Ojców National Park – trail for 1 day
In the entry you will find information about the hiking trail prepared by us in the Ojcowski National Park. The chosen hike is extremely easy and easy to go – also by children and the elderly. It takes 3:51 h over a distance of 11.7 km.
Itinerary of ojcowski National Park
- Ojców National Park
- Access and parking
- Łokietka Cave
- Krakow Gate
- Glove
- Dark Cave
- Ojców castle and museum, parking LOT II
- Ojców parking III + picnic tables
- Sąspowska Valley
- Food on the trail with social facilities
- Nearby attractions and viewpoints
A word of introduction – Ojców National Park
Ojców National Park is the smallest national park in Poland, located in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It was created in 1956 and covers an area of 21.46 km². The park is home to many different animal species, including bats, deer, foxes, wild boars, and more. The park is also home to many different plants and trees. On its territory there are, among others, oaks, beeches, hornbeams, as well as pine forests, which grow on higher areas within the boundaries of the park.
Access and parking to the Ojcowski National Park
Reading reviews about the parking lot at opn, it turns out that there is a fight on the spot like Kargula and Pawlak in a well-known film. Unfortunately, it seems that the rural municipality of Ojców is struggling with tourists. In short: There are 3 parking lots in the area, two municipal and one private.
- Recommended by me private parking from the side of the Łokietek Cave. As of September 1, 2022, it cost PLN 8 / day. Nice, clean – with access to the toilet (already on the trail about 400m from the parking lot)
- Parking under the castle 8 PLN / hour – service by the parking meter so you have to calculate how much time you will spend on the trail. A mistake costs PLN 200 (according to reviews on Google)
- Picnic parking on the north side paid all week from 8 to 20. Motorcycle 3 PLN / h, passenger car 5 PLN / h, Camper, bus 10 PLN / h. Coach 25 PLN/h. There are picnic tables in the car park.
From the information we obtained from friends before leaving, finding a place in the season after 10:00 borders on a miracle. After the season, 4-5 cars in the entire parking lot. 🙂
Attractions in the Ojcowski National Park
TRAIL: If you have chosen a private car park, you are already on the blue trail and heading towards the forest (north, east) after about 300m you will find yourself on the edge of the forest, and thus in the OPN area. 100m further on the left you will find sanitary facilities. Toilet paid 2zł. A little further, reaching the intersection at the Łokietka Grotto 459m above sea level, on the left side you have the first attraction of the trail.
Łokietka Cave
Legend has it that the future king Polish hid there for about 6 weeks, and thanks to the fact that the entrance was covered with cobwebs, she confused the search trail, This clever masking probably saved Władek. The gate to the grotto itself is made in a cobweb motif to commemorate those moments.
C. D. TRAIL: From the grotto we follow the black and blue trail. We chose the direction opposite to the clockwise and at the crossroads we chose the blue direction towards the Krakow gate 323 m above sea level.
Prądnik Valley and Krakow Gate
Through the Prądnik Valley formerly ran a trade route from Krakow to Ojców. The gate itself with a classic appearance was created as an erosive result and 2 blocks of rock with a height of about 15m are built. People with disabilities can drive directly to the gate by car and see the attraction without walking.
C. D. TRAIL: from the Krakow Gate we have two exits for a further walk. Choose the red-yellow trail to the right towards the Tchaikovsky generator or to the left to the blue/red/yellow trail. Choosing the right side, and then turning the green trail on the other side of the stream, we have the attraction of the Trench Mountain, Gloves and the Dark Cave on the way. However, due to lack of time, we chose the 3rd option. Crossing left along the blue/red/yellow trail literally 50 meters, and then the reflection on the bridge over the stream to the green trail. In this way we got a green trail from the other side to the Glove by approaching about 100-140m up. After taking photos for you, we went downstairs . Following the green trail towards the north on the right side we pass the Deotyma Needle it is a slender vertical rock right next to the old villa. According to legend, the name was given to a writer who sought inspiration to write in the local nature. It is highly probable that it was she who inhabited the property located next door. Going further along the green trail we will reach the castle…
Ruins of the castle in Ojców, museum and car park II
Starting from the second parking option and the most expensive one of PLN 8 / h according to Google users’ opinions, a few minutes of mistake in calculating the parking time will result in the obligation to pay an additional fee of PLN 200. The problem of tourists on the trail is always the same – they do not know how much time they will spend on it and on the side of the municipality you should inform visitors about the average parking time. Don’t judge me. If there is a man from fines, why can not the same individual delete when leaving?!
Main Attraction – castle
In the place of the castle in Ojców built on the trail of eagles’ nests in the early Iron Age there was a settlement of the Lusatian culture. This settlement was probably destroyed by the invasion of the Scythians and the Iranian peoples. The castle itself was built in the fourteenth century. Personalities such as Władek Łokietek and Kazik Wielki had contact with the castle in any way (you can associate the guest with the denomination of 50 PLN) From my point of view, the ruins of the castle are… heavily neglected and overgrown. The only thing that interested me was the multimedia presentation with a voice-over and a show of knight armor and the presentation of 5 swords.
Entry from what I remember for a normal ticket is PLN 18 in September 2022 .
C. D. TRAIL: Starting from the castle, we walk about 100m along the asphalt road towards the west along the black and green trail. All the time along the asphalt road, until we reach the III picnic parking lot. [info, prices at the beginning of the entry] From the parking lot itself, we follow the green trail towards the Sąspowska Valley. A yellow trail will lead us through the valley until we move away from the black and red trail. Here, too, social facilities, cafes and restaurants will be waiting for us. Hence, along the black trail we will go to the “Pod Chełmowa” junction and further towards the parking lot.
BONUS ATTRACTIONS:
Hercules’ club and Pieskowa Skala Castle
In the near distance there are also attractions such as Hercules’ Club – parking directly under it and the Castle in Pieskowa Skala. A walk in about should not take more than 30 minutes
Rabshin Castle
Unfortunately we do not have pictures from the inside because we arrived too late. 4 km to Olkusz. 8 km from the Błędowska Desert
Błędowska Desert
The desert is also an active military training ground where soldiers practice their skills several times a year. We got to it from the town of Klucze. There is a viewing platform on the spot, and the friendly “Ladies Grześ” presented us with PRO TRIP – access to the desert from the platform and to the Wind Rose – an attraction located directly in the desert.
To organize trips and trips, I recommend the application and travel insurance:
- Gate to the Jura – by bike or on foot
- Tourist map – on foot
