Puszcza Zielonka Landscape Park

Puszcza Zielonka Landscape Park (say "POOSH-chah zhyeh-LON-kah") is a large protected forest just northeast of Poznań, one of the biggest cities in western Poland. It covers more than 12,000 hectares of woodland, glacial lakes and quiet forest tracks, and it is where Poznań locals go to cycle, walk and paddle on weekends. If you are looking for things to do around Poznań beyond the old town, this is the most accessible slice of real Polish forest.

Where is Puszcza Zielonka?

The park lies in Greater Poland (Wielkopolska), starting about 10 km northeast of central Poznań. Poznań has an international airport and direct trains from Berlin and Warsaw, so the forest makes an easy day trip. The arboretum in the village of Zielonka, at the heart of the forest, is roughly 33 km by road from Poznań. "Puszcza" is the Polish word for a large, old forest, and Zielonka is the name of the village at its center.

Key facts

• Established in 1993 to protect the largest and most natural forest complex near Poznań.
• Area: 12,202 hectares, about 78% forested, plus a buffer zone of 9,538 hectares.
• Landscape shaped by the last Ice Age: sandy outwash plains, moraine hills and long tunnel valleys holding chains of lakes.
• Highest point: Dziewicza Góra (143 m), with an observation tower.
• 5 nature reserves, and part of the EU's Natura 2000 network.

What to see and do

Cycling is the headline activity. Two marked loops circle the park: the Small Bike Ring (35.4 km, from Murowana Goślina via Zielonka) and the Large Bike Ring (51.7 km, from Czerwonak). Connector routes link villages in between, and the 143 km Cistercian Bike Trail passes through. Most routes follow sandy or gravel forest roads, so a trekking or mountain bike works much better than a road bike.

Walking: four main color-coded hiking trails cross the forest, along with five educational paths. The most popular is the climb to Dziewicza Góra near Czerwonak; another easy option is the 3 km loop around Lake Zielonka.

Nature: the forest is home to red deer, roe deer and one of Poland's largest populations of fallow deer, as well as beavers, cranes and black storks. Five reserves protect bog lakes (Czarne and Pławno), a centuries-old larch stand, an old mixed forest and the only site in the region of a rare spring flower, nine-leaved toothwort.

Other highlights: the free Forest Arboretum in Zielonka, supervised swimming areas on Lake Stęszewskie and Lake Kamińskie, an 11.3 km kayak trail ending in Tuczno, and a driving route linking 12 historic wooden village churches around the forest.

How to get there

By train, take a regional service from Poznań to Murowana Goślina or Czerwonak, then continue by bike; public transport barely reaches the forest interior. By car, the main parking areas are in Zielonka next to the arboretum (with a shelter, fire pit and playground), at the foot of Dziewicza Góra in Czerwonak, and by the town hall in Murowana Goślina. Bring cash in Polish złoty (PLN) for small rural shops; signs and information boards in the forest are mostly in Polish, so an offline map is essential.

Is it worth visiting?

Yes, if you enjoy active days outdoors. Entry is free and the forest is open all year. Spring brings flowering woodland, summer is for the lakes, and autumn is the most colorful season. Plan a full day for a bike loop or combine a shorter walk with the arboretum. In nature reserves, stay on marked roads and trails, and expect muddy sand tracks after rain.