OFF72 Vidraru Dam – Sălătrucu

Every time I passed by Vidraru, I used to look at the tunnel on the left side of the dam and wonder what that road was like, but I never managed to explore it. Until the summer of 2024. I had left Bucharest for Petroșani and, having more time available, I said we should try another route. First, I said we should take the route of the future A1 highway to Brezoi, and then towards Obârșia Lotrului, then Petroșani. When I arrived in Curtea de Argeș, I remembered that tunnel at Vidraru and said this was the perfect opportunity to see what was beyond it.

No sooner said than done, we arrived at Vidraru and went through the tunnel. From here begins an unpaved road that surrounds the lake on the right bank up to the Cumpăna cottage at the tail of the lake. The road is okay; it’s graveled and fairly well leveled. After 2.5 km around the lake, during which the lake is not very visible because of the trees, we will arrive at an intersection where we will continue to the left on the road that climbs through the forest. A few tight curves and a little over 100 m difference in elevation and we arrive in a large clearing with a sheepfold. We cross the clearing and enter the forest again. Then after about another 4 kilometers we reach the valley of a river and we will have to turn right onto the bridge that crosses it. We climb a little and arrive in a small clearing. Here we do not take the first road to the right, but the second one, just before entering the forest.

The road becomes a bit wilder, narrower, and grass grows in the middle between the wheel tracks. After a few kilometers, we descend onto a road that seems more important. We turn left towards the valley. At the first intersection, we exit into the Topolog River valley and from here continue down the valley towards the village of Sălătrucu. The A1 highway will soon pass through here.