If you are looking for a weekend getaway from Dnipro, but so that you can quickly return to the city, take a closer look at the surrounding area. Here you can find many interesting places, accessible by public transportation, not only by car.
I decided to make a trip that would take literally half a day. I chose the left bank of the Dnieper River, just outside the city of Dnieper – south of the Prydniprovsk district.
Lyubimovsky quarry in Chaplya
Lyubimovskiy quarry is located right at the exit from the city and is adjacent to the historic Chaply neighborhood. It is not the deepest in Ukraine or in the world, does not boast huge production volumes, and yet, according to the quarry’s website, it is the leading enterprise for the production of crushed stone in Ukraine and has modern crushing equipment.
You can see Lyubimovskiy quarry from the height and make powerful photos on the way to Lyubimovka. It is enough to turn right at the first turn and go to the Dachas in front of Lyubimovka. It will be a dirt road, and therefore it is better not to accelerate too much. Moving in a straight line you will see the road blocked by boulders.
Further you will have to go along the road and turn left into the bushes. From here you have a magnificent view not only of the quarry and its entire height, but also of the wide Dnieper and the regional center – the city of Dnieper. I would even recommend to stay for a while and sit on the stones scattered everywhere. After that we move on to the next point on the map.
Abandoned children’s camp in Lyubimovka
Next, the purpose of my half-day trip from Dnipro was an abandoned children’s camp in Lyubimovka. On the Google map they are not signed in any way – just “Abandoned camp”.
It is not known what its history is, but the fact is obvious. Right next door to residential houses there are destroyed buildings and other structures. They are overgrown with trees, bushes, broken glass, pieces of slate, bare foundations of houses right in the middle of the forest, and grass has sprouted through the concrete paths. Among these ruins of an abandoned children’s camp there are homeless (I think so) and animals – lots of big lizards and birds.
I determined that the camp was small, because what was left of the canteen was also not very big, and therefore there were not so many people in the camp (in the abandoned Orlenok the canteen was much bigger).
Еще интересно то, что заброшенный лагерь в Любимовке соседствует с жилыми домами местных жителей – теперь это просто развалины среди леса – через них можно даже проехать по проселочной дороге.
You can find the abandoned camp in Lyubimovka on the map.
Quarry in the village Pershe Travnia
In 10 minutes drive from the abandoned children’s camp in Lyubimovka there is the village of Pervoye Maya. It is washed on both sides by the Dnieper River and its natural attraction is a small flooded quarry. Google maps show it as Small Career. Apparently, the one who put the point on the map did not bother much and just called the quarry in the village Pervoye Maja by its size, and even in English. It is also called Pervomayskiy granite quarry.
The quarry is really small. Once stone was mined here, and after production stopped, the quarry was flooded with water from the Dnieper. And indeed, it is separated from the river by a narrow strip of land, 20 meters wide.
The nature in the village of Pervoye Maja is amazing. It is very clean, lots of greenery, fresh air, broken stones like in the best picture. Local residents rest here and do not litter much – this is pleasing. Also, having come to the quarry, you can rest on the Dnieper itself – just cross a thin strip of land and find a cozy place on the shore. The water in Pervomayskiy quarry is clean, but murky, there is no smell of swamp. There are fish and frogs croaking here. In early May the water temperature is rather refreshing, not cold.
To get to the quarry in the village of First May by car is not difficult – you need to follow the navigator. However, you should remember that there is a stony road with a slope from the village, so you should be careful. If you come here by car. There is also a bus from Dnipro to the village – №272. From the bus stop you will have to walk along the picturesque fields for a couple of kilometers.
The point on the map of the quarry in First May is Small career.
Zelena Pidkova Horse Yard in Pridnepryanske
Prydnepryanske is located 25 kilometers from the Dnipro city and there is a horse farm with an interesting name “Zelena Pidkova” (Green Horseshoe), which fully justifies itself. That’s right, if there are horses, then there are horseshoes, and around the village there are a lot of beams, green grass and trees.
The horse yard itself consists of several horses. You can come here not only for entertainment and horseback riding along the beams, but also for horseback riding training, photo shoots and just to admire the nature.
The nature here is gorgeous. It smells of herbs, there are many birds and you can hear crickets making their sounds. There are thousands of them here, because the sounds are constant.
And there’s a big area next to the horses. There’s sheep and goats. It’s a contact mini-zoo? Maybe they produce some products here, they can show them to the kids. And a large area where there will be a garden. Now they are only planting trees there (May 2024).
The Green Horseshoe Horse Yard is worth a visit, whether you take your children or a loved one. In addition, horseback riding is cheaper here than in the city and Zelena Pidkova needs food for the horses and staff, because things have gotten worse since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by russia. The Dnipro city TV channel even made a story about it.
Address of the horse yard “Zelena Pidkova” – Pridnepryanske village, Gagarina street, 1. The Green Horseshoe’s Instagram page.