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Good news for those who love hiking in nature - a new hiking route has been created in the surroundings of the Zvirgzde White Dune! The approximately 5.2 kilometers long marked walking trail will allow its visitors to embrace the unique landscape and diversity of the dune’s environmental values.

The circular route starts at the shed and leads up wooden stairs to the dune ridge, where it proceeds along the ever-changing terrain through various types of forests, including both natural roads and previously inhabited forest trails. The route is marked with white and green colors.

One of the most important environmental values of the Zvirgzde White Dune is the capercaillie rut, which LVM specialists take special care of. LVM maintains the forest areas so that they are suitable for capercaillie roosting - mainly these are sparse and well-visible pine forests. Therefore, when walking along the ridge, you can observe the thinned young growth of trees. The walking route also leads along the capercaillie rut protection zone.

The dune itself is a unique natural gem, too. While walking the route, the adventurers can observe several measures taken by LVM to improve the quality of the habitat over the past three years: junipers on the dune ridge have been cleared of overgrowth by removing deciduous trees, and old and large pines have also been cleared of overgrowth in order to have more sunlight Now they are suitable homes for rare insects. The dune ridge itself has also been cleared of the invasive shadbush, which would otherwise suppress local species.

The most observant nature walkers will notice burned birch stumps – a relatively unusual method used to prevent birches from sprouting too quickly and regrowing in places where they are not desired, and consequently cut down. Such forest work preserves the environment necessary for species characteristic of the inland dune.

While enjoying a vacation in one of the most impressive inland dune massifs in Latvia, nature tourists are invited to behave responsibly towards environmental values and the established tourism infrastructure. To reduce erosion of the dune, LVM reinforced the slope with wickerwork last year. Therefore, pedestrians are encouraged to use wooden stairs or a path leading up to the ridge, while motorcyclists are encouraged to travel only on roads and natural trails. Driving off-road in the forest is prohibited by law, except for transport for forest management work.