Opalonki Nature Reserve

Opalonki is a steppe nature reserve on the Miechów Upland. It lies in the village of Klonów, in Racławice municipality, in Miechów County. It covers 2.42 ha (the founding act gave 2.23 ha), so it is small.

What it protects

The reserve lies on the southern slope of a hill built of Upper Cretaceous rock and cut by small ravines. On a small area there is rich xerothermic, that is heat-loving, vegetation. The reserve covers a fragment of a forest enclave next to farmland, with rare and protected shrubs and herbaceous plants. It contains a community of narrow-leaved gypsophila, the heat-loving thicket Peucedano cervariae - Coryletum, and a maple-lime forest.

Protection status

The reserve was established by an order of the Minister of Forestry of 19 February 1955. It stands on State Treasury land managed by the Miechów Forest District (Klonów forest range) and lies within the Miechów Upland Protected Landscape Area. A Natura 2000 site, “Opalonki”, was designated within almost the same boundaries. There are other reserves in the area, for example Dąbie, about a kilometre away.

A little further, about 2.5 km away, lies the Sterczów-Ścianka reserve.

Practical information

• Place: Klonów, Racławice municipality, Miechów County.
• The sources give no trails or educational paths in the reserve. Check the rules of entry with the Miechów Forest District before your visit.