Why this ride
196 km from Krasnoye Selo to Krasnoye Selo, about 3 h 22 of riding. On the way it passes The Lugovoy, Fort «Constantin», The Park «Alexandria» and back through Fort «Constantin».
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Krasnoe Selo and The Park «Alexandria»
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 196 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 22
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. 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 about 35 km this is Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 35 km
- Named road
- Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Krasnoe Selo
Readers of Anna Karenina will know Krasnoye Selo, even if they have never been within a thousand kilometres of it. It was here, at the summer camp of the imperial guards, that Tolstoy set the officers' steeplechase in which Vronsky rides his mare Frou-Frou to disaster in front of the court. For more than a century, from the early nineteenth century until the revolution, the guards regiments of the Russian army gathered each summer in this area south-west of Saint Petersburg for manoeuvres, parades and horse races, and the tsar and the court came to watch. It is listed as one of the monuments associated with the historic centre of Saint Petersburg.
Read the complete Krasnoe Selo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Krasnoe Selo is where the day begins. Next is The Lugovoy.
2. The Lugovoy
Peterhof is the work of a tsar who wanted his own Versailles on the Gulf of Finland. Peter the Great began the palace and its gardens in the early eighteenth century, and by the time of his daughter Elizabeth and later of Catherine the Great, the Great Cascade, with its gilded statues and its fountains, was one of the most extravagant waterworks in Europe. Behind the formal gardens, the Lugovoy, meaning the meadow park, is a larger, quieter landscape of open lawns, ponds, tree-lined paths and old oaks, a place where Petersburgers come to walk dogs and push prams on weekends.
Read the complete The Lugovoy write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Lugovoy comes up about 35 km into the recorded legs. Next is Fort «Constantin».
3. Fort «Constantin»
Fort Constantine sits off the western end of Kotlin Island, out in the Gulf of Finland, and the sea is the whole point of it. Kotlin is a long, thin strip of land with the island city of Kronstadt at its heart, built by Peter the Great as the base of the Baltic fleet and the shield for St Petersburg. The forts around it were built on shoals and artificial islands to close the channels, which means several of them can only be seen from a distance, or from the water.
Read the complete Fort «Constantin» write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 63 km into the recorded legs you reach Fort «Constantin». Next is The Park «Alexandria».
4. The Park «Alexandria»
Alexandria Park is one part of the great Peterhof estate that most visitors skip, which is a good reason to visit it. Peterhof is known for its Grand Cascade and golden statues, the fountains that Peter the Great designed to rival Versailles, and for the crowds that pack the Lower Park in summer. Alexandria, on the other side of the road, is quieter, with winding paths, ponds, old oaks and a collection of small romantic buildings set among the trees.
Read the complete The Park «Alexandria» write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Park «Alexandria», about halfway. Next is back through Fort «Constantin».
5. back through Fort «Constantin»
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fort «Constantin» write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Fort «Constantin» sits at 98 km, about halfway. Next is back through The Lugovoy.
6. back through The Lugovoy
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Lugovoy write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through The Lugovoy comes up about 157 km into the recorded legs. Next is Krasnoe Selo.
7. Krasnoe Selo
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Krasnoe Selo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Krasnoe Selo closes the day.
Leg by leg
Krasnoe Selo to The Lugovoy
Krasnoe Selo → The Lugovoy is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Lugovoy to Fort «Constantin»
The Lugovoy → Fort «Constantin» is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort «Constantin» to The Park «Alexandria»
Fort «Constantin» → The Park «Alexandria» is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Park «Alexandria» to back through Fort «Constantin»
The Park «Alexandria» → back through Fort «Constantin» is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fort «Constantin» to back through The Lugovoy
back through Fort «Constantin» → back through The Lugovoy is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Lugovoy to Krasnoe Selo
back through The Lugovoy → Krasnoe Selo is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.