The Beaver Trail in the Valdai National Park is located on the eastern shore of Uzhin Lake, near the turnoff to the Northern Lights hotel. The length of the Beaver Trail is 2 kilometers. It runs in a circle around a small swamp. Walking along it, you will see different ecosystems of the middle plain of Russia.
If you are traveling by car, then you need to get to the Valdaika River and, after passing the bridge over it, park near the bus stop. Further 50 meters away you will see the entrance to the forest – this is the beginning of the Beaver Trail. Near the entrance to the trail, you will cross the riverbed of the Valdaika River. There used to be beaver dams here, but now they are gone and the river looks more like a stream. There are many stands where you can read about beavers, which were brought to the Valdai National Park from Belarus in the 19th century. Nowadays, there are several hundred beavers in the park.
A few dozen meters from the river, the trail forks. A circular route begins, passing around the swamp. If you go to the right, the trail goes along a small ridge appeared after the glacier melting. There will be a swamp on the left, and the Valdaika River on the right, but you need to go down a slope of several tens of meters to it. There is a dense spruce forest growing here, the ground in many places is covered with a dense layer of moss.
There are viewing platforms on the northeastern side of the swamp. You can see the ecosystem of the swamp from them. Further from the swamp, you need to climb up the slope about 50 meters up. Here you will again see a narrow ridge called the Ozovaya Ridge. This is a relief left by the moraines of the glacier. Now it is overgrown with large pines. At the top near the gazebo you can see a giant anthill. Its height reaches 1.5 meters.
