Drawsko Lakeland

The Drawsko lakeland sits on a belt of hilly moraine left by the last glaciation, which makes it unusual among Polish lake districts - the relief here is genuine, with hills of over two hundred metres and steep wooded shores, where Masuria further east is flatter. Lake Drawsko is the centrepiece: about eighteen square kilometres, up to eighty-three metres deep, which makes it one of the two or three deepest in Poland, with a long peninsula, islands including the substantial Bielawa, and clear water that makes it a diving lake as well as a sailing one. The Drawa river runs out of the system and is the kayak route south into the national park. Around are beech and pine forest, small towns, and far fewer people than Masuria. Czaplinek on the shore is the main base. It is one of the better quiet water areas in Poland and is not on the standard visitor circuit.

What you actually see

• Real relief - hilly moraine with steep wooded shores, unlike the flatter lakelands east.
• Lake Drawsko - eighteen square kilometres and up to eighty-three metres deep.
• Islands and a peninsula - including Bielawa, substantial enough to be farmed historically.
• The Drawa kayak route - running south from the lakes into the national park.

When to go

May to September. Two to three days.

Honest expectations

It is much quieter than Masuria, which also means fewer services and less infrastructure. A car or a kayak is needed - public transport is thin. Water is cold and deep. Summer weekends fill the main lakeside spots.

Nearby

Drawa National Park is south; Szczecinek is east.