Camping in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania has the longest coastline in Germany and more than a thousand lakes inland. Rügen, Usedom and Hiddensee lie off the coast, the shallow bodden lagoons behind them, and in the south the lake district around the Müritz. It is the most thinly populated German state, and the campsites show it.
The year in this region
October: Thousands of cranes over the Bodden
From September to November up to 70,000 cranes pass through the Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft national park. In October they fly out in long lines to their roosts in the evening and stand in shallow water all night. The Kranorama sits by the Günzer See. Since September 2025 it belongs to the NABU centre Kranichwelten.
In the middle of the month the sun rises at 7:38 AM and sets at 6:16 PM. That leaves 10 hours and 38 minutes of daylight.
What nature does this month
- Apple picking starts around October 9 (usually between September 29 and October 17)
- Beech turns to autumn colours around October 20 (usually between October 13 and October 25)
- Oak turns to autumn colours around October 25 (usually between October 19 and October 30)
Water and air: Open-Meteo, measured averages. How busy: share of school holidays 2027 across all sixteen federal states. Nature dates: German Weather Service, phenological observations 2014 to 2026 at 294 stations in the region, typical day.
Tours in this region
Marked tours that fit into a day from a site, and one multi day tour per kind.
- Hiking
Müritz-Nationalpark-Wanderweg
The trail crosses the largest forest national park in Germany, with pines, beeches and more than a hundred lakes. White tailed eagles breed here from late winter, ospreys from April, and in October cranes rest in their thousands. At the hides you stay longer than planned.
172.9 kmMulti day tour
- Hiking
Hochuferweg Sassnitz–Lohme
Eleven kilometres along the top of Rügen's chalk coast, through the national park's beech forest, which is world heritage. Between the trunks the view opens again and again down to the water, at the Königsstuhl at the end from 118 metres. The path is narrow and rooty, and it is best early in the morning.
11.2 km
- Cycling
Mecklenburgischer Seen Rundweg
A loop through the Sternberg lake district and the Nossentin Heath in the west of the Mecklenburg lake district, the largest connected lakeland in Germany. Pine and deciduous woods, tree lined avenues and manor houses lie between the lakes, and the route touches the water again and again. The climbs are short and the gaps between villages rarely long.
265 kmLoop tourMulti day tour
- Cycling
Ostseeküsten-Radweg
The longest coastal route in Germany, from the Danish border to Poland, mostly flat with short climbs at the steep cliffs. It runs sometimes on the dyke, sometimes through avenues of old limes, sometimes right along the promenade. Ferries break the stages, so the timetable is part of the planning.
1,075 kmMulti day tour
- Cycling
Müritz Rundweg
Once around the Müritz, the largest lake lying entirely within Germany. In the east the route runs through the national park and stays in the forest; in the west it follows the shore through the bathing villages. Flat enough for a day, good enough for two.
83 kmLoop tour
- Canoeing
Wasserwanderstrecke Obere Havel im Müritz-Nationalpark
The upper Havel inside the national park is narrow, clear and overgrown with alder; in places you paddle as if through a tunnel. Motorboats are not allowed, so it is quiet. With its 23 kilometres and four portages the stretch fills a day, and it is a suitable introduction to paddling.
22.5 km
Tours: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Lengths computed from the mapped course, as of September 12, 2026.
Animals you can meet here
September to OctoberCommon crane
At times more than 70,000 cranes rest in the shallow bodden waters south of Darß and Zingst in autumn, one of the most important staging areas in central Europe. The evening is the moment: they come in from the fields to roost in the shallows.
all yearGrey seal
The largest predator in the Baltic had almost gone from these waters and has been back since the nineties. The animals haul out to rest on the sandbanks off Rügen and around the Greifswalder Oie, visible with a bit of luck from an excursion boat.
all yearWhite-tailed eagle
With a wingspan of over two metres it is hard to mistake. The north east holds the largest population in Germany, and over the lakes and lagoons one is usually in the air once you have watched for a while.
April to SeptemberOsprey
The osprey likes to build on pylons, so its nest often stands in plain sight above the country. Hunting, it drops from twenty metres into the water and comes up again with the fish in its talons.
Pictures: Freepik
Dark skies
Places certified by DarkSky International.
Naturpark Nossentiner/Schwinzer Heide
Certified in December 2025. Pine woods, heath and quiet lakes between Krakow am See and Malchow, with wide stretches where no light burns at all once it is dark.
Getting there
- 0 h 45 minRostock
- 3 h 15 minBerlin
- 3 h 30 minHamburg
- 5 h 30 minLeipzig
- 5 h 45 minHannover
- 9 h 00 minKöln
Good to know
No fires in the Nationalpark
The ordinance for Nationalpark Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft forbids lighting a fire. That applies across the whole area, the beach included. In woodland and within fifty meters of it, fires are banned throughout the state.
Cranes in autumn
Tens of thousands of cranes rest between Rügen and the Darß in October. The viewing points are signposted; walking to the roosts on your own drives the birds off and is not allowed.
The bodden are shallow
The lagoons are shallow and warm up fast. The Darß-Zingst chain averages two metres, the larger Greifswalder Bodden almost six. For sailors that means watching the channels, because outside them you run aground quicker than you expect.
Dogs on the beach
Each municipality decides. On many stretches dogs are only allowed on the general beach after the bathing season ends, usually from 1 October, in Kühlungsborn only from 1 November. In high season the marked dog beaches apply, and in some places also early morning and evening hours. In the Jasmund national park a lead is required.
Bridges to Usedom
Both approaches open for shipping, the Peene bridge at Wolgast and the Zecherin bridge. The opening times are posted; a closure lasts up to thirty minutes.
Avenues and cobbles
The old avenues are narrow and the trees stand close to the edge of the road. On some minor roads there is still old cobblestone, which turns slippery in the wet.
Protected landscapes
- Biosphere reserve
- Flusslandschaft Elbe - Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Names and boundaries: © OpenStreetMap contributors.
About this region
Two destinations in one state: on the coast the sites sit behind the dune, in the lake district they come with their own jetty. Anyone who wants both should allow a good two hours between the Baltic beach and the Müritz.
The state is thinly populated and the campsites show it. High season is July and August; in May and September there is still room even close to the beach.
