At the forest resort

Employment again does not allow you to travel far and for a long time this May. But what if you need to get to the resort in only 30 minutes, taking only a good mood and slippers? Mountains, forest, spa, walking… Spend the night, have a delicious breakfast in a beautiful restaurant and go home. All this in a day. It sounds like a dream for a mega-employed person.

Many people would agree to this. But is it real if you live in a megalopolis? Seriously, this option has appeared in St. Petersburg quite recently. Just last year, the complex was finally formed in its present form. It is called the Okhta Park resort. That's where we went away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

We just live in the north of the city, leaving it was fast. Here is a winding road between cottages in the pines. After about 20 minutes, there are only shaggy green paws, a wet road and a blue sky ahead. Another 10 minutes, and you will arrive at the resort. We quickly settled into one of 53 cozy cottages with a fireplace in a cottage village located in the very center of the resort.

First we reached the slopes of the mountain, from which the snow, of course, has already descended. That's where it all started. Until recently, there was only a forest, the so-called "wild hill", on which skiers rode in winter, and a homemade ski lift. In 1993, a winter ski school was built here, and in 2015 it was reconstructed. But still, almost no one knew absolutely anything about this place near St. Petersburg, except for professional athletes. But in recent years, it turns out, a lot of work has been going on to turn this place into a point of attraction.

Now it is a resort with 15 destinations in the field of hotel services, nutrition, beauty and health, sports, outdoor activities and much more. There are 10 ski slopes of different difficulty levels with lifts, a chairlift, and a TechnoAlpin artificial snowmaking system. There is a forest skating rink. But now it was all closed.

An outdoor heated swimming pool and the Apres Ski restaurant complex are located near the slopes.
The walk made me feel hungry, although it was a pleasure. After crossing a high bridge with excellent views to the other side of the stream, we reached the restaurant "In the thicket", as it was already lunch time. The "forest" menu of this cozy place with European and author's cuisine includes, for example, venison tartare with juniper, Ladoga pike perch with celery cream or a berry plate.

After taking a little more walk, admiring the funny figures of a bear, a giraffe in the floodplain of a stream, or a waking frog lazily starting to move, we returned to the cottage.

It was possible to roast kebabs on the grill during the day, but the weather was very cold, although sunny. Fortunately, there was a fireplace waiting inside, which immediately warmed up with just its appearance and crackling.

After the rest, we visited the OHTAKAI open spa complex quite recently, less than a year ago. Apart from rest and relaxation in the thermal zone, we were not interested in anything, but there are many areas for training, meditation and even boxing.

Already in the evening we wandered past the rope park (but it is more relevant for children), along the lakes, which were specially created here, even with a wintering place for waterfowl. If you wanted to fish, you could do that too. But for the first time and for just one day, there would be too many pleasures. So not this time. A restful sleep after the day's activities was provided.

We left happy and rested. And most importantly, we didn't even have time to get tired of the road. One more time, and you're back in town. But you know which resort you will definitely go to if there is very little time and a lot of desire to relax.