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Winter Hiking in the Tatra Mountains: 2 Enchanting Trails from Zakopane
Poland’s winter capital, Zakopane, is a picturesque alpine town nestled at the foot of the High Tatra Mountains in southern Poland, bordering Slovakia. In fact, there are many hiking trails that cross the border!
Zakopane is a hub for winter activities, including skiing, tobogganing and winter hiking. The town is also known for it’s rich cultural heritage, folklore and famous sheep cheese, Oscypek. Shepherding is a very old tradition in Zakopane and you can often see shepherds around town wearing their colourful outfits. In the evenings many restaurants serve authentic Polish Dishes, many regional, alongside cosy fires and Highland Bands playing traditional live music.
Also known as the Polish Alps, the Tatra Mountains are the highest range in the central Carpathian Mountains. They also include the highest peak in Poland, Rysy, at 8,199 feet (2,499 metres). The network of hiking trails and mountain huts make it a popular destination for outdoor enthusiasts.
Below we’ve detailed trails that can be easily reached on foot from central Zakopane. Therefore, no car or buses are required to get to the start of these trails, they can also all be completed easily within a day, included stops for hot chocolates!
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How to get to the Zakopane?
By Plane
The nearest airport is Kraków Airport, which is very well connected to cities across Europe.
By Car
From Kraków Airport, Zakopane is just under a 2 hour drive and if you are flying into Kraków then you can easily pick up a hire car at the airport.
We used Viaggiare Rental which was budget friendly and cost us ~£80 for 5 days over Christmas. However, collection was a nightmare and took over an hour, which resulted in us being delayed, the drop off process took around 30 minutes, which should be much quicker. The car itself was great and we had no issues during the rental, but the drop off and pick up process was poor, especially as the gentleman behind the counter was Italian, not Polish, and so could only speak in broken English and no Polish, so everyone struggled to communicate.
Public Transport
If taking public transport to Zakopane, we would recommend planning your accommodation within easy access of the train/bus station, so you don’t have to travel far with luggage.
There is a train from Kraków to Zakopane, however they tend to be longer and more expensive than the bus journey. You can look at the timetable and buy train tickets here or compare both train and bus tickets here.
The bus from Kraków to Zakopane tends to be faster and cheaper. They are quite regular and tickets booked in advance tend to be very cheap. You can book tickets through Flixbus or the more regular Szwagropol.
Where to stay in Zakopane?
We stayed in central Zakopane over Christmas in 2023. There are a range of hotels in both style and location, but we would recommend the below for a cosy winter stay.
It’s within walking distance of the centre of town and has a good restaurant for dinner if you don’t want to venture outside.
Where: Hotel Rysy
Cost: ~£127 per night (Prices from December 2023 booked through hotels.com)
Facilities: Buffet Breakfast (may be a surcharge depending where you book), Restaurant, Laundry Facilities, 24/7 Front Desk, Spa with mountain views, Parking, Free Wifi and Airport Transfer (Surcharge).
Zakopane Restaurant Recommendations:
Serving delicious regional and traditional Polish dishes in a cosy alpine cabin interior. They have a live highland band playing every night from 6pm which makes for a great atmosphere.
The rooftop restaurant takes up the whole top floor of the shopping centre, giving it incredible views of the mountains and town. In summer, they have a great outside bar area and in winter they have plenty of seating in their cosy traditional style restaurant. They also have a live highland band playing in the evenings.
When to Go Winter Hiking in the Tatra Mountains?
The best time for winter hiking in the Tatra Mountains is usually between late December and March. We visited at the end of December 2023 and we had good snow cover, not enough for snowshoeing but still perfect for winter hiking!
If you would prefer to snowshoe, for ideal snow conditions and the longest snowshoeing season, we would recommend visiting in January and February. During these months, the snow is generally well packed and the weather is cold and clear, providing the best conditions for snowshoeing.
If you are looking for warmer hiking weather, June – late September can be ideal for bright sunshine and scenic mountain views.
Regardless of when you choose to visit, it’s always a good idea to check the local weather and trail conditions before setting out on your hiking adventure.
Winter Hiking: Essential Kit and Information
Planning
The most important thing before embarking on any winter adventure in the mountains is to be aware of the weather and avalanche forecasts. We would highly recommend downloading the FATMAP app to plan your route, especially as the app has a very handy overlay tool which highlights avalanche terrain with a colour coding system. If you’re unsure about avalanche safety it’s best to be prepared so maybe think about booking a course or a guided day with an IFMGA Mountain Guide or UIMLA International Mountain Leader.
Always check the avalanche forecast and read the latest trail condition reports here. We also found the Hiking Map Poland app very useful.
Kit
Next we need to think about what to wear, and the old fashioned layering system is still champion, so start with a moisture wicking and potentially thermal base layer (avoid cotton!). Follow your base layer with an insulating mid-layer like a fleece and finish with a waterproof jacket and trousers. Add an extra insulating mid-layer if you need to and don’t forget your hat and gloves!
Top Tip: Pack two spare pairs of gloves, as once your gloves get wet your hands will get cold!
But winter in the mountains isn’t all about the cold, on a clear day the UV can be strong especially reflecting off all that beautiful white powder! So remember your sunscreen and sunglasses and most of all remember rule no.1 of mountaineering: Always look cool!
Footwear
Ideally you want an insulated and waterproof four-season walking boot. We use our La Sportiva B2 boots, which we would highly recommend. If it’s icy a good pair of crampons are a must and if you plan to snowshoe, don’t forget those! You’ll also need hiking or ski poles with snow baskets which help provide you with additional stability and balance in the deeper powder.
Winter Hiking in the Tatra Mountains: 2 Enchanting Trails from Zakopane
Below we’ve detailed trails that can be easily reached on foot from central Zakopane. Therefore, no car or buses are required to get to the start of these trails, they can also all be completed easily within a day, included stops for hot chocolates!
1. Gubałówka
Route Description
This trail was perfect for our first day hiking, as it was a relaxing half day and allowed us to absorb the scenery whilst warming our muscles up for the week ahead. You can make this trail as long or short as you like as there are many routes up and down the mountain as well as the option to shorten the route with a ride on the funicular. It’s also a good bad weather option as the route is mostly through forest, not avalanche terrain and not too exposed.
It’s a fairly easy trail with the only difficulty being a few strenuous uphill sections, mostly made difficult by the snow and winter hiking gear.
Start of the trail:
The trail begins at the Gubałówka Funicular Station at the northern end of Zakopane. Facing the station turn right, passing the toilet block and a barrier. Turn immediately left up a steep residential street, this will eventually become a footpath. Although the sign is marked, this is hard to see in heavy snow and winter conditions, however the trail is well trodden all year round so is easy to follow.
There are a few paths that criss-cross up the mountain, be sure to keep heading up and towards the summit station. It’s hard to miss and if you can’t see it you can hear the music being played from one of the many stalls at the top.
Top Tip: The toilets at the top charge 4PLN unless you are a restaurant customer. So remember to bring exact change or a card if you don’t intend to eat in the restaurant.
It’s peaceful journey up the mountain and you may not have come across another hiker, but prepare to be submerged into crowds once again at the top. 1000’s of people a day travel up the mountain via the Funicular to have lunch or attempt to win a prize one one of the many fair type stalls. This is also a great point to have a snack or hot chocolate.
After you have refuelled, you have a few options, we took the black route down which descends alongside the funicular. In winter this can be extremely slippy, so if you have ice grips, make sure to wear them.
Option to extend the route:
If you would like to make the route longer there are a few route options further along the ridge which descend through forest. They then meet the roads eventually but make sure to plan your route before as there are plenty of options.
2. Hotel Górski Kalatówki Circular
Route Description
This is a peaceful route entering Tatra National Park, along a wide forest footpath which opens up to a hotel perched on a hill surrounded by mountains. It’s an out and back route with a small loop at the top of the trail, there is a gradual incline on the way up with a lovely slope down to descend. The details above include the extra distance and time from central Zakopane, whilst the map below does not include this.
Start of the trail:
From the Kasprowy Wierch cable car station (which was closed for us due to high winds) there is a route that goes out towards the valley, passing YurtaBar. At the fork in the road take the route right which is heading uphill and towards the forest. Follow this wide snowy trail as it heads into the forest, passing a small monastery and shrine. Continuing up the slope, you will pass a ticket booth, here you can buy you ticket to enter the National Park if you haven’t already done so online, it costs 9 PLN.
Top Tip: There is a small fee to enter Tatra National Park, tickets can be purchased online in advance or at the ticket booths when you enter the park for 9PLN per day or 45PLN for 7 days. The money is used towards maintenance of routes and infrastructure within the park as well as nature protection and Mountain Rescue.
Eventually the path opens up to a large building perched on a hill, it’s a hotel and you can actually stay there! Here you can do a short loop around the hotel, stopping to take in the picturesque mountain panorama. In good conditions you can lengthen the route here and descend down to a path on the other side of the valley. We were unable to do this due to the high winds creating deep snow drifts and covering any trails in that direction.
Return by either the same route or crossing behind the hotel into the forest and re-joining the same trail slightly further down.
Longer Hiking Trails from Zakopane
There are plenty of trails from Zakopane, unlike the above some of these require you to drive or catch a bus to the start of the trail.
Below we’ve details a few extra trails which can be done in winter or summer:
Morskie Oko
One of the most popular hikes in Zakopane and therefore also the busiest. Hike the 18km out and back up to the largest lake in the Tatra Mountains. The 9km outbound is all uphill and along a road, but the views are supposed to be worth it! We felt it was quite a long trail to do in winter and a longer day with the bus journey.
Nosal
This is a great winter hike with stunning views over Zakopane and depending where you’re staying, may be in walking distance. Be sure to check the avalanche forecast in winter as we actually decided against this hike after checking it and made another plan.
Even More:
If you’re looking for great trails for summer time, All Trails has a great top 10 list.
What is the Weather like in Zakopane?
Winter (Dec. – Mar.), this time of year sees plenty of snow and cold temperatures, with the coldest month being January which has lows of -7 degrees Celsius.
Spring (Apr. – June), temperatures begin to rise with highs of around 16 degrees Celsius. An ideal season for budget travellers, especially as early Spring is still great hiking weather although some ice/snow still loom at higher altitudes early in the season.
Summer (July-Sept.) as always, summer has the highest temperatures, reaching an average high of 21 degrees Celsius. This is a great time of year for hiking although it’s usually the most expensive and the busiest!
Autumn (Oct. – Nov.), temperatures begin to cool and reach lows of around 0 degrees Celsius, although this is another great season for budget travellers as the weather is still ok. If you want snow then they usually don’t get the first snow until around mid December time.
If you would like any more tips and advice or if you’re planning a winter hiking or snowshoeing trip and want to tell us about it, get in touch through social media.
We hope this has inspired you or helped with questions, and thanks for reading!
Nick and Eve
