Kirovsk has the only trail in Leningrad Oblast that you can honestly call lit. Loops of 1, 2, 3 and 5 km, a separate classic track around the Bolotny Krug swamp loop, and why it is easier to get here by car.
Kirovsk is in the Kirovsky District of Leningrad Oblast, south of Lake Ladoga, between Mga and Shlisselburg. It is the same district as the ski labyrinth at Ivanovskaya station: if you have already skied there, you have been in the part of the oblast next to this trail.
The main reason people come here is the lit trail. Around St Petersburg that is a rarity: almost everywhere the ski track has no light at all, and an evening outing means relying on your own headlamp. Here the first few hundred metres are lit — and that completely changes evening skiing.
You cannot reach the trail by commuter train. Kirovsk sits away from the line: the nearest station stays about 20 km away, and you still need transport from there. So the main option is a car.
By car it is straightforward: from St Petersburg the road runs towards Mga and Kirovsk, through Kirovsky District, and the entrance to the town is ordinary. In winter keep the weather in mind: if the snow is coming down hard, the stretch to Kirovsk can come to a standstill, and the daylight hours are short.
Where the trail actually starts. The trail has no street address, so the landmark is the coordinates: 59.899083, 31.007377. This is the entrance from the Kirovsk side — the lit section and the marked loops begin here. Save the point in your navigator in advance: mobile signal is patchy in the forest and there are no signs on the approach.
From the entrance the trail spreads into loops: green 1 km, blue 2 km, red 3 km and the 2.3 km Bolotny Krug classic loop. On a first visit, start on the lit stretch — it shows you how the trail is laid out and makes it easy to switch to any loop.
On the official map the trail is marked out in loops, with signs and a separate ski «hill». The track is cut and, judging by its condition, someone looks after it.
| Route | Length | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Green | 1 km | short loop |
| Blue | 2 km | medium |
| Red | 3 km | long |
| «Bolotny Krug» (Swamp Loop) | 2.3 km | classic, a separate line |
| Pedestrian path | — | for walks, separate from the ski loops |
The map marks the start, the finish and the «Gorka» (hill); in total the waymarked routes add up to 5 km.
The feature that makes this trail worth choosing is the lighting: the first few hundred metres run under light, then the trail disappears into the forest. In the evening it looks unusual: in the middle of forest and bog, a bright corridor you ski along as if on an avenue.
As on other ski trails in the oblast, everything here rests not on a budget but on people: the local administration met them halfway, and the track itself was and is made by specific individuals. So here you can support those who groom it — with a voluntary donation or a fee for use, if you feel like it. It is the same principle the Orekhovo trail lives by: entry is open, and the track exists because someone goes out every week and grooms it.
A separate attraction is the «Bolotny Krug» (Swamp Loop), 2.3 km in classic style. It runs across a bog, and it is exactly what it sounds like: you ski not on a forest road but on ice and snow over a bog.
One caveat about the weather: if the bog has not frozen solid yet, it will be wet. In that case stick to the main loops with their groomed surface and leave the swamp loop for a spell of steady frost.
From our own trip: the trail has parking and a car park, with a maintenance hut next to it — things happen on the trail from time to time and someone looks after it. It is a lived-in, active place, but not a tourist attraction with signs and a ticket desk.
If you arrive towards evening, you may catch everything closed. So it is better to plan your first visit in daylight and with time to spare: see where the parking is, where the entrance to the track is, and how the descents are laid out.
An important difference from forest tracks meant for walks: the area is set aside for skiing. You cannot walk the loops on foot, and sledges are not an option either — it destroys the groomed surface and is dangerous on the descents. For walks the map shows a separate pedestrian path.
The board with the map also lists outright bans: motorcycles, quad bikes, snowmobiles, horses and cars. This is not a formality: the trail is narrow and has slopes, and vehicles on it mean injuries to people.
The lit sections here carry most of the load in the dark, but beyond them you still need your own headlamp — exactly as on the Orekhovo and Ivanovskaya trails. On how to ski in the dark, what changes in how it feels and what extra dangers a winter night brings, we have a separate article about night skiing.
Kirovsky District is the most ski-oriented part of the oblast in the sense that it has both a groomed trail and forest tracks:
Kirovsk is in the Kirovsky District of Leningrad Oblast, south of Lake Ladoga, between Mga and Shlisselburg. This is not Kirovsk in Murmansk Oblast (the Khibiny Mountains) — that is a different trail and a different region.
Yes. The trail in Kirovsk is lit: the first few hundred metres run under light, and beyond that you need your own headlamp.
No, the nearest station stays about 20 km from the trail. The main option is by car.
A separate 2.3 km section of the trail that runs in classic style right across a bog. In unsettled frost it is wet there — then people ski the main loops instead.
No, the area is set aside for skiing, and sledges are not allowed either. For walks the map shows a separate pedestrian path; motorcycles, quad bikes, snowmobiles, horses and cars are banned on the trail.