Vieta, Kurzeme
Established in 2007 on the Baltic coast north of Pāvilosta, this roughly 42-hectare nature reserve protects Latvia's widest open grey dune, stretching about 1.5 km along the shore and up to 812-818 m inland. Since 2009 it has also belonged to the EU's Natura 2000 network, safeguarding two EU-protected habitat types: grey dunes with herbaceous vegetation and grey dunes with dwarf-shrub communities. Protected species recorded here include the sand pink and the sand mole cricket, and the dune takes on yellow-violet tones in late July and August when small scabious and vetch species bloom. A two-story observation platform lets visitors view the dune without walking on its fragile vegetation.