Why this ride
A 92 km round trip from Lebyazh’ye - roughly 2 h 13 in the saddle. The stops in between: The Maritime Channel, Zelenogorsky and back through The Maritime Channel. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Fort «Krasnaya Gorka» and Zelenogorsky
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 92 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 13
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 16 km this is Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 16 km
- Named road
- Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Fort «Krasnaya Gorka»
On the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland, near the village of Lebyazhye, the remains of Fort Krasnaya Gorka sit among pine woods and sand dunes. The fort was built in the years before the First World War as part of a chain of coastal defences protecting the approaches to St Petersburg, with heavy guns facing the sea and their counterparts on the opposite shore at Ino, in what was then the Grand Duchy of Finland. Together, the forts were designed to close the gulf to an enemy fleet.
Read the complete Fort «Krasnaya Gorka» write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fort «Krasnaya Gorka» is where the day begins. Next is The Maritime Channel.
2. The Maritime Channel
Stand on the shore anywhere near Kronstadt and you are looking at a dredged highway hidden under the water. The Maritime Channel, the Sea Canal of St Petersburg, was cut through the shallow Neva Bay in the late nineteenth century, opening in 1885, so that large ships could reach the city's port directly instead of unloading at Kronstadt. Before it existed, the bay was too shallow for anything but small vessels, and cargo had to be transferred to lighters, a slow and expensive business. The channel runs for around thirty kilometres from the open gulf to the mouth of the Neva, marked by buoys and lights, and it remains the main artery for ships entering the city.
Read the complete The Maritime Channel write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Maritime Channel comes up 20 km in. Next is Zelenogorsky.
3. Zelenogorsky
The northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, west of Saint Petersburg, was for centuries the summer playground of the capital, and Zelenogorsk, which the Finns called Terijoki, was the best known of its resort towns.
Read the complete Zelenogorsky write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
40 km in you reach Zelenogorsky. Next is back through The Maritime Channel.
4. back through The Maritime Channel
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Maritime Channel write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through The Maritime Channel, late in the day. Next is Fort «Krasnaya Gorka».
5. Fort «Krasnaya Gorka»
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fort «Krasnaya Gorka» write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Fort «Krasnaya Gorka». That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Fort «Krasnaya Gorka» to The Maritime Channel
Fort «Krasnaya Gorka» → The Maritime Channel is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Maritime Channel to Zelenogorsky
The Maritime Channel → Zelenogorsky is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Zelenogorsky to back through The Maritime Channel
Zelenogorsky → back through The Maritime Channel is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Maritime Channel to Fort «Krasnaya Gorka»
back through The Maritime Channel → Fort «Krasnaya Gorka» is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.