Neringa Municipality is a unique Baltic Sea resort, home to a national park and a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2000. With a population of just over 4,000, Neringa is Lithuania’s smallest municipality, yet it covers a vast area of forests, sand dunes, and pristine beaches—70% of its territory is non-urbanised nature.

These breathtaking landscapes have made Neringa a rapidly growing destination for cycling tourism. In 2024, 215,000 cyclists purchased ferry tickets to the Curonian Spit, marking a 17% increase from 183,000 in 2023. Cycling is central to the municipality's vision for sustainable tourism and eco-friendly mobility.

Photo credit: Neringa Municipality

Neringa Municipality's Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) for 2018-2030 strongly emphasises expanding infrastructure for walking and cycling. The plan includes ambitious modal share targets, aiming to increase cycling trips for residents from 6% to 12%, public transport usage from 15% to 25%, and reduce car trips from 56% to 40% by 2030. For visitors, the goals are to increase cycling trips from 3% to 5%, public transport from 24% to 38%, and reduce car usage from 64% to 32%.

This focus on cycling enables both residents and visitors to explore Neringa’s attractions while reducing their carbon footprint. The municipality’s focus on cycling is showcased by the newly reconstructed Smiltynė-Nida pedestrian and bike path, spanning the Curonian Spit and connecting all four settlements in the region. This €15.1 million investment, funded by the national government, underscores Lithuania’s broader ambition to advance sustainable mobility and cycling infrastructure as a national priority.

Photo credit: Via Lietuva

The Smiltynė-Nida path, a key project in Lithuania’s sustainable mobility initiatives, is a 50-kilometre eco-friendly pedestrian and bicycle path widely regarded as the most modern in the country. Built with an asphalt surface framed by curbs and a width of 2.5 to 3.5 meters, the path embodies state-of-the-art sustainable design. Given the unique environment of the Curonian Spit, the path's construction required exceptional methods, such as using a distinctive grey sand-coloured asphalt coating in the Nagliu Nature Reserve to blend seamlessly with the natural landscape. The recreation areas also feature a special organic binder made from plantain seed husks and granite rubble. To further protect local wildlife habitats, a wooden fence was installed alongside parts of the path. The newly improved path coincides with stretches of the EuroVelo 10 (The Baltic Sea Cycle Route) and the EuroVelo 13 (The Iron Curtain Trail).

“Today marks a historic moment: the reconstruction of the Neringa trail, a project that’s been eagerly anticipated for almost two decades, has finally been completed,” said Lithuanian Minister of Transportation Marius Skuodis at the inauguration on 12 September 2024. “This trail belongs to all of us, and I hope it becomes a path for many wonderful journeys”.

For more information on Cities & Regions for Cyclists: https://www.ecf.com/community/cities-for-cyclists.
For more information on Neringa Municipality: https://www.visitneringa.com.