The Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft National Park is the biggest national park in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and with its 786 km² the third largest of its kind in Germany. It occupies 60% of the peninsulas land surface, and consists to a great extent of woods. The biggest cohesive tract of forest is the “Darßwald” with an area of 5,000 hectare.

Here one can not only observe how the woods evolve naturally, but also witness how the wind and waves constantly form the land. While the Baltic Sea carries away the sand on the west coast of the peninsula, it gets deposited on the northern promontory at Darßer Ort and forms new land there.

Another kind of spectacle is presented by the animals living in and visiting the national park. Only here one can spot red deer wandering the dunes in broad daylight and find their hoof prints on the beach. Rather exciting times to observe them in their natural habitat are the autumn months when it is their rutting season. Many of them will gather at Darßer Ort to tout for the attention of the females. But the national park is not only famous for its deer population. It also houses one of the most important resting spots for cranes in Europe. Around 60,000 of them gather here each autumn to prepare for their journey south.