Kampinos National Park
Kampinos National Park is located in the Mazovian Voivodeship nearby the north-western outskirts of Warsaw. The Park covers forest complexes situated at the floor of the Vistula proglacial stream valley narrowed by the beds of the Vistula and the Bzura rivers and a high terrace of the Błońska Plain. It is worth mentioning that the sand dunes of the Kampinos Forest form one of the most interesting inland sand dunes complexes of this type in Europe. The ground in the Kampinos Forest is very diverse. Part of the park situated in the immediate neighbourhood of Warsaw is boggy and hence you may come across huge but shallow after-rain puddles on paths. The paths in the northern dune part of the Forest, on the other hand, are mostly covered with sand. Kampinos National Park is one of two national parks in the world situated in the immediate proximity of a state capital. Such location affects the environment of Warsaw to some extent. Because the winds blow mainly from the west, the city inhales a portion of fresh air from above the Kampinos Forest statistically every three days and therefore it may be called “Warsaw’s green lungs”.
Kampinos National Park embraces 22 zones of strict protection which comprises 12% of the Park land area. More than 70% of the Park is covered with forest. The most common tree is pine.
Kampinos National Park is a very valuable breeding area and an important spot in birds’ migration flyway. Due to the diversity of natural environment, the area of the Park constitutes one of the most crucial refuge of the Polish lowland fauna. Moreover, the Park was added to the UNESCO’s list of biosphere reserves and recognised as a refuge for birds on a European scale by the European Parliament.
The area of Kampinos National Park creates very good conditions for tourism.
The hiking facilities include approximately 360 km marked hiking trails. For example, the “red” trail starting in Dziekanów Leśny and leading to Brochów crosses the most attractive sights of the Park showing all types of landscape. The “blue” and “green” trails run along the northern and southern sand dune strip. The three parallel trails connect municipal bus stops at the outskirts of Warsaw with three places in the western part of the region offering architectural monuments – Brochów, Kampinos and Żelazowa Wola. Few trails function as connecting trails running from initial points in direction of the parallel trails. Some of the trails located close to Warsaw function as strolling paths.
Cycling in within the area of the Forest is permitted. However, cyclist should bear in mind that they can use only marked lanes and wide, hard-surfaced public roads, which connect towns and villages. The hiking trails are not suitable for cycling at some points; they are frequently sandy and therefore hard to cycle on. Kampinoski Szlak Rowerowy (Kampinos Cycling Trail) is a special roundabout bicycle path that has been marked around the Forest in the recent years. Remember that it is very long and more suitable for experienced cyclist rather than the ones who look for relaxation.
The conditions for skiing are quite limited, because winters in the Warsaw area are not snowy and therefore the season is short. However, when the snow pack is sufficient, Kampinos Forest becomes a relatively good place for tourist using cross-country skis. Downhill racing is not permitted in the Forest, the sand dunes are not high enough not to mention the fact that they are protected. According to the park regulations you are required to use marked hiking or cycling trails, because Kampinos National Park does not have trails designated for cross-country skiing. These official regulations does not forbid you from using the hiking trails on backcountry or cross-country skiing.
Unfortunately, horse riding is generally not permitted, unless you obtain a one-off consent from the Director of the Park. However, it is planned to designate a few horse riding trails at the outskirts of the Forest. But for now, the national park regulation forbids horse riding using the forest trails, because they would be seriously affected by the horse hooves. Nevertheless, you may enjoy horse riding in numerous riding clubs, stud farms and stables situated in the protection zone, which offer horse riding lessons, riding trips within the nearest areas and upon the park Director’s consent – also in some areas of the Park. The biggest concentration of such facilities may be found around Łomianki situated near Warsaw, namely in: Dąbrowa Leśna, Dąbrowa Nowa, Kępa Kiełpińska, Wilczeniec and in a bit more remote places: Kampinos, Korfowe and Sianno. The number of such facilities increase every year.
