Rowy with kids - beaches, a harbour on the Lupawa river and ice cream every day

Rowy is a seaside village between Ustka and Leba on the Polish Baltic coast, where the Lupawa river flows out of Lake Gardno and into the sea. It has two lifeguarded beaches, a small harbour and the start of a nature trail in the Slowinski National Park. We spent six days here in August 2022, at the end of our summer in Poland.

It was a calm holiday. Our youngest daughter, still a baby then, was with us, and so was Lamia, our golden retriever. Instead of a campsite, we stayed in a house we rented from a cousin near Rowy.

Arriving from Lake Drawsko

On 13 August we arrived from Lake Drawsko. In the evening we went shopping, and it was clear at once that this was the middle of the season: the shop was as busy as before Christmas.

The church in Rowy and a milkshake

On Sunday, 14 August, we went to the Church of Saints Peter and Paul. It was built in 1844-1849 for the Lutheran community, from cut boulders brought from Stone Island on Lake Gardno. After 1945 it became a Catholic church.

Then we went to a milkshake bar, and in the evening to the beach. Lamia stretched out on the sand, and we left the word "POZNAŃ" written in the sand, the name of our home town.

On 15 August we did not drive anywhere. We just walked around Rowy.

Orzechowo beach

On 16 August we went to the beach in Orzechowo, closer to Ustka. It is wide and sandy, and to the east of it the cliff coast begins. Our youngest spent the day in her pram, in a flowery hat, and she was very happy.

In the afternoon we went back to Rowy for ice cream and walked along the Lupawa river by the harbour. The bridge over the river opened in 1933. Before that, a ferry ran between the two parts of the village for 40 years. At the end of the day we went to the playground, and our youngest had a go on the swing.

Water balls and a sunset

On 17 August it was the playground and ice cream again, and in the afternoon the highlight of the day: water balls. You climb into a big clear ball, it is closed and filled with air, and then you try to walk on the water in a pool.

In the evening we watched the sunset over the Baltic.

Our last photo by the sea

On the morning of 18 August we went to the beach once more. That is where we took a photo of all five kids together, with the sea behind them. At 15:00 we set off for home and arrived at 21:00.

The whole holiday is in our post Summer in Poland 2022: the Karkonosze, Lake Drawsko and the Baltic Sea.

Practical info

Checked in November 2026.

• Lifeguarded beaches: Rowy has two official swimming areas, Rowy Zachod (West) and Rowy Wschod (East). In 2026 lifeguards worked from 27 June to 31 August, 10:00-18:00.
• Orzechowo: a wide, quiet beach, but we did not find it on the list of lifeguarded swimming areas. Treat it as a wild beach.
• Slowinski National Park: the "Rowy" nature trail starts in the eastern part of the village. Tickets cost 10 zł for adults and 5 zł reduced, and in the Rowy area they are sold in July and August.
• Water balls: a summer attraction in Rowy.