Lake Solina

Solina is a man made lake, created when the San was dammed in the 1960s, and it holds more water than any other reservoir in Poland. The dam wall itself is the main set piece: over eighty metres high, with a walkway along the crest that looks down the concrete face on one side and out over a branching green lake on the other. The shoreline follows the old valleys, so the water fingers out between wooded ridges and looks more natural than its origin suggests. Polanczyk on the western shore is the main resort, with a strip of spa hotels, jetties and boat operators running trips around the bays.

History

The first hydropower plan for the San was drawn up in 1921 by Karol Pomianowski of the Warsaw University of Technology, and survey work followed in 1936-1937. The project was revived in 1955 and work began in 1960; nine villages, Solina among them, were wholly or partly flooded, and the lake was created in 1968 with the completion of the Solina Dam, built by some 2,000 workers (Wikipedia, Lake Solina).

The landscape

• The dam crest - a public walkway across the top with the drop on one side and the reservoir on the other.
• Boat trips - hour long circuits from Polanczyk and Solina that get you into the wooded arms of the lake.
• Jezioro Myczkowieckie - the smaller reservoir immediately downstream, quieter and good for a shoreline walk.
• The lake viewpoints - roads above the western shore give the standard overview of the branching water.

When to go

July and August are the swimming and boating months and also the busiest, with the dam crest packed all afternoon. June and September have warm days, working boats and much easier parking. Water levels are drawn down at times, which exposes muddy margins, so early summer usually looks better than late autumn.

Practical notes

The dam approach is lined with souvenir stalls, inflatable toys and fast food, and it feels like a fairground rather than a natural site. In August the car parks fill early and prices in Polanczyk are high. The water is cold, jet skis are noisy in the open sections, and if the reservoir has been lowered the shoreline is a bare band of mud and stone.

Nearby

The Bieszczady poloniny start under an hour east, and Sanok with its large open air museum is north.

Key facts