The best nature reserves in Moscow

Content

1. Prioksko-Terrasny Nature Reserve
2. Other nature reserves of the Moscow region
3. What is forbidden to do?

Moscow City Day 2025 is just around the corner! This year, the capital turns 878 years old, and according to tradition, the holiday will be held on a truly large scale — with music, bright shows and fireworks. There is no official schedule of events for this year yet, so we will tell you what to expect based on the experience of previous years.

Top 35 — nature reserves of the Moscow region

The Moscow region is rarely viewed by tourists in the context of natural beauty, but in vain. Among other things, there is one biosphere reserve and two national parks. Their employees not only try to preserve original ecosystems, but also conduct active educational activities. There is a particularly extensive program at Losiny Ostrov, where you can not only visit the biostation, but also participate in interesting events.

There are many natural monuments and sanctuaries in the region. These are picturesque places with their own nuances. Most of the species from the Red Book are found, while access to them is not limited, which means that every traveler can explore swamps, tracts, forests, settlements and other objects in detail. The main thing is not to forget about the rules of behavior in protected and protected areas.

Nature reserves and national parks of the Moscow region

A nature reserve is a fragment of a territory that is the subject of its conservation measures. This territory cannot be a place of construction of residential or industrial facilities. The flora and fauna of the reserves is very diverse, and sometimes rare. The famous nature reserves of the Moscow region are beautiful corners of wildlife located near the capital.

Prioksko-Terrasny Nature Reserve

The territory of 5,000 hectares was declared a protected area in 1945. Eco-education is considered important among the goals, so tourists are welcome. When visiting, you need to familiarize yourself with the code of conduct. At the Nature Museum, guides talk about the history of the reserve. A bison nursery is operating, and grown-up individuals are often sent from here to other areas where new herds are being created.

Losiny Ostrov National Park

Address: Mytishchi city district, Kropotkinsky passage

Losiny Ostrov Park received national status in 1983. It is located on the territory of Moscow and the Moscow region and occupies about 13,000 hectares. The park is home to 43 species of mammals, about 180 species of birds, 5 species of reptiles and 8 species of amphibians. More than 800 species of higher plants have been identified, including 80 species of trees and 76 species of shrubs.

Several interesting locations have been created for visitors, where they can get a closer look at the life of the park and its inhabitants. So, the Moose biostation invites you to an excursion, in which guests will see moose, deer, wild boars and other animals. It is worth noting that this is not a petting zoo – the animals live here in comfortable conditions for them, and people come to visit them.

There is also an arboretum in the park – a walk through it will be very informative and interesting. Tourists, without leaving the Moscow region, will see the forests of Siberia, the Far East, and the Caucasus.

The arboretum recently opened a "Barefoot Trail" – a path about 4 kilometers long, along which guests are invited to walk barefoot. A variety of coatings replace each other on it – somewhere you will have to walk on grass or earth, and somewhere on sawdust and cones.

Zavidovo

It has existed since 1972 on an area of 125,000 hectares. The presidential residence "Rus" is part of the national park. Due to the fact that there are many small settlements here and people live on a permanent basis, environmental restrictions are less strict, but activities critical to nature are prohibited. The general territory is divided into typical zones with varying degrees of protection.

Lake Kiev and its basin

The complex nature monument is located in Lobnya. The area is almost 25.5 hectares. The main species, the protection of which was taken care of when creating a special zone – lake gulls. They were threatened when a landfill nearby was closed: birds got used to eating there, but they forgot how to catch fish. In order to survive, part of the colony migrated. Floating islands can be seen on the lake, and the shores are often heavily overgrown.

Pleshcheyevo Lake National Park

The largest freshwater reservoir in the European territory of the country is a favorite vacation spot for fans of active tourism.

Pleshcheyevo is a unique lake of glacial origin, its age is at least 30,000 years old. The National Park is distinguished by a wealth of flora and fauna. Here you can find 70 species of plants, 35 of which are listed in the Red Book of Russia, 60 species of wild animals and 20 species of birds. "Pleshcheyevo Lake" is a truly amazing island of truly Russian nature.

How to get there: follow Yaroslavskoye highway to the city of Pereslavl-Zalessky. The lake is located on the left side of the city.

Nature monument "Serebryany Bor"

A monument of regional significance, the pearl of Moscow, a favorite place for active recreation among the townspeople. It was opened on October 17, 1991.

This is an artificial island, a terrace of the bend of the Moskva River, which was separated by the Khoroshevskoye Straightening canal in 1937. In 1991, the island was granted the status of a natural monument. In 1998, it withdrew from the Moskvoretsky Nature and Historical Park.

The territory of the Serebryany Bor has been cleared and landscaped, and an ecological trail has been created on it. Also on the island there are pine forests and alders, sands and beaches, clearings and meadows, a reed swamp and a branched Bottomless lake, a pond Kopan and a man-made park "Veteran".

There are more than 250 plant species in Serebryany Bor. Heather and sandy astragalus grow there, very rare plants for Moscow. The fauna is also diverse. On the territory you can see birds such as hoopoe, kingfisher, yellow wagtail, yellow hawk. Of the mammals on the island, there are squirrels, hares, moles, weasels, ermines, bats, hedgehogs.

Rattling waterfall on the Wendiga River

A unique monument of the Moscow region nature is the Rattling Waterfall, a rodon spring. It is located on the left bank of the Vendiga River. Almost in the middle of a steep slope, several springs, fused together, are striking with great force from a crevice in the limestone. The height of the water drop is 20-25 m.

Gremyachy Waterfall is not a waterfall, but rather a powerful spring. The water of the spring is slightly mineralized and is close in composition to Kislovodsk narzan, so experts advise drinking it in limited quantities as a therapeutic.

The forest cover of the territory is over 70%, mainly due to the elevated areas. The territory of the reserve is characterized by a hilly-moraine relief with flat-topped hills with long sloping slopes separated by a network of ravines.

Address: Moscow region, village of Vzglyannevo.

How to get there: by train to Sergiev Posad from Yaroslavsky railway station and then by bus No. 120.

Official website: gremyachiy.ru.

Teply Stan Landscape Reserve

This nature reserve, established in 1988, is located in the south-west of Moscow. The Troparevo recreation area is located in the Teply Stan Nature Reserve. A summer stage and bridges over ravines have been built here, there are sports and children's playgrounds, attractions, a boat station, and the equipped beach of Troparevsky Pond.

There is an obelisk in the arch in memory of the 5th Moscow Rifle Division, which guarded the borders of Moscow in 1941. There is also the chapel of St. Sergei of Rodonezh, established in 1991, and the wooden church of Archangel Michael.

In the distant past, the entire territory of the reserve was covered with broad-leaved forests. In the process of economic development, forests were cut down, arable land and grazing appeared. The forest park shelters 82 species of birds and 17 species of mammals. For such a small natural area within the city, these are significant indicators.

Address: between Akademika Varga, Bakuleva, Ostrovityanova, MKAD and Leninsky Prospekt streets.

Teryaevsky ponds

The ponds at the monastery were excavated at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries. The largest pond was named Iosifovsky. Its area is 21 hectares, length is 750 m, width is 450 m. The southern shores of the Iosifovsky Pond are occupied by low-lying marshes.

The northern pond of the reserve, which has a smaller area (11 hectares), was named Guryevsky. Its length is 430 m, width – 290 m, depth of reservoirs reaches 2-3 m.

There are embankments of dams around the ponds, and a highway embankment between the ponds. The runoff of ponds connected by a culvert enters the left tributaries of the Bolshaya Sester River and reaches this river outside the boundaries of the reserve.

Marsh turcha and snow-white water lily grow in the ponds' water area. Teryaevsky ponds is a popular place among ornithologists, both amateurs and professionals. Since the 70s of the 20th century, constant bird watching has been carried out here.

The reserve is home to at least 75 species of vertebrates, including five species of fish, four species of amphibians, two species of reptiles, 61 species of birds and three species of mammals.

The Crane Homeland Nature Reserve

The Crane Homeland Nature Reserve is a unique natural and anthropogenic landscape connecting impenetrable forests and swamps with vast areas of fields and villages. It operates at the national park level. Night work is also carried out here, ecological, folklore and nature conservation conferences and field seminars, excursions are held. This entire complex is included in the reserve list of Wetlands of international importance and is a key ornithological territory of Russia. It is planned to design a Nature Park here in the near future.

A huge number of cranes can be seen in the local meadows. Here they gather in flocks, which periodically soar upward and go on wintering.

Address: Taldomsky district, Moscow region.

How to get there: by bus Nos. 26, 29, 34 and 36.

Dubrovitsky forest

It has received the status of a state nature reserve of regional significance. Thanks to this status, natural complexes and objects of special environmental importance for the Moscow region have been preserved in this territory, including the natural ecosystems of the interfluve and valleys of the Pakhra and Desna rivers, places of growth and habitat of rare species of animals and plants listed in the Red Book of the Moscow Region. It is also planned to build a ski roller track on the territory of the reserve.

Lopasnensky spruce island

The territory of the reserve is located in the south of the Moskvoretsko-Oka moraine-erosive plain in the area of flat and slightly undulating moist glacial plains.

The soil cover of the territory is mainly represented by gray and gray gley soils under broad-leaved rocks, as well as sod-podzolic and sod-podzolic gley soils formed under coniferous rocks.

Small areas are characterized by maple-birch trees with spruce in the grass, and there are also areas of spruce crops.

Cherustinsky forest

This huge forest area is located in the Shatura district of the Moscow region. The reserve is a part of ancient Meschera. It consists of alternating forest oaks, lime groves, pine forests, areas of black alder and many other forest plantations.

There are wetlands throughout the territory: riding with cranberries growing on them, transitional with birch trees stretching out of the bog, lowland and hay meadows. Here you can find a lot of gray cranes.

Torfoboloto tract

The State nature Reserve. Rare plants grow here, rare wetland birds and animals nest and live, lake and blue gulls, river terns, mallards, teals, beavers, muskrats.

Bitsevsky Forest Natural History Park

A specially protected natural area, the second largest park in Moscow (2,208.4 ha), second in size only to the Losiny Ostrov Park. It is named after the Bitsa River, which crosses the southern edge of the forest in an easterly direction.

The Bitsevsky forest has environmental, recreational, ecological, educational, historical and cultural significance as a particularly valuable large and integral natural and territorial complex, characterized by high natural diversity, the presence of rare and vulnerable plant and animal species in the city, and favorable conditions for recreation surrounded by nature.

The main value of the natural historical park is the location of a large forest area, one of the preserved green wedges through which air from the Moscow region enters the center of Moscow.

Tsitsin Main Botanical Garden

One of the largest botanical gardens in Europe. The garden became a symbol of the victory of our people in the Second World War. It covers an area of 331.49 hectares, and its collection funds include more than 18,000 plant names and are a national treasure of Russia.

The living collections include 8,220 species and 8,110 forms and varieties of plants. There is an exposition of tropical and subtropical, floral, ornamental and cultivated plants.

Vorobyovy Gory Nature Reserve

The nature reserve was founded in 1998. The slopes of Vorobyovy Gory are based on clays of Jurassic age, above that are sands of Late Jurassic, Cretaceous age and later. The slopes of the reserve are dominated not by artificial plantings, but by an indigenous broad-leaved forest, where oaks, linden, ash, mountain ash, black alder, and elm grow. There are no large mammals on the wooded slopes of the reserve, there are only red voles and forest mice, moles and common shrews, weasels, and sometimes there are bats.

Nara River Valley

This is the slope of the interfluve to the valley of the Nara River in the middle reaches within the feeding area of the underground carboniferous horizons, with a well–preserved large massif of high-abundance coniferous-deciduous forest, observations in which provide valuable material for characterizing the last stages of the demutation process and determining the climax type of forest in the south-west of the Moscow region.

This valley is a fund of valuable tree species (oak, linden, maple), the southern border of the spruce population. As well as the habitat of rare and protected species of animals and plants, including species included in the Red Book of the Moscow Region and Russia.

The valley of the Nara River is deeply embedded in limestone, with groundwater outlets along the slopes of ravines. On the slope to the Nara River there is a mixed spruce-birch forest with an admixture of alder in the lower part (in the floodplain – pure alder). In the upper part of the slope, it gradually turns into an old lime-maple forest with oak and aspen, on the slopes – oak-aspen with elm, birch, spruce and ash.

Izmailovsky Park

Izmailovo is a major natural and historical park in the capital. It is also considered one of the largest in Europe.

The park boasts old oak forests and linden forests, numerous ponds, a picturesque river and even palace buildings. In its western part there is the historical and architectural ensemble "Izmailovsky Island" with a park of culture and recreation. There are also rare species of flora and fauna listed in the Red Book.

On the eastern side, a natural forest area is protected, which turns into the Gorensky Forest Park outside Moscow. This park was founded in 1998, and the Izmailovo Forest Park, which had existed since 1935, served as its base.

Other nature reserves of the Moscow region

In the Moscow region there are also the following natural monuments, protected, protected areas and sanctuaries that are worth exploring:

• Serednikovo
• Lake Biserovo Park
• Seven Keys Nature Reserve
• Lokhin Island
• Natural monument "Zvenigorod settlement"
• Arboretum Park "Volkhonka" Natural
• monument of regional significance "Nagornaya dubrava Ulitinskaya" Nature
• reserve "Lopasnensky spruce island"
• Nature reserve "Aryushina Gora"
• Varavinsky ravine

There are many natural monuments, nature reserves and wildlife sanctuaries in the Moscow region. These are picturesque places with their own peculiarities, where there are views from the Red Book. Access to them is unlimited, and every traveler can explore swamps, tracts, forests, hillforts, and other sites. The main thing is not to forget about the rules of behavior in protected and protected areas.

You can get to know the Moscow region from different angles! Don't forget to visit the unique "New Jerusalem" tour to learn more about the sights of the Moscow region, the great people who lived there, and enjoy the surroundings of the unique historical and cultural complex.

What is forbidden to do?

These are the main nature reserves of the Moscow region, the names and descriptions of which we have reviewed. It is interesting to know what restrictions are imposed on citizens during their stay on such lands.

Any human activity that contradicts the purposes of creating the territory is not allowed in the reserves.

Any kind of hunting and other uses of wildlife are not allowed. Sometimes amateur fishing is allowed without the right to sell. Citizens who do not work in the reserve are allowed to stay only with special documents.

Other protected areas

We have reviewed the main nature reserves of the Moscow region, the list of names of which is presented in the article. But there are also wildlife sanctuaries. They differ in that some plant and animal species are protected on their territory, rather than the complex as a whole.

The following reserves can be mentioned:

• Teryaevsky Ponds is a nature reserve in the Volokolamsk district, which is home to rare animals and birds. The Iosifo-Volotsky Monastery, which is an architectural monument, is also located here.
• Kuzminsky integrated nature Reserve is also located in the Volokolamsk district, occupies more than 4 thousand hectares. It was created with the aim of preserving nature in its natural state, as well as protecting unique varieties of plants, fungi, and animals.
• Pine forests on sand dunes are an area in the Voskresensky district of the Moscow region with an area of 738 hectares. It represents the territory of a sand landscape with sand dunes. Rare plant species are protected. There is a colony of grey herons.
• The Ramenskoye Upland Swamp is a nature reserve in the Dmitrovsky district of the Moscow Region with an area of 578 hectares. It was created to preserve endangered flora and fauna.
• The high–priority pine forests of the Rogachevsky forestry are a nature reserve of the Dmitrovsky district, which protects rare forest areas, as well as plants, lichens and animals.
• The Klinsky Nature Reserve is a spruce forest in the Klinsky district, where a large colony of gray herons is located.

In wildlife sanctuaries, unlike nature reserves, temporary bans are imposed on the use of natural resources. As a rule, each reserve is created to preserve a single species of plants or animals. Most often, they prohibit actions that destroy the integrity of the ecosystem. Specific types of activities are not allowed in the sanctuaries to ensure their integrity. The entry of vehicles is also not allowed without special permission from the authorities.

Violations of any established rules will result in a fine. A car owner may be deprived of a car for entering protected areas.

The source of the cover photo is By LEhAN - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0