Topographic features of the surroundings of Reda are a result of the activity of the Scandinavian ice-sheet. The plateau glacier, advancing during the recurrence of cold periods and receding a few times, finally withdrew from the south shore of the Baltic (according to palaeographers 10100-9500 years ago) and, as a result of the warming, left in some places the over 110 m thick drift. The material of the postglacial layer included clay, gravel, sand, loam as well as erratic blocks stuck usually in the layers of clay and gravel. As the climate was getting warmer and as the poor at first vegetation developed, podzolic and brown soils of poor or medium fertility developed on the postglacial rock. In river valleys soils of marshy black earth with a great content of humus formed. When the glacier had finally receded, tundra grew in the area with the prevailing species of the dwarf willow and the sea buckthom. Further warming up of the climate occurred about 8,000 BC. Remnants of tundra plant species point out to other few cold periods occurring later.
When the average temperature reached the level of 14-16°C, the tundra vegetation started gradually disappearing and forests entered the south regions of the land. At first small ciumps of pines and birches with hazels occurred. The next species included the aspen and other, more and morę thermophilous trees as: elms, oaks, ashes and, later, beeches, yews and hombeams. Since 550 BC mixed forests have already been present in the area with prevailing species of oaks, elms, alders and ashes. Lindens are also numerous.
Humans at that time lived in small colonies, in the surroundings of beautiful forests providing them with timber for building and wood for buming, game and undergrowth (mushrooms berries).
In the depression of the proglacial valley, on its marshy bottom and on flooded grounds, marshy vegetation with bushes of reed and bulrush grew.
In the post-glacial period peat developed, used yet not so long ago as a fuel for household fires. At present it is used as mulch.
Soils of the region are counted among rather fertile, although the majority are sandy soils, clayey sand and peat.
Reda is located in the picturesque valley of the Łeba and Reda rivers, between forest-grown Pucka Upland and the Upland of Kaszubskie Lake District, in the neighbourhood of a vast plain referred to as Moście Błota and, in the north, of Kępa Rekowska, on important road and railway transport routes. The town is crossed by an intemational road meeting then a national road heading for Helski Peninsula.
In Reda the Gdańsk-Szczecin railway line meets a line running towards Helski Peninsula.
North-western grounds of Reda are grown with forests made up by pines, spruces, hornbeams, beeches as well as rarer larches, birches and maples. Similar forests, growing in the south-western area of the town are included into protected Trójmiejski Scenic Park. Grounds of the east section of Reda consist of peat bog meadows grown with small woods adding variety to the scenery.
The town area is crossed by the picturesquely meandering Reda river into which flow: the Bolszewka with its tributary Gościny, the Cedron (formerly referred to as the Biała river) with tributaries: Strużka, Grzebnica and Potok Pętkowicki. The river has its springs at Strzebielino Morskie village, then meanders on the bottom of the depression called the Proglacial Valley of the Reda-Łeba and flows into Pucka Bay. It is about 48 km long and its basin covers 510 km. The depression arose as a result of the activity of water flowing west off the melting glacier in Pleistocene. Later, when a step dividing the valley crosswise had arisen at Strzebielino, the Reda started flowing eastwards while the flowing in the west section of the valley Łeba river kept its postglacial current direction.
The high level of river purity creates great environment for many fish species, especially for the river trout, the sea trout and the grayling. Along the river banks there are habitats of interesting bushes of the halophilous riverbank angelica reaching the height of 2 m and the semihalophilous rushes with the seaside bulrush.
The Reda river shows the rain and oceanic regime and, therefore, its characteristics include high stages in winter and early spring resulting in floods. The width of the river at the level of the water surface, at its average stage and in its middle section, equals 10-12m. East of the town of Reda the river flows in its adjusted bed and, finally, flows into Pucka Bay between Rewa and Osłonino. It used to be taken advantage of as a transport route, nowadays, it is used for recreational purposes (canoeing trips).
In Reda there is an alley of old lindens -monuments of nature. On the north-westem outskirts of the town there runs a blue tourist trail (along the edge of Kępa Pucka - the route:
Wejcherowo-Mrzezino-Puck, length of 32 km), on the west - the red trail "of Wejherowo" (the route: Sopot-Kamienny Potok-Piekiełko-Wejherowo, length of 51 km) and the black trail "of Zagórska Struga" (the route: Gdynia-Hill of St Maksymilian-Piekiełko-Wejherowo, length of 52km).
The town takes advantage of intakes of Pleistocene and Tertiary water. The air in the town is counted among the cleanest in north Poland.
