Hiking in the Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park

We can’t tell you often enough how much we love the Baltic Sea coast. One of the most beautiful spots for us is and remains the Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft National Park on the Fischland-Darß-Zingst peninsula. As we have already mentioned in other posts, 3 of the 16 national parks in Germany are located in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern alone.

We were recently in Jasmund National Park on the island of Rügen and also went on a wonderfully beautiful hike. In today’s post, we’ll take you on a virtual tour of the Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft National Park and share our best tips and highlights. Have fun browsing and trying it out!

Other holiday destinations:

More Vacation Destinations:
About the Fischland Peninsula
Arrival in Fischland-Darß-Zingst
Vorpommern Lagoon Area National Park
Our Hikes Through the Park
Packing List for Our Hike
Accommodation Options
Vorpommern Lagoon Area National Park – Conclusion
More Impressions

About the Fischland Peninsula

The Fischland-Darß-Zingst peninsula lies between Rostock and Stralsund and offers many great destinations. Whether hiking through the national park, exploring former fishing villages, cycling on the dike, or sunbathing by the sea – boredom never arises here. We love being there because the entire region evokes a very special vacation feeling in us, and we are also fans of the maritime flair. On the peninsula, we enjoy the fresh Baltic Sea air, the almost 60 km of sandy beaches, and the idyllic landscape.

Wanderung-Nationalpark-Vorpommersche-Boddenlandschaft-Wanderwege

Arrival Fischland-Darß-Zingst

By car: From Rostock, take the B105 towards Ribnitz-Damgarten, before turning onto the L21 shortly before Borg and continuing towards Wustrow/Ahrenshoop. The L21 then takes you to Prerow, where it’s best to park your car at the “Strandparkplatz Prerow” (beach parking lot).

From Stralsund, take the B105 to Löbnitz and then turn onto the L23 towards Barth. From there, take the L21 to Prerow (map here). The parking ticket currently costs €7.50. You can pay at the machine with a card or with cash.

By bus: From Berlin, you can take the Flixbus* bus directly to Prerow. Tickets start at €9.99. Of course, you can also start from other German cities, but you’ll have to change buses at least once. The Fischland-Darß-Express also runs from Berlin, and the Ostsee-Express runs from Dresden.

By train: Find a train connection to Ribnitz-Damgarten or Barth and then take bus 210 to Prerow. Of course, you can also start your hike from Ahrenshoop, for example, but you should allow considerably more time (14 km each way).

Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft National Park

The Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft National Park stretches from the island of Hiddensee to the western part of the Pomeranian Baltic Sea coast. It is one of Germany’s 16 national parks and, in terms of area, is the third largest park in the country.

Unique natural landscapes, such as beaches, pristine forests, dunes, and moors, await you here in the national park. Numerous bird species live here, as do mammals such as red deer, wild boar, and roe deer, which you might spot with a bit of luck. Grey seals, harbor seals, and porpoises are also known in the waters.

The park is also known as an autumnal resting place for cranes. More than 70,000 animals are said to be seen here between September and November. We will definitely check out this animal spectacle this year. Wolves are also occasionally spotted in the Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft National Park.

Incredible, isn’t it? There are plenty of animals to see not only on land but also in the water. The Baltic Sea is home to 48 species of fish in this region, such as bream, roach, perch, zander, and pike.

Our hikes through the park

But now we finally come to the most exciting part of this article. We started our hike through the Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft National Park at the beach parking lot in Prerow. From there, we walked through the Darß Forest on the paved road, past the Regenbogen Camp Prerow, and on to the former Darßer Ort emergency harbor. There, you can take a detour to the North Beach by the sea and take a beautiful photo from the wooden viewing platform.

Darßer Ort & Nothafen

After our stop at the sea, we returned to the North Harbor and crossed the long bridge to the other side. Now came the most beautiful part of the hike, a wonderful wooden plank path over the light-colored dunes through the bird sanctuary. By the way, you are only allowed to walk or cycle in the park (but not everywhere). Since it’s a nature reserve, you’re obviously not allowed to drive around here.

Viewing platforms in the park

Look out for the viewing platforms, from which you can enjoy unique views (they’re also marked on Google Maps). You can observe waterfowl particularly well from the “Eagle Platform” observation tower. The water in Lake Libbert is very shallow here, which makes it particularly easy to spot great egrets.

We prefer the rear observation tower, the “Duck Platform.” From here, you have a fantastic view into the distance, which somehow always gives us “Africa vibes.” From the platform, you can also see the blue Libbertsee, the dune behind it, and the beautiful Baltic Sea.

Afterward, we continued hiking toward the lighthouse. The Lighthouse Trail now leads directly over wooden walkways across the bright sand dunes. We really enjoyed the constantly changing landscape. First, we hiked through the green forest, then across heaths, dunes, and finally along the beach. We took a short break on a bench along the dunes before reaching the west beach.

West Beach & Lighthouse

The weather kept getting better; a bright blue sky and plenty of sunshine awaited us on the west beach. We immediately took off our shoes and strolled through the light, fine sand before our feet were already standing in the cold, clear Baltic Sea water.

What a refreshment! We love being by the sea, breathing in the Baltic Sea air, and feeling the sand between our toes. The color of the Baltic Sea blew us away again! Baltic Sea? Germany? It could be somewhere far away, right? It almost has a “Caribbean” feel.

We strolled along the water toward the lighthouse. It is one of the most beautiful (in our opinion) and also oldest on the Baltic coast, was built in 1848 and is still in operation. At 35 meters high, it’s not super huge, but not that small either.

From the platform at a height of 30 meters, you’re sure to have a great view; unfortunately, the lighthouse was still closed when we were there (Corona). If the weather is good, you can probably even see the island of Hiddensee and its Dornbusch lighthouse – amazing! There’s also a café and a museum (Natureum) on site.

Picnic at the lighthouse & Return route

Here at the lighthouse, we made ourselves comfortable on our picnic blankets, pulled out our lunch boxes, and took a long break with plenty of treats. We then returned along the lighthouse path. The entire hike took us 4.5 hours. You don’t need any special fitness for this route, as it’s a straight path with no major ascents or descents. The paths in the national park are also easy to walk. You can also find the entire hike here on komoot.de.

Packing list for our hike

Drinking bottle (also tea or coffee for a break)
Lunch box with, for example, fruit, vegetables, and bread
Picnic blanket for a break on the beach
Binoculars* for spotting birds or wildlife
Comfortable hiking shoes or sneakers
Camera with telephoto zoom lens

Accommodation

We usually don’t need accommodations on the coast, as we live in Rostock and usually drive home. We get in the car in the morning, drive to our chosen location, and return in the early evening. Nevertheless, we have done thorough research for you and found a few nice accommodations that we would book ourselves. It’s best to decide for yourself how and where you want to stay. Good starting points are Prerow, Zingst, Barth, Born am Darß, Wiek am Darß, as well as Ahrenshoop and Wustrow.

The charming Pension Linde is located directly in Prerow and awaits you with a beautiful garden, lounge chairs for relaxing, and comfortable rooms. The beach is just a 10-minute walk away. Rooms, suites, holiday homes, and apartments are available.

4.5 out of 5 points on Tripadvisor

The Haus am Hafen is a beautiful holiday home in Prerow. Antique elements, historic furniture, plenty of luxury, and many small details await you here. In the garden, you can enjoy the sun or read a book in a beach chair on the terrace. The living room even has a round Swedish stove for cozy evenings. A very photogenic house, in any case.

9.6 out of 10 points on Booking.com*

This 4-star hotel is located directly in Prerow and is just 2 minutes from the beach. The large wellness area with saunas, a fitness room, an outdoor pool, and panoramic views is particularly beautiful. The rooms are comfortably furnished and have a bathroom and TV. Previous guests particularly praise the delicious food and excellent service. Sounds good, doesn’t it?

4.5 out of 5 points on Tripadvisor

Next door in Zingst is this chic 4-star hotel with a restaurant, a large wellness area, a pool, spacious rooms and suites, a fitness room, and an outdoor area. We particularly like the volleyball court, the modern rooms, and the spacious wellness area. We would definitely check in here.

4.5 out of 5 points on Tripadvisor

A cool hotel, just our style! This design hotel is located in Barth, right by the marina, and stands out thanks to its cool design in the former granary. A wellness area, bright and spacious rooms, an elegant design with plenty of wood and stone, as well as a restaurant, winter garden, and a terrace await you. You can even rent bikes and explore the area.

4.5 out of 5 on Tripadvisor

Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft National Park – Conclusion

If you’ve been following our stories on Instagram, you might have noticed that we found this national park simply breathtakingly beautiful. We somehow never expected such a diverse landscape. Time and again, we reached great viewpoints and rest spots, and even saw huge wild boars in the undergrowth.

We highly recommend the hike through the Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park on the Fischland-Darß-Zingst peninsula; it’s well worth it. We’ll do this hike again in the fall and are looking forward to the colors and the special lighting.