Góra Wysoka, Słowiński National Park, Rowokół, Sep 21 2025

Poland trip, day 2

Słowiński National Park, Łeba
Słowiński National Park, Łeba

Index

Date Peak Height PF Location WCP/FP MAP
20.09.25 Góra Wysoka 179m 130m Pomorskie, Poland MAP
20.09.25 Słowiński National Park, Łeba Pomorskie, Poland MAP
20.09.25 Rowokół 115m 100m Pomorskie, Poland MAP

Continued from Poland trip, day 1

Góra Wysoka (179m), Sep 21 2025

Our hike to Góra Wysoka
Our hike to Góra Wysoka

Sunday: We woke up to a beautiful day in Kartuzy. Hotel Pod Orłem was a good start to our vacation.

Kartuzy, early morning. Our hotel to the left
Kartuzy, early morning. Our hotel to the left

Anne was impressed by the breakfast buffet. Everything felt crafted from the ground up.

Delicious
Delicious

After a nice meal, we were ready for a road trip!

Small adventures awaiting...
Small adventures awaiting…

We were heading for the north coast, but if we pass a P100 top along the way, why not use that as an excuse to stretch our legs?

Góra Wysoka became the excuse and required a small detour. Far out in “no man’s land”, we found a place to park, and a road that hopefully would get us close to the top.

Our trailhead
Our trailhead

This road should take us towards the top...
This road should take us towards the top…

Even if the tops are low and clearly boring, we still find it big fun to see if we can find a way to the top. Just figuring out how to get to the trailhead (without route descriptions) is a big part of the fun.

Eventually, it became clear that we had to go off-trail. That also has its nerve. Many forests are nature preserves and hiking off-trail is forbidden. But we didn’t think that we were inside a nature preserve here.

Going off-trail for a short walk up to the high point
Going off-trail for a short walk up to the high point

We were quite happy when we found a marker on top.

On top of Góra Wysoka
On top of Góra Wysoka

We took the same route back to the trailhead.

On top of Góra Wysoka
On top of Góra Wysoka

The Swietlino village was nice, but the cobblestone road was a nightmare.

Let's do a count of teeth afterwards...
Let’s do a count of teeth afterwards…

Trip statistics: 2,9km, 110 vertical meters, 0h:39m

Słowiński National Park, Sep 21 2025

Today's walk
Today’s walk

Sunday: We continued towards the town Łeba and then sat course for the national park. There were lots of cars at the parking, but I got a feeling it was off-season, even if this was on a Sunday. I was quite relieved learning that there would be a guy to take our money upon exit. Ticket machines in Polish just freak me out.

And then we followed the crowds

We're on our way
We’re on our way

We followed a trail alongside the paved road, where E-shuttles took tourists who didn’t want to hike. The forest was nice.

Along the forest trail
Along the forest trail

After a while, Anne was quite eager to leave the path

Enough of the trail?
Enough of the trail?

…as the surrounding terrain looked inviting.

Nice...
Nice…

But the sign “Strictly protected area. Entry prohibited!” was quite discouraging. As it should be…

Better stick to the rules...
Better stick to the rules…

But finally, after 4,7km

Oh my gosh! Paradise!

How beautiful is that?
How beautiful is that?

Anne had to go swimming of course. The temperature wasn’t bad at all, she said. It didn’t feel cold either, when I put my fingers in.

Clearly, we would return to the trailhead via the beach!

This is just awesome...
This is just awesome…

Did I already use the word “paradise”?

I could picture getting stranded here...
I could picture getting stranded here…

There were stones on the beach, so polished (no pun intended) that we didn’t even notice stepping on them.

Smooth as a ...
Smooth as a …

This was our first visit to the Baltic Sea, and it was something for the “album”

What a great start to our vacation...
What a great start to our vacation…

The beach wasn’t very crowded, but when two bikers tried to use the small strip that didn’t collapse, it felt crowded for a split second…

"Chaos"
“Chaos”

After 2,8km, it was time to get back on the forest path. But first, Anne had to dive in one more time.

I'll wait...
I’ll wait…

We followed another nice forest trail back to the trailhead.

What a gorgeous day, late in September...
What a gorgeous day, late in September…

Then it was time for lunch

Anne had Polish dumplings, I had potatoes, bacon and eggs (not epic)
Anne had Polish dumplings, I had potatoes, bacon and eggs (not epic)

After lunch, we went up to the lookout tower.

Heading for the tower
Heading for the tower

We had a nice overview of lake Łebsko

Lake Łebsko
Lake Łebsko

It was time to move on. It was a really nice stay in the north, but we had more of Poland to see…

Trip statistics: 9,3km, 80 vertical meters (est.), 2h:43m

Rowokół (115m), Słupsk, Sep 21 2025

Our hike to Rowokół
Our hike to Rowokół

Sunday: We wanted to begin our journey towards the Czech border and decided to spend the night in Słupsk. On our way there, we found that hiking Rowokół in Smołdzino woudn’t be a huge detour.

We drove around until we found the trailhead.

Yup, we're in the right place
Yup, we’re in the right place

We learned that many things were forbidden on this trail…

Okay, let's see...
Okay, let’s see…

I was a bit annoyed about the trumpet being disallowed, we headed up. I vaguely remember Anne trying to explain that the trumpet was a metaphor for loud noises.

What? Not the trumpet!!!
What? Not the trumpet!!!

It was late in the afternoon, and there were few people around.

Going up the forest trail
Going up the forest trail

Nice forest!
Nice forest!

Then we found a nice and rotten staircase to the top. I have a strong feeling this route was closed, as a giant log was there to stop people from entering. But we didn’t really see a different route either and so we carried on.

What is the worst thing that could happen?
What is the worst thing that could happen?

This was the first top on our journey so far, where we actually ascended 100 vertical meters in order to get to a top.

This is going quite well!
This is going quite well!

First, I discovered the tower

Our 2nd lookout tower for the day!
Our 2nd lookout tower for the day!

…then I found the summit marker.

There we are!
There we are!

And then I found the small ticket booth with a guy taking the entrance fee. He wanted PLN 20, – for the both of us. Oh well, it’s just money and maybe there is a breathtaking view from the top!

What we actually saw
What we actually saw

I’m not going to say the view wasn’t nice, but at least I couldn’t put my finger on anything characteristic in the horizon. Maybe I should have tried the peakfinder app.

Panorama view from Rowokół
Panorama view from Rowokół

Panorama view from Rowokół
Panorama view from Rowokół

But hey, another P100 top! No complaints, whatsoever.

A way better start than I could have hoped for
A way better start than I could have hoped for

Later on, we checked into Hotel Atena in Słupsk (which had parking in the backyard – perfect) and found it was appropriate for a small celebration

Celebration...
Celebration…

After dark, we went to restaurant Hokus Pokus. That was a cool place!

Waiting for dinner
Waiting for dinner

Cool!
Cool!

A circuit seems broken...
A circuit seems broken…

The dinner came with a surprise!

That old trick works every time!
That old trick works every time!

As I just said – a cool place!

I wonder what's inside the bottle...
I wonder what’s inside the bottle…

Then followed a nice walk back to the hotel.

An impressive wall!
An impressive wall!

Pronounced "SVOOPsk"
Pronounced “SVOOPsk”

Hotel Atena
Hotel Atena

Trip statistics: 2,6km, 120 vertical meters, 0h:35m

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