Why this ride
From Kronstadt it runs 366 km to Kronstadt; allow about 5 h 59 of riding. On the way it passes Oranienbaumsky Springboard, Tallinskoe Highway, Park «The Menagerie» and The Blocade Ring. The coast is the point of it.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
The Coastal Fort «Reef» and The Blocade Ring
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 366 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 59
- 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
Water arrives beside the road and stays for 34 km. The line follows the shore because there is nowhere else for it to go — slow enough to look. The surface follows the shoreline, so the corners arrive where the water decided, not where an engineer did.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 35 km
- Named road
- Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore
Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore
For about 34 km this is Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it. Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 34 km
- Named road
- Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. The Coastal Fort «Reef»
In the shallow, grey waters of the Gulf of Finland, a chain of fortified islands guards the sea approach to Saint Petersburg. Peter the Great founded the naval base of Kronstadt on Kotlin Island in 1703, and over the following two centuries forts were built on artificial islets and reefs to the north and south, to form a defensive screen. In many cases the forts are military or ruined, and visits require permission.
Read the complete The Coastal Fort «Reef» write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Coastal Fort «Reef» is where the day begins. Next is Oranienbaumsky Springboard.
2. Oranienbaumsky Springboard
The Oranienbaum Springboard is not a single building but a piece of ground, and once you know the story the low woods and fields south of the Gulf of Finland look entirely different. In September 1941, as German and Finnish forces closed the ring around Leningrad, a pocket of coast around Oranienbaum, today's Lomonosov, held out. It was cut off from the city by land, supplied across the water and under the guns of Kronstadt, and it never fell. In January 1944 the Second Shock Army broke out of this pocket as one jaw of the offensive that finally lifted the siege.
Read the complete Oranienbaumsky Springboard write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Oranienbaumsky Springboard comes up about 35 km into the recorded legs. Next is Tallinskoe Highway.
3. Tallinskoe Highway
Not every historic road is a pretty one, and the Tallinn highway on the south-western edge of St Petersburg is not trying to win prizes for charm. It is, however, one of the old imperial routes out of the capital, the road toward Narva and Reval, today's Tallinn, and as such it forms part of the UNESCO listing of the historic centre of St Petersburg and its related monuments, which includes the network of roads tying the city to its palaces and estates. Along it, the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries planted suburban residences, military camps and post stations.
Read the complete Tallinskoe Highway write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 69 km into the recorded legs you reach Tallinskoe Highway. Next is Park «The Menagerie».
4. Park «The Menagerie»
Gatchina is one of the great imperial estates ringing St Petersburg, and the Menagerie, the Zverinets, is its wild back garden: a large walled tract of forest north of the palace that was laid out in the eighteenth century as a hunting reserve, with deer and other game kept for the court. Today it is mostly woods, ponds and paths, and on a hot day it is the coolest place within reach.
Read the complete Park «The Menagerie» write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Park «The Menagerie», about halfway. Next is The Blocade Ring.
5. The Blocade Ring
The Blockade Ring stands on the south bank of the Neva, east of Saint Petersburg, close to where the Road of Life began its journey toward Lake Ladoga. It commemorates the siege of Leningrad, which lasted from September 1941 to January 1944, roughly 872 days, and the corridor that kept the city alive. When Shlisselburg fell in September 1941, the city was cut off by land, and the only lifeline ran across Ladoga, by boat in summer and over the ice in winter.
Read the complete The Blocade Ring write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Blocade Ring sits at 172 km, about halfway. Next is back through Park «The Menagerie».
6. back through Park «The Menagerie»
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Park «The Menagerie» write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Park «The Menagerie» comes up about 264 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Tallinskoe Highway.
7. back through Tallinskoe Highway
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Tallinskoe Highway write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 298 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Tallinskoe Highway. Next is back through Oranienbaumsky Springboard.
8. back through Oranienbaumsky Springboard
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Oranienbaumsky Springboard write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Oranienbaumsky Springboard, late in the day. Next is The Coastal Fort «Reef».
9. The Coastal Fort «Reef»
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Coastal Fort «Reef» write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 366 km.
Leg by leg
The Coastal Fort «Reef» to Oranienbaumsky Springboard
The Coastal Fort «Reef» → Oranienbaumsky Springboard is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Oranienbaumsky Springboard to Tallinskoe Highway
Oranienbaumsky Springboard → Tallinskoe Highway is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Tallinskoe Highway to Park «The Menagerie»
Tallinskoe Highway → Park «The Menagerie» is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Park «The Menagerie» to The Blocade Ring
Park «The Menagerie» → The Blocade Ring is 82 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
The Blocade Ring to back through Park «The Menagerie»
The Blocade Ring → back through Park «The Menagerie» is 79 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Park «The Menagerie» to back through Tallinskoe Highway
back through Park «The Menagerie» → back through Tallinskoe Highway is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Tallinskoe Highway to back through Oranienbaumsky Springboard
back through Tallinskoe Highway → back through Oranienbaumsky Springboard is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Oranienbaumsky Springboard to The Coastal Fort «Reef»
back through Oranienbaumsky Springboard → The Coastal Fort «Reef» is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.