Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park

Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park, on Germany's Baltic Sea coast around Zingst, the Darss peninsula, Hiddensee island and western Rügen, is the largest national park in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. It is famous for wind-sculpted trees on wild beaches, shallow lagoons called "Bodden," deep coastal forest and one of Central Europe's great crane gatherings every fall. For things to do on the German Baltic coast, few places match it.

A coast in constant motion

The park was created on October 1, 1990, just days before German reunification, as part of East Germany's last-minute national park program. Officially covering about 300 square miles (786 km²), it is the third-largest national park in Germany. Roughly half of it is open Baltic Sea and more than a quarter is lagoon water.

The coastline here never stands still. On the Darss West Beach the sea eats into the cliffs and topples trees, while at Darsser Ort and on Hiddensee new land keeps growing. Instead of tides, wind drives the water: offshore winds expose shallow "wind flats," rich feeding grounds for migrating birds. Some 163 bird species breed in the park, and gray seals and harbor seals are regular visitors.

Highlights

• Darss West Beach (Weststrand): one of Germany's wildest beaches, with gnarled, windswept pines and beeches and fallen trunks on the sand.
• Darsser Ort Lighthouse and NATUREUM: a branch of the German Oceanographic Museum set in the old keeper's house, with Baltic aquariums and coastal exhibits. Reach it on foot, by bike or by horse-drawn carriage from Prerow.
• Sundische Wiese and Pramort: a small ranger station and exhibition east of Zingst, starting point for a bike ride along the dike with sweeping wilderness views.
• Hiddensee: a car-free island, much of it inside the park.

Crane season

According to the park authority, more than 70,000 cranes can stop over in the area between the Barth lagoon and western Rügen each fall, flying in at dusk to roost in shallow water. In 2026, access to the Sundische Wiese is restricted from September 7 to November 1: without a national park card you may stay from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the area is closed to everyone from sunset to 8 a.m. Watch from marked paths and platforms with binoculars, or join a ranger-led crane walk.

Hours, admission and getting there

The park is free to visit outside core zones and seasonal closures. The Sundische Wiese exhibition (Landstraße 33, Zingst) is open daily; in October from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., in November and December 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (as of October 2026). It is closed December 23 to 27, 2026, and is wheelchair accessible.

Zingst is roughly a 3- to 3.5-hour drive from Berlin and about an hour from Rostock. By rail, take a regional train to Barth and continue by bus to Zingst; a planned railway extension to Zingst has no opening date yet.

Good to know

Dogs must be leashed year-round everywhere in the park, including West Beach, and may not enter the water. Stay on trails in core zones, and do not fly drones or camp outside campsites. Some beaches close during the bird breeding season. Is it worth visiting? Yes, especially in September and October, when cranes call overhead and red deer bellow in the Darss forest.

Nearby

• Stralsund: UNESCO-listed old town with the Ozeaneum aquarium.
• Ahrenshoop: artists' village with a modern art museum.
• Prerow and Zingst: seaside resorts with piers and wide sandy beaches.