Covering an area of 18 thousand hectares, the Curonian Spit National Park was established to protect the unique scenic beauty of the Curonian Spit, a narrow peninsula separating the Kursiu Marios lagoon from the Baltic Sea. The peninsula, a sandy stretch of land extending 98 km, with the width varying from 400 m to 4 km, was formed some five to six thousand years ago, as sand accumulated in the shallower waters along the Baltic coast.

The sea winds shifted the sand, creating a range of large sand dunes stretching for about 70 km from Smiltyne to Sarkuva. The largest of the dunes are up to 100 m high and provide a charming view of the sea, the lagoon and the green forests.

Up to the 15th century both deciduous and coniferous forests covered the spit. Later, however, the axe felled large portions of them. This lead to severe sand shifting. The moving sands swallowed up 14 villages. It was in 1825 that G.D.Kuvertas started the first reforestation project to try to stop the sand. At the present time life on the spit is protected by about 7 thousand hectares of forests, most of them pinewoods.