I like looking at a map and searching for green and blue stains. It always means one thing: nature! The Zgorzała lake is quite a big blue stain in the south part of the map of Warsaw. It’s located in Zielony Ursynów (Green Ursynów; Ursynów is a district of Warsaw). The origin of the lake is quite interesting as it was formed a really long time ago when the glacier that used to cover melted.

The area of the Zgorzała lake has been recultivated since 2012 thanks to the local community and participatory budgeting (one of the way of citizen participation that really works in Warsaw; more information: Participatory budget in Warsaw). Now it’s a really nice place full of trees, plants and birds (some kind of trace of the birds you can see on the photo ;)). You can have a walk on the pier and then make a bonfire or picnic. You can simply sit on the blanket by the table or use one of the wooden tables. At the end you can burn some calories in the open-air gym.

You can either get to the Zgorzała lake by bus, although, as always, I recommend taking a bike and making a nice trip to the south borders of Warsaw.