Why this ride
A 394 km round trip from Ol’gino - roughly 5 h 40 in the saddle. The stops in between: Zelenogorsky, The E.I.Lopukhina's, Koltushskoe Highway and Lindulovskaya Roshcha. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
The Water-bringing system of Peterhof and Lindulovskaya Roshcha
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 394 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 40
- 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 34 km this is Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 33 km
- Named road
- Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. The Water-bringing system of Peterhof
The fountains of Peterhof run without a single pump, and that is the cleverest thing about them. When Peter the Great planned his gardens in the 1710s and 1720s, engineers led by Vasily Tuvolkov worked out that the water of the Ropsha hills, about twenty kilometres to the south, stood high enough above the Gulf of Finland to feed the fountains by gravity alone. They dug canals, built ponds and laid pipes, so that the water flows from the heights to the Upper Garden and down to the Great Cascade, where it shoots high into the air. The system, still essentially the same, is part of the UNESCO listing for Saint Petersburg.
Read the complete The Water-bringing system of Peterhof write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Water-bringing system of Peterhof is where the day begins. Next is Zelenogorsky.
2. 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
Zelenogorsky comes up 49 km in. Next is The E.I.Lopukhina's, 49 km on.
3. The E.I.Lopukhina's
North of Saint Petersburg's centre, the city thins out into a mix of suburbs, dachas, pine woods and the long marshy shores of the Karelian Isthmus.
Read the complete The E.I.Lopukhina's write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
98 km in you reach The E.I.Lopukhina's. Next is Koltushskoe Highway.
4. Koltushskoe Highway
East of Saint Petersburg, the Koltushskoe highway runs through suburban sprawl and countryside toward the village of Koltushi, and it belongs to a memorial landscape that ties the whole region together: the Green Belt of Glory, a chain of monuments marking the defensive line around Leningrad during the siege of 1941 to 1944, when nearly nine hundred days of blockade cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians. Monuments, steles and memorials stand along the roads where the front lines and supply routes ran, including the Road of Life across Lake Ladoga.
Read the complete Koltushskoe Highway write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Koltushskoe Highway, about halfway. Next is Lindulovskaya Roshcha.
5. Lindulovskaya Roshcha
Out on the Karelian Isthmus, in a landscape of pine, birch and sandy soil, stands a grove of larches that looks entirely out of place. The Lindulovskaya Grove was planted in 1738 by an admiral, Fyodor Soimonov, who wanted to grow shipbuilding timber for the Russian navy, and he chose Siberian larch, a durable and rot-resistant wood. Some of the trees are nearly three centuries old and very tall, and the grove is protected as a natural monument, the oldest planted larch forest in Russia. Walking among the trunks, with their orange-grey bark, and the soft light filtering through the needles, is surprisingly moving.
Read the complete Lindulovskaya Roshcha write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Lindulovskaya Roshcha sits at 197 km, about halfway. Next is back through Koltushskoe Highway.
6. back through Koltushskoe Highway
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Koltushskoe Highway write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Koltushskoe Highway comes up 246 km in. Next is back through The E.I.Lopukhina's, 49 km on.
7. back through The E.I.Lopukhina's
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The E.I.Lopukhina's write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
295 km in you reach back through The E.I.Lopukhina's. Next is back through Zelenogorsky.
8. Back to The Water-bringing system of Peterhof
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Water-bringing system of Peterhof write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Zelenogorsky, late in the day. Next is The Water-bringing system of Peterhof.
9. The Water-bringing system of Peterhof
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Water-bringing system of Peterhof 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 393 km.
Leg by leg
The Water-bringing system of Peterhof to Zelenogorsky
The Water-bringing system of Peterhof → Zelenogorsky is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Zelenogorsky to The E.I.Lopukhina's
Zelenogorsky → The E.I.Lopukhina's is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The E.I.Lopukhina's to Koltushskoe Highway
The E.I.Lopukhina's → Koltushskoe Highway is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Koltushskoe Highway to Lindulovskaya Roshcha
Koltushskoe Highway → Lindulovskaya Roshcha is 87 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Lindulovskaya Roshcha to back through Koltushskoe Highway
Lindulovskaya Roshcha → back through Koltushskoe Highway is 87 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Koltushskoe Highway to back through The E.I.Lopukhina's
back through Koltushskoe Highway → back through The E.I.Lopukhina's is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The E.I.Lopukhina's to Back to The Water-bringing system of Peterhof
back through The E.I.Lopukhina's → Back to The Water-bringing system of Peterhof is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.