Losiny Ostrov National Park

Losiny Ostrov - Elk Island - was made a national park in 1983 and was among the first in Russia, protecting about 116 square kilometres of pine, birch and spruce forest, peat bog and river valley that runs from inside the Moscow ring road out into the region beyond. It had been a protected hunting forest since the fifteenth century, which is why it survived the city growing around it. Moose live in it, along with boar, deer, foxes, beavers and around 170 bird species, and the name is literal: a wild moose population inside the boundary of a city of twelve million. A biostation in the Mytishchi section keeps rescued and habituated moose in enclosures and runs feeding visits, which is the reliable way to see them; encountering one on the trails is possible and is a matter of luck and caution, since moose are large and unpredictable.

History

The land is known from the 14th century, from the wills of Ivan Kalita, Dmitri Donskoi and other princes, and it later became a guarded hunting ground of the grand princes and tsars. It was declared reserved in 1799, received its first forest management in 1842, a national park was first proposed in 1909, and the park was created in 1983; the Elk Biological Station has worked since 2002 (Wikipedia, Losiny Ostrov National Park).

What you'll find

• The scale - 116 square kilometres of forest running out of Moscow into the region.
• The moose - a wild population inside the boundary of a city of twelve million.
• The biostation - habituated animals in enclosures with feeding visits.
• The history - a protected hunting forest since the fifteenth century.

When to go

May to September for walking; winter for cross-country skiing and tracks in snow. Two to four hours. The biostation runs on a schedule and needs booking.

Good to know

Moose are genuinely dangerous if approached, particularly cows with calves - keep distance and do not follow them. Mosquitoes and ticks are severe from May to July, and ticks here carry encephalitis. Parts of the park are boggy. Some sectors are closed to visitors.

Nearby

VDNKh and the Ostankino tower are south-west; Mytishchi is north.

Key facts