Walk on the Selyem-rét nature trail

• During the route, we follow the Selyem-rét nature trail S marking all the way. We turn around at Selyem-rét to return to the starting point. There are no other marked hiking trails in the protected area.

Detailed description of the route

We find the parking lot at the beginning of the Selyem-rét nature trail along the road connecting Ócsa and Felsőbabád. A barrier blocks the road leading to the Nagy-erdő, adorned with the S marking: the nature trail with 10 stations joins this hiking path and extends all the way to the namesake clearing.

We are standing 15 kilometers as the crow flies from the Soroksári-Dunató – perhaps we would not even guess that this was once a floodplain of the river. The raised peat forest in front of us is a remnant of this: hydrophilic alder-ash associations have formed on the peat soil where plant debris rots in oxygen-free conditions for most of the year. With the regulation of the Danube, surface water replenishment ceased, the river's spring floods disappeared, but underground water movements – mainly precipitation that fell in the Gödöllő Hills area – can still maintain the peat forest character of the area. The Nagy-erdő is part of the Ócsa Landscape Protection Area established in 1975, and a significant portion of it is under strict protection, so straying off the hiking trail is strictly prohibited!

Our path leads past a huge fallen tree, and on the nature trail board, we can read about the role of deadwood. The Ócsa Nagy-erdő is in the fortunate position that a significant part is not only under the protection of the Duna-Ipoly National Park but that the same organization manages it, so they also oversee forestry management. They care for the forest with a nature conservation perspective, which thanks to this has resulted in numerous dead trees, something we can also observe during our hike.

Although in recent years we have seen less water during increasingly severe drought periods, we generally encounter wetter patches bordering the trail, which are the main catalysts for peat formation in the soil. The charring of dead and fallen plant organs only starts in oxygen-free conditions, which can be ensured by constant water coverage. Where this water coverage is only temporary, the process does not take place – these areas are called marshes. Recent years seem to have strongly "eroded" the peat forest character of the Nagy-erdő, but there are still smaller patches in the area that survive even drier periods by remaining covered with water. If we arrive during a drought, we can see a line on the trunks of the trees that indicates the general height of the water.

The gently winding, wide forestry road takes a bigger turn at a "No trespassing..." sign, then comes out of the forest at the Selyem-rét hunting lodge. We cross a small bridge – with a water gauge on its side, so it is an artificial channel. A few more meters, and we arrive at the elongated Selyem-rét bordered by tall trees. There is a playground, fire pits, two toilets, numerous bench-table sets, and shelters indicating that this is a popular excursion spot. The S marking continues toward Inárcs, cutting across the southeastern part of the Nagy-erdő – however, the Selyem-rét nature trail ends here. From here, we return to the parking lot by the already known route.