Nemunas Loops Regional Park

Between Prienai and Balbieriškis the Nemunas turns through a set of tight meanders, cutting into the high bank on the outside of each bend so that steep wooded slopes rise directly from the water, and the park protects that stretch. The viewpoints on the bluffs are the substance of it: platforms and clearings looking down onto the river swinging back on itself, best when the leaves have turned. The river is used for canoeing and there is a network of cycling and walking trails, along with hillforts, old manors and mineral springs. Birštonas sits inside one of the loops. Škėvonys ridge and the Vytautas hill viewpoint are among the better overlooks. It is gentle country, popular with Lithuanians and almost unknown abroad.

What you actually see

• The horseshoe bends - the river doubling back below wooded bluffs.
• Bluff viewpoints - platforms looking down onto the loops.
• Canoeing water - the Nemunas used for multi-day paddles.
• Hillforts and manors - the older layers along the valley.

When to go

May to September for canoeing and walking; late September and October give the best colour from the viewpoints. Winter with snow is quiet and attractive but many facilities close.

Honest expectations

The landscape is gentle rather than dramatic; visitors expecting gorges will find wooded slopes. Viewpoints need a car or a bike to reach. Signage is mostly in Lithuanian. Canoe hire needs booking in season.

Nearby

Birštonas sits within the loops; Prienai lies north.