By Lake Ełckie, Ełk offers more than six kilometres of promenade, with a walking and cycling path. It is ideal for walks, family bike rides and inline skating.
Lakeside paths and active pursuits
The promenade is a way to include time outdoors in your trip: on foot, by bike or on inline skates. The high ropes course is also located on the shore of Lake Ełckie. It has three courses of varying difficulty. Check whether the park is currently open before visiting.
Kopernika Park offers a different focus. Designed as an educational park, it introduces children and young people to astronomy and physics through playful activities. If you are planning a themed visit like this on a trip with young people, you can include it alongside the lakeside paths; check the current visiting conditions in advance.
Water Tower and city history
The water tower in Ełk was built in 1895 in what was then Przedmieście Garncarskie. The historic tower houses the Muzeum Kropli Wody. Its exhibits explore the past of the city and the region. The museum is closed indefinitely, so a visit cannot currently be planned. The tower nevertheless remains a prominent historic landmark for anyone interested in the city's history.
The range of things to explore makes Ełk appealing for different kinds of trips: the lakeside promenade offers a longer route for outdoor activities, while the water tower provides a link to the past. Kopernika Park complements these attractions with its playful approach to science. This lets you tailor your stay to your group's interests without choosing the same type of activity every day.
In the wider destination of Lyck
There are also opportunities to enjoy the water in Ełk, within the wider destination of Lyck. Lake Ełckie, in the city centre, offers opportunities for sailing, stand-up paddleboarding and fishing. Two bathing beaches are located right by the promenade. This means you can choose water sports and time at the beach as separate activities in addition to the lakeside paths.
Another option is the Ełk Narrow-Gauge Railway, which currently offers tourist passenger rides on trains hauled by a diesel locomotive along the Ełk–Sypitki–Ełk route. The rides run according to a timetable or by request. Check the current options before making plans.
Routes in the wider destination of Lyck vary, among other things, in length and course. The blue “Morenowe Wzgórza” trail is 30 kilometres long and runs from Ełk via Straduny, Piaski, Malinówka, Królowa Wola, Czerwonka, Grabnik and Chrzanowo, and back to Ełk. The Papal Trail starts in Ełk at the place where Saint John Paul II celebrated the Eucharist on 8 June 1999. Its stages can be completed year-round on foot or by bicycle, and in winter on skis.
Ełk's cultural character also includes a group of 19th-century tenement houses in the city centre, featuring Art Nouveau and eclectic elements. Kopernika Park is on Wojska Polskiego Street, near the mouth of the Ełk River. Its design is based on a planetary system, and it introduces children and young people to astronomy and physics in a playful way.
Getting here and finding your way around
Ełk is served by national roads 16 and 65 and railway lines 38, 41, 219 and 223. The railway and bus stations are right next to each other: the railway station is at 16 Dąbrowskiego Street, and the bus station is at 1 Dąbrowskiego Street. Their location makes it easy to find your way on arrival; check the relevant timetables for your journey.
Discover more destinations
Discover more destinations: Bartosze, Straduny, Szeligi, Lepaki Wielkie, Sikory Juskie, Golubie, Zawady Ełckie, Nowa Wieś Ełcka.
Go to the wider travel overview: Lyck.
