Wielki Bytyń nature reserve

Wielki Bytyń is a landscape nature reserve in Wałcz County, in the municipalities of Mirosławiec, Tuczno and Wałcz, 11 km west of Wałcz. It was established in 1989 on an area of 1826.55 ha, in 2007 it was enlarged to 1943.45 ha, and at present 1940.57 ha is given. It is the largest reserve by area in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship.

The channel of Lake Wielki Bytyń

Protected are the channel of Lake Bytyń Wielki with its bays, Lakes Bytyń Mały, Bobkowe and Głębokie and the surrounding moraine uplands. The lake lies in a deep channel with an indented shoreline, with steep slopes up to 30 m high. Forests cover about 897 ha, mainly pine and mixed forest with fragments of beech and oak-hornbeam woods. In the stream valleys there are swamps and bogs.

Plants, birds and bison

Among the curiosities is the relict Scheuchzer's cottongrass and very rare mosses. More than 100 species of birds have been recorded here, including 23 from the annexes of the Birds Directive: the black-throated diver, the bittern, the black stork, the white-tailed eagle and the lesser spotted eagle. On the western side of the reserve several dozen bison live in the wild, brought into the surrounding forests in 1980. The breeding of bison is shown at the Bison Show Reserve.

Practical information

• Lake Bytyń Wielki can be circled by bicycle, and the trails are marked as green and black.
• The reserve has no approved protection plan; protection tasks apply, and the area is under strict, active and landscape protection. The rules for moving around are given by the Mirosławiec, Wałcz and Tuczno forest districts.