It is a shade under twenty kilometres along the coast from Rowy to Ustka. That sounds like a two-hour ride, and the bike computer bore that out: 17.43 km and 1 hour 53 minutes moving. Except that those two hours of moving time spread across half a day, because along the way there is sand, there are hills, there is a viewing tower, and there is rain that arrives out of nowhere.
There were four of us: me on a gravel bike, the other adult on a trekking bike, and our son (11) and daughter (9) on theirs. Late summer, overcast. Here is everything worth knowing if you’re planning the same ride, including one thing we learned two years earlier that saved this trip.
The route at a glance
- Start: Rowy → finish: Ustka
- Our distance: 17.43 km, 1 h 53 min moving
- Time it really takes: half a day to a full day, depending on how long you linger in Ustka
- Our line-up: a gravel bike, a trekking bike, and children aged 9 and 11
- Surface: forest tracks, plenty of sand, sections of tarmac
- Difficulty: moderate — not because of the distance, but because of the sand and the climbs
The waymarked blue trail from Rowy to Ustka is 18.19 km and runs through Dębina, Objazda and Wytowno. Route descriptions don’t sugar-coat it: the surface is mixed, and in places “the road turns into one big sandpit”. You can read that as a warning or as a promise, depending on your attitude and your age.
Sand, hills and a lesson from two years ago
This is the part I’m actually writing this post for.
Two years earlier we rode this stretch of coast hugging the shoreline, through the forest and over the dunes. We ended up pushing the bikes more than riding them. Dune sand is loose, the wheel simply digs in, and it makes no difference whether you’re on wide gravel tyres or not — you get off and push. With children, that’s a mutiny within fifteen minutes.
So this time, once we’d done the first stretch through the forest, we deliberately left the woods for the tarmac road and rode part of the route on it, past wet meadows and peat bogs. We gave up some of the sea views. In return, everyone finished the ride on their bike rather than next to it.
If you’d like that option ready-made, the Rolled-Up Tracks Trail (Szlak Zwiniętych Torów) runs parallel to the route — roughly 20 km along a former railway embankment from Ustka to Rowy, surfaced with concrete slabs in places, flat and gentle. Trains ran here before the war; the embankments were damaged and never rebuilt, and what was left of them became cycle routes. It’s the simplest way to make the same journey without pushing a single metre.
Can children ride from Rowy to Ustka?
The coast around Dębina and Orzechowo is all cliffs, so “flat because it’s by the sea” is a myth. There are plenty of climbs, short and steep. Our nine-year-old and eleven-year-old rode every one of them. Not without effort, but without any drama — it helped that the hills are short and that most of them open onto a view of the sea at the top.
One practical note: this route is doable even with a bike trailer and a small child in it — as long as you take the road and embankment option rather than the forest-and-dunes one. Trailers and loose sand do not get on.
Rain on the route — and why we didn’t turn back
Halfway along, it started raining properly. We didn’t shelter and we didn’t turn back — we carried on, and that was the right call, because on the coast these spells are short, and the clouds over the Baltic look better after rain than they do in sunshine. The photos below are from exactly that moment.
What we took from it: waterproof jackets for everyone are non-negotiable on this route whatever the forecast, and it’s worth keeping the contents of your rucksack in a dry bag. There aren’t many places along the way where you can sit out a downpour under a roof.
Orzechowo: the viewing tower and a food stop
The best stop on the route. There’s a fire lookout tower in Orzechowo, run by the Ustka Forest District and opened up as a viewpoint — about 40 metres high, and you get up it by a steep flight of stairs. The rules are simple and worth knowing before you turn up:
- Free entry
- Maximum 10 people on the platform at a time
- Up to 30 minutes at the top
- The tower closes in bad weather and opens on set days and at set hours — if the weather looks uncertain, ring the forest district first (59 8144 000)
- Not recommended for anyone with a fear of heights, or with heart or mobility problems
- The tower went up in 2006, built from concrete rings; it’s close to 250 steps to the platform, and on a clear day you can see Rowokół and Słupsk from the top
The other thing you won’t find in the official descriptions: there’s a food kiosk on site. Hot dogs, chips, even craft beer. If you’re a parent riding with two children in the rain, that matters at least as much as how tall the tower is.
We’ll write about the tower itself separately — it deserves its own post.
The finish: Ustka and the lighthouse
In Ustka we met the rest of the family, who had driven over. We climbed the lighthouse — an octagonal tower from 1892 with the keeper’s house attached, listed as a historic monument in 1993. It has run automatically since 2010, and that was the end of the job for Ustka’s last lighthouse keeper. In July and August it opens daily from 10:00 until dusk; the rest of the year the hours vary. That’s another one for a separate write-up.
We drove back, bikes on the rack. That’s the version I’d recommend to anyone riding with children: one way is a pleasure, there and back can be one hill too many. If you haven’t got a second car, you can easily pick up public transport in Ustka, or ride back on the Rolled-Up Tracks Trail, which is noticeably easier than the coastal option.
How long the Rowy to Ustka bike route really takes
It took us half a day, because we set off in the afternoon and it rained. Set off in the morning and you’ll be back the same day with time to spare — enough for the tower at Orzechowo, lunch in Ustka and a climb up the lighthouse. With two hours of actual riding, the rest of the day is stops, and the stops are what decide whether the children remember the trip fondly.
Rowy to Ustka by bike: 6 tips before you set off
- Don’t cling to the shoreline. The dunes look best on the map and are the worst to ride.
- Start in the morning. The whole difference between “half a day” and “a full day” is what time you leave.
- Waterproof jackets for everyone, whatever the forecast says.
- Bring water and snacks from home. The kiosk at Orzechowo is a lifesaver, but you can’t always count on it out of season.
- Gravel bike, or a trekking bike with wider tyres. On narrow road tyres the sandy sections are simply unrideable.
- Sort out the way back before you leave — car, train, or the easier embankment route.
Is Rowy to Ustka by bike worth it?
Yes, and more than the numbers suggest. Eighteen kilometres is nothing to an adult cyclist, but this ride isn’t about the distance. It’s about the cliff with the open Baltic stretching to the horizon, about the rain we rode through instead of turning back, and about two children who were proud of themselves at the end of the day.
If you’re staying in the area for a while, Hortulus Spectabilis in Dobrzyca is a few dozen kilometres west — a good day out when everyone’s legs need a break.