Lesnoy (until 1946 - Sarkau) is a small village located on the territory of the Curonian Spit National Park and part of the Zelenograd district of the Kaliningrad Region.
This is the first settlement of the Curonian Spit relative to the city of Zelenogradsk (11 km away). from Zelenogradsk), located at the narrowest point of the spit (350 meters).
Lesnoy is a popular holiday destination on the Curonian Spit.
On the one hand, the village is washed by the waters of the Baltic Sea, and on the other-by the Curonian Lagoon.
The highway 27A-015 passes through the village, which in the village has the name "Tsentralnaya Street", runs along the entire Curonian Spit and connects Zelenogradsk with Lithuania.
In Lesnoye there are: cafes, shops, public bus stops, a beach on the Baltic Sea, parking places for cars, bicycle rental, a couple of attractions and accommodation facilities (hotels, guest houses).
Beach in Lesnoye
The beach in Lesnoye is one of the best on the Baltic Sea coast of the Kaliningrad region.
The beach is quite wide and sandy (the sand is fine and pleasant to the touch, light in color); there are small pebbles near the water's edge and in the sea.
On the beach, you can sit on your own beach towel, or rent a sun lounger and an umbrella from the sun.
Lifeguards are on duty on the beach, there is a first aid station.
Along part of the beach strip there is a promenade (embankment), where there are: changing cabins, showers, toilets, urns, bungalows, restaurants, a bar and kiosks with food and drinks with tables under the open sky, places for recreation and outdoor exercise equipment. Learn more about the beach and the promenade in Lesnoye…
Near the beach and the promenade there is a 3-star design hotel Mayakovsky, located on the first line and with direct access to the promenade and the beach.
The hotelfeatures: a Russian steam bath, seasonal indoor and outdoor heated pools with bars and sun beds near outdoor pools, a terrace with sea views, a spa complex, a children's playground, a restaurant, free parking and rooms with free Wi-Fi.
This hotel is considered one of the best on the Curonian Spit.
Breakfast is included in the room rate. Link to the hotel
Exit to the Curonian Lagoon in Lesnoye
The village of Lesnoy has access to the Curonian Lagoon. The soils here are mostly swampy.
Fishing and water walks in the bay are possible on the bay.
Near the bay there is a 4-star hotel Aura, which has a fenced territory, a restaurant with a terrace and views of the Curonian Lagoon.
The hotelhas a 24-hour front desk, luggage storage, a swimming pool, free Wi-Fi and family rooms.
Breakfast is included in the room rate. Link to the hotel
Attractions in Lesnoye
The temple of Panteleimon the Healer (Great Martyr Panteleimon), which was built in memory of the lost fishermen.
The Curonian Lagoon has a changeable disposition. If the wind blows from the sea, then the calm at the coastline is replaced by a storm at a distance of 300-400 meters from the shore, and the wringing wind turned even fishing boats into a toy. And in winter, a torn ice solder carried hundreds of fishermen into the bubbling bay. Not everyone managed to escape. The names of the dead fishermen are sometimes heard at services in this church in their memory and in the realization that they do not joke with the elements.
The address of the temple: Embankment Street, 7.
A lighthouselocated near the Baltic Sea.
The lighthouse was installed on the seashore in 1982 and visually represents a large white-red "barrel" standing on four iron "legs", 40 meters high.
The former lighthouse in Lesnoye was washed away by a January storm in 1975, tilted and was dismantled. Now its concrete base can be seen on the beach near the promenade.
Access to the structure of the lighthouse is closed, since it is a navigation sign and carries a radio and a light beacon, the signal of which is visible in the sea and bay at a distance of up to 17 miles. Cellular repeater antennas are installed on the lighthouse.
Since sometimes in the dark the beam of the lighthouse picks out the silhouettes of couples in love on the coast, the lighthouse in Lesnoye is popularly called the "Floor Lamp of Love".
Practical information
Coordinates of the village of Lesnoy: 55°01'00.0"N 20°37'00.0"E (55.016667, 20.616667).
You can get to the Curonian Spit, including the village of Lesnoy, by taxi or car from anywhere in the Kaliningrad region, as well as by buses from the center of Kaliningrad, from Zelenogradsk and Svetlogorsk (including Otradnoye and Pionerskiy resort).
More information about all the ways to get to the Curonian Spit, about the entrance to the spit and how to move along it, can be found here →
You can also visit the Curonian Spit, including its sights, with an excursion
Excursions to the Curonian Spit from Kaliningrad
Excursions to the Curonian Spit from Svetlogorsk
Excursions to the Curonian Spit from Zelenogradsk
All accommodation facilities on the Curonian Spit, including in the village of Lesnoy, as well as in the villages of Rybachy and Morskoye, can be viewed and booked here
