66 Seen Weg: from manicured lawn to the forest

In 25 km from Bad Saarow to Wendisch Rietz

On my 11th day on the 66 lakes trail I walk from Bad Saarow to Wendisch Rietz. You could walk the approximate 10 km along the Scharmützel lake’s edge, but the 66 Seen Weg takes you on a detour via Kolpin and Storkow. I find out the writer of my guidebook and I disagree on beauty. This stretch is described as “without a doubt one of the most beautiful stretches”. Maybe I just wasn’t feeling it today, but I’ve seen better.

No question, the start point in Bad Saarow is absolutely beautiful. This spa town has perfectly manicured lawns, even at the edge of the Scharmützel lake. Robotic lawn mowers make sure that there is never a single blade of grass overlooked. Here you find big houses, beautiful hotels, restaurants, boat rental and many other tourist facilities. The trail doesn’t stay here long though. A small path through a lush part of forest takes me away and into the actual forest. I can’t find my way and pop out in the wrong place. It takes me a while to figure it out, but I manage to find my way back to the trail.

I end up at what I think was the most beautiful part of the day: the lake at Kolpin. The walk follows the lake’s edge to the other side of it and there are some nice bathing spots on the way. But today hardly anyone is there. It’s still sunny, but the weather will change according to the forecast. Later in the day the clouds start rolling in. For now though, I enjoy the quiet and beauty of this place all by myself.

The next place of interest on my walk are the inner dunes at the edge of the forest near Storkow. To get there I follow a few long straight roads again. When I get closer, it’s gets a bit hillier and the trail meanders in between the pines. Some stairs lead up to the top of the dunes. I expected something bigger, but I guess it was still a nice sight.

From Storkow I follow the edge of the Storkower Dolgensee to my finish point. For a long time I don’t see it, because I am on a bike trail between Wolfswinkel and Dahmsdorf. After Dahmsdorf there is a bathing spot at the lake. It’s pretty busy here so I decide to keep going, but the sight of the lake is obscured by the trees for the rest of the path. Before I know it I hit the train tracks leading to Wendisch Rietz. Before catching the train back I do get another glimpse of the Scharmützelsee. In the morning I started at its other end in Bad Saarow. I’ve covered another 25 km and I’ve only got 6 days left before I close the loop in Potsdam.