Why this ride
506 km from Gorelovo to Gorelovo, about 8 h 40 of riding. The stops in between: Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof, The I.Repin Estate «The Penates», Fort «Krasnaya Gorka» and Fort «Ino». The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Volkhonskoe Highway and Fort «Ino»
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 506 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 8 h 40
- 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 29 km this is Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 29 km
- Named road
- Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Volkhonskoe Highway
The Volkhonskoe Highway is not a scenic mountain road but a historic route on the southern edge of Saint Petersburg, running out from the city towards Gorelovo and the old road to Krasnoye Selo. It belongs to the network of eighteenth and nineteenth century highways that linked the capital with the imperial residences and military camps to the south and west, and it is included in the wider protected area of the historic centre of Saint Petersburg and its related monuments. What you see today is a mix of suburban growth, open fields and stretches of tree-lined road, with the ghosts of history underneath.
Read the complete Volkhonskoe Highway write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Volkhonskoe Highway is where the day begins. Next is Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof.
2. Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof
Peter the Great wanted a palace by the sea that would rival Versailles, and he chose this stretch of the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland, about thirty kilometres west of Saint Petersburg. What became Peterhof is a town built around an imperial residence: the Grand Palace on a terrace above the sea, the Grand Cascade of gilded statues and fountains falling toward a canal that runs straight to the water, and parks full of pavilions, including Peter's own small Dutch style house, Monplaisir, right on the shore. The fountains run on gravity, fed by springs on the higher ground inland, a feat of eighteenth century engineering.
Read the complete Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof comes up about 29 km into the recorded legs. Next is The I.Repin Estate «The Penates», 39 km on.
3. The I.Repin Estate «The Penates»
In 1903 the painter Ilya Repin, the most famous Russian artist of his day, moved to a wooden house in the village of Kuokkala on the Gulf of Finland, which he named the Penates, after the Roman household gods. He lived and worked there until his death in 1930, and after Finnish independence in 1917, he found himself living abroad, refusing invitations to return to the Soviet Union. The house, with its glass-roofed studio and eccentric architecture, was destroyed in the Second World War and rebuilt afterwards, and it is now a museum with many of his paintings and possessions.
Read the complete The I.Repin Estate «The Penates» write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 89 km into the recorded legs you reach The I.Repin Estate «The Penates». Next is Fort «Krasnaya Gorka».
4. 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», about halfway. Next is Fort «Ino».
5. Fort «Ino»
In pine woods on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, west of the resort strip of Zelenogorsk, lie the shattered concrete remains of Fort Ino. It was built from 1909 as part of the defences of Saint Petersburg, a key battery of Peter the Great's Naval Fortress, designed to close the gulf to enemy fleets with heavy guns. When Finland became independent, the fort ended up on Finnish territory, and under the Treaty of Tartu in 1920 its fortifications were to be dismantled, which is why what remains today is mostly blasted concrete, scattered among the trees and dunes.
Read the complete Fort «Ino» write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fort «Ino» sits at 158 km, about halfway. Next is back through Fort «Krasnaya Gorka».
6. back through 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 through Fort «Krasnaya Gorka» comes up about 354 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through The I.Repin Estate «The Penates», 39 km on.
7. back through The I.Repin Estate «The Penates»
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The I.Repin Estate «The Penates» write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 420 km into the recorded legs you reach back through The I.Repin Estate «The Penates». Next is back through Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof.
8. back through Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Historical Centre of the Town 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 Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof, late in the day. Next is Volkhonskoe Highway.
9. Volkhonskoe Highway
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Volkhonskoe Highway 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 506 km.
Leg by leg
Volkhonskoe Highway to Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof
Volkhonskoe Highway → Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof to The I.Repin Estate «The Penates»
Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof → The I.Repin Estate «The Penates» is 60 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The I.Repin Estate «The Penates» to Fort «Krasnaya Gorka»
The I.Repin Estate «The Penates» → Fort «Krasnaya Gorka» is 65 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort «Krasnaya Gorka» to Fort «Ino»
Fort «Krasnaya Gorka» → Fort «Ino» is 105 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort «Ino» to back through Fort «Krasnaya Gorka»
Fort «Ino» → back through Fort «Krasnaya Gorka» is 95 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fort «Krasnaya Gorka» to back through The I.Repin Estate «The Penates»
back through Fort «Krasnaya Gorka» → back through The I.Repin Estate «The Penates» is 66 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The I.Repin Estate «The Penates» to back through Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof
back through The I.Repin Estate «The Penates» → back through Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof is 58 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof to Volkhonskoe Highway
back through Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof → Volkhonskoe Highway is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.