The best traffic-free bike rides in Kaliningrad

The Masurian Canal is an unfinished, impressive project that was intended to connect Mamry with Łyna and the Baltic Sea. Today, it runs through Poland and the Kaliningrad Oblast and is closed to navigation. On the Polish side, it's worth seeing the monumental locks in Leśniewo and the only operational lock, Piaski. Along the canal are embankments and former towpaths, perfect for walking or cycling.

Lake Przystań, a deep bay of Mamr, is a great destination for a bike trip in the vicinity of Węgorzewo. There is a picturesque section of Green Velo along the Mała Pętla Mamr. The lake is famous for its crystal clear water and great depth - it is popular with divers, who can explore here, among others, the sunken tug Arabela. There is a comfortable MOR and a small beach with a pier in this place. In the area it is also worth seeing bunkers from World War II.

Asphalt in the middle of the forest would be nice, but it's not that good. The marked section (as of August '24) is a dirt road - good quality, if you insist you can even roll over 28mm, from 32-35mm it's easy.

I didn't quite understand what our tour guide was trying to explain to me as historical background 🤔 We cycled all around the never-completed canal on wonderfully accessible forest paths.

Bar for a short stop. There were drinks and even hot food ;)

The beginning of an unfinished building.

The Masurian Canal (German: Masurischer Kanal, Russian: Канал Мазурский) is an unfinished water canal that was intended to connect the Great Masurian Lakes with the Baltic Sea via the Łyna and Pregoła rivers. Currently, the Masurian Canal runs through the territory of two countries: Poland and the Russian Federation. It is not open to navigation. The Masurian Canal project, conceived in the late 19th century, was based on earlier work by Polish brothers who settled in Ducal Prussia. In the 17th century, Józef Naronowicz-Naroński developed detailed maps of the lakes and a plan to connect the Pregoła River with the Neman River by a canal. His successor, Samuel Suchodolec (Suchodolski), developed a design for a canal connecting Lake Śniardwy with Lake Niegocin and then with the Pregoła River. With the construction of canals between the Masurian lakes, which began in 1764, the idea of connecting them with the Baltic Sea through a new canal began to be seriously considered. From several possible options, the route connecting Lake Mamry with the Łyna River was selected as the most economically viable. A design for a canal approximately 50 km long, with six water stages and a drop of approximately 111 meters, was developed between 1849 and 1862. However, it was never implemented. Another design, developed in 1874, had already been approved by the East Prussian State Parliament, but due to land ownership issues along the construction route, it also failed to materialize. Between 1890 and 1898, attempts were made to implement a further version of the project. This involved the construction of locks instead of the previously proposed inclined planes, and the construction of hydroelectric power plants at each of the canal's stages (six of which were to be built). Two safety gates in the form of cylindrical weirs were also designed. This concept was also not implemented, primarily due to protests from residents of the Pregolya and Dejma valleys, who feared an increased flood risk. There were also concerns that the planned constant supply of water to the canal at a rate of 6 m³/s would result in navigation disruptions (especially during the summer). https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kana%C5%82_Mazurski https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LvQrxhRHXk

On this section of the road there is an asphalt road for bicycles. In the villages it turns into a pavement, but it can be driven quite smoothly.