Forest to Widuchowa (18 km), where a viewing platform stands on Słowiańska Hill. The backwaters can be seen from the embankments along the Oder.
It is an important stopover for wetland birds, among others geese and cranes. White-tailed eagles, ospreys and aquatic warblers nest here. Among mammals, beavers and otters live here. The park has two reserves, Kurowskie Błota and Kanał Kwiatowy, and in the vicinity the Wzgórze Widokowe nad Międzyodrzem reserve.
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