Hiking in Poland's Tatras: Morskie Oko

Sitting on the border with Slovakia are the Tatras, a jagged mountain range that is popular with hikers and adventurous travelers. Zakopane is the large town that is the main gateway into the Tatras.

If you've made it as far as Zakopane in July, there's a good chance that like us, you are here to hike to Morskie Oko in Tatra National Park. It is the most popular hike here - and the most crowded! The paved road, about five miles long, takes you gradually up to the lake. It's an easy walk.

Morskie Oko in Tatra National Park

Assuming there would be less crowds on a rainy day, we gave ourselves an extra hour of sleep. When we got to the trailhead, we sat in the car, willing ourselves to start the wet hike.



If you're doing it in the rain, be sure to bring your sense of adventure with you! The hike takes about two hours. That is a long time to be getting drenched by the pouring rain!

It isn't miserable to hike in the rain, but hiking without rain is a million times better! Jeannette made sure to get other people in the photo so that we didn't look like the only crazy people to be hiking in the rain. (We weren't.)

Even in the rain, the scenery is pretty.

Instead of walking to Morskie Oko, you can hop on a horse and wagon. It's about a 1-hour ride up.

One perk about the rain is that the shore isn't lined with all the other hikers


My plan was to continue one hour (~.9 mile) past Morskie Oko to the lake at Czarny Staw pod Rysami - but the rain ruled that out. Once you get to Morskie Oko, the paved road ends and the rock trail - that gets slick in the rain - begins. If you go, you can get to Czarny Staw by walking on either side of Morskie Oko until you reach the trail on the other side to go up.

Logistics:
  • Make an online reservation for Palenica Białczańska, the parking at the entrance.
  • Start the hike by 8am to beat the crowds (it opens at dawn).
  • Bring coins for the clean bathroom or toilet paper for the free portable toilets.
  • If you are fit and have an extra day, another beautiful hike is Czarny Staw Gąsienicowy. The huts through Halę Gąsienicową look so pretty!


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