Latvia Coast - Mērsraga bāka & Kolkasrags

You're probably not thinking about heading to the beach when you think of a Baltic Sea country like Latvia. However, you should think about it since there are some really nice sandy beaches here. The weather isn't hot and sunny for very long, but these beaches are also great for a stroll even when it gets cooler. I had a nice long midsummer break from work so we drove along the coast and checked out some of the different kinds of beaches.

We've had several days without any cases of COVID-19 and the national emergency is over here. There's still guidance to keep 2 meters apart from each other and restaurant tables inside are still spaced out. We didn't see too many people in our travels but it was easy enough to keep some distance and spend some good times outside in the fresh air. It was a wonderful break from the earlier lockdowns.

Mērsraga bāka

We've been to Jurmala many times since it's the popular beach for Riga residents. Continuing west on our road trip took us to our first stop at Mērsraga bāka (bāka = lighthouse). It's a beach with large rocks in the water, many birds, and other interesting stuff to see as beach scenery.

there's also a boring rockless beach here if you follow the boardwalk

Kolkasrags

We ended our first day visiting the cape at Kolkasrags. This is an interesting point of land because the waves converge here from two directions. Southwest of the point has a nice beach and the other side towards the south has a lot of downed trees from wind and erosion for a different kind of beach walk or hurdles depending on your speed. Kolkasrags has nice parking for an hourly fee. There's a cafe with rooftop seating in the trees and good restaurant quality food. The local seafood pasta dish was delicious!

 

We stayed the night in a nice little AirBnB in Melnsils. There's a variety of camping and lodging options in the general area near Slīteres nacionālais parks. It's a little over 2 hours drive from Riga so it's even good for a day trip.