So, in cooperation with Racpats ;), a few words about cycling around the Baltic Sea.

If you expect the longest possible sections separated from car traffic, cyclist-friendly places, cycling facilities, but also a route designed by cyclists for cyclists - take EuroVelo 10. 

I don't know the Swedish, Finnish and Lithuanian parts, but I've done the Polish, German and parts of the Danish and Latvian ones - I can write about them. Of course - I won't write about everything, I'll try to mention some important things.

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[Poland]

A lot has changed in Poland recently. Western Pomerania (Polish: Pomorze Zachodnie), one of the two Polish regions, which the route runs through, has made probably the biggest effort to make the route friendly for us. And I think now it's the best part of the entire EV10 with many sections close to the sea.

This section starts in Świnoujście, ends in Ustka. It's ~230 km to go. Cycling here doesn't require special planning - it is the most popular holiday region in Poland. There are many small towns along the Polish coast, so it is easy to find any accommodation, food or grocery. You can easily find places to sleep in the wild, but outside the national parks (there are two on the route), please :)

There is even the growing network of cyclist-friendly places (Polish: MPR) and the mobile app. Railway access - yes, but there is no railway line along the route. It's important to buy a ticket for bicycle in advance because of popularity of the route.

Weather - it depends on the year, mostly sunny, usually 20-30, sometimes 40C. As you know, these days you can expect any weather anywhere.

A few highlights - Woliński National Park:

The Eastern Ecopark near Kołobrzeg:

The spit between the sea and the Kopań Lake:

More pictures from these most impressive sections (random order):

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This high level of route preparation is visible even in such details as messages about detours or other problems on the route - great, clear maps informing about important things:

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I encourage you to visit the official website for more - there is the really committed team of the authors of the route behind it:

https://rowery.wzp.pl/en/2-pomorze-zachodnie-velo-baltica

And my impressions, many tips from the route, a lot of inspirations for stops and places to see:

https://www.cyclingthread.com/eurovelo-10-bicycle-route-in-poland-velo-baltica-in-western-pomerania

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The second region behind the Polish part of the EuroVelo 10 route is Pomerania [Polish: Pomorskie]. I always say, that is the more adventure part of the route. It runs from Ustka to Elbląg, ca. 300 km.

It is more natural, there is more forests, less sea. Roads - from perfect asphalt on the old railway line to several hundred meters long sections on sand. But it's still a great route to ride.

A few days a year, there is thick fog over the coast - then a mysterious atmosphere surrounds the route. This is just a meteorological phenomenon, but it is really nice to be in one of the coastal forests at this moment.

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Highlights - Słowiński National Park with noticeably worse cycling conditions due to nature protection issues:

The forest near the Stilo lighthouse, where a nuclear powerplant will be built - these are probably the last moments of this beautiful section:

And the rest of the route in the Pomorskie region - as I wrote, less infrastructure, more nature (random order):

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Railway access in Pomorskie - slightly better than in Western Pomerania. There is railway line along the half of the route. And it's not always necessary to buy a bicycle ticket in advance, because here you use mostly regional trains without place reservation. But there are still many cyclists here and you may "physically" not fit in the train.

Train compartments for bicycles can be very different, but usually conditions are at least not bad - photos from the both regions here:

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The official website and the official map:

https://pomorskie.travel/en/articles/artykuly-rowerowe/eurovelo-10-13/

https://ptr.pomorskie.eu/

My article about this part - under construction.

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If you have more time, I encourage you to visit the Vistula Spit. It is an over 50-kilometer cycle route R10 from the mouth of the Vistula River to the east - to the Polish-Russian border. The surface is mostly natural, some gravel, lots of nature and this wonderful section before the city of Krynica Morska:

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And if you need a place to rest, shop, if you want to see interesting places - there is Gdańsk, the city of Solidarity (Lech Wałęsa, you know). This is one of the 2-3 best cities to live in Poland, you can do all your shopping and visit at least a few interesting museums. The most interesting ones for me: the Amber Museum, the Museum of the Second World War, the European Solidarity Center.

https://visitgdansk.com/home.qbpage?setLanguage=en

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The entire EuroVelo 10 route in Poland you can see on the EuroVelo website - green and yellow colors means these best stages in developing the route:

https://en.eurovelo.com/ev10/poland

That's it for now, Germany and Denmark - soon. Questions? Go ahead.

S.

PS. Small edit - added some highlights, train photos.

Thank you!!! Excellent information!

Thank you Simon, you take fantastic pictures and love your Cycling Thread website

[Denmark]

I think that Denmark has the most diverse part of the cycling route around the Baltic Sea. That opinion is very different from the common opinions about cycling tourism in Denmark - that it is flat, monotonous, that "nothing happens". Cycling along the Baltic Sea in Denmark means following the almost constantly changing coastline. I cycled most of the Danish section of EV10, shortening it due to bad weather - halfway through the route we had access to a ferry connecting Gedser with Rostock in Germany.

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The huge attraction here is Copenhagen and the opportunity to see the amazing phenomenon of cycling in Copenhagen. For many years it has been called  "copenhagenization" - it's the process of changes in urban life, giving pedestrians and cyclists the highest priority in transportation policy and enhancing the quality of life in the city. I had the greatest pleasure watching bicycle traffic on the bridges in the city center.

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A day or two off in Copenhagen would be a great idea. In addition to seeing how bicycle traffic is organized here, there are some really interesting places to see. Even a power plant with a ski slope :)

A visit to Christiania is a must. Once a city of flower children, now a surprising place for drug trafficking. I even came across a police raid on gangster-traffickers 8O

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Cycling from Copenhagen south is about 300 kilometers through a very diverse coastal landscape with a variety of surfaces. And it won't be flat all the time :) 

The great thing is that there are no big cities in this area. Even driving on public roads is pleasant and safe. But there are also great forest sections on hard surface roads, sometimes "2+1" roads, which are most common in Belgium and the Netherlands. What I remember most is probably those narrow, natural fragments after the flood embankments right by the sea.

A look at the map shows that covering the entire EuroVelo section in Denmark involves using several ferries. And here it is essential to check the departure times of a given ferry in the period you are interested in. I was surprised by the fact that the ferry to Stubbekøbing runs until the end of September only, and I went there only a week later :(

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The biggest attractions of the EuroVelo 10 in Denmark: the Stevns Klint and Møns Klint cliffs.

Stevns Klint is an "atmospheric", beautiful cliff with a medieval church on it. And the clearly visible so-called K-T boundary - remnants of the dust and debris cloud that covered the Earth 66 million years ago following an asteroid impact at the Yucatán Peninsula.

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Møns Klint is the largest cliffs on the Baltic Sea. There are several exits to the beach via long stairs, and from the beach you can see how huge the rock and chalk walls are. It is very worth taking such a walk!

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Unfortunately, I don't know the section from Nykøbing Falster to Flensburg :(, but...

I think I can write that shortening the entire distance around the Baltic Sea by taking a ferry from Gedser to Rostock may be... a good idea. If you have limited time to travel, you will gain a few days that you can spend on another country on the Baltic Sea. And the ferry between Gedser and Rostock is prepared for cyclists - it has a special tariff and a special place on the ferry for bicycles.

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The EuroVelo 10 route in Denmark - the EuroVelo website

https://en.eurovelo.com/ev10/denmark

And my article about the Danish episode of EuroVelo 10:

https://www.cyclingthread.com/cycling-denmark-on-eurovelo-10-copenhagen-and-baltic-sea

:)

S.