Lake Morskie Oko, Southern Poland, Poland

5Kristiina R 5:00 PM Jul 16, 2022

Stunning views
We went on the hike to Morskie Oko with our family. We were expecting the hike to take place in the forest, but it is a asphalt road up to the mountains. It is possible to go up by horse carriage, but as I have a severe allergy to horses we had to walk. It is about 8 km up to the lake. It was 33 degrees and direct sun so it took us 4 h to get up to the lake. The lake is stunning and all the pain and difficulties were gone just being there. Those who can, should definitely take the horse carriage up and then come down on foot. Coming down only took 1,5 h and was a lot easier as the temperature had gone down to just plus 25 degrees (Celsius). All in all we spent 8 days in the High Tatras. We also went to Slovakia side and I do recommend that area. A lot of different hiking trails and wonderful views.

5JustDiveIn 5:00 PM Feb 14, 2020

Beautiful winter hike
The last time we visited was in the summer, this time we decided to make the hike to see nature's beauty in the winter. It's one of the largest lakes in the Tatra Mountains at 1393m above sea level. In the winter it is completely frozen. You can walk across the lake like many do who venture to Black Lake (Czarny Staw) or into the higher mountains. It snowed the day before our hike, the views we encountered during our hike were picturesque. The hike to Morskie Oko is 8.5 km. The parking lot is around 985m above sea level, by the time you reach the chalet by the lake you will be at 1393m, that's a rise in elevation by 408m. The path leading to the lake was full of snow, it looked like it was plowed at some point but there was at least 10-15cm of packed snow on the path, in places it was a bit slippery on the compacted snow. Hiking shoes are a must. The hike still took 2hrs, although only one of the shortcut paths was open, the rest were closed. Halfway in the hike by the waterfall (Wodogrzmoty Mickiewicza), there are portable bathrooms, in the winter this is also a spot that encounters frequent avalanches. From December 21 - Jan 6 there is also an option to take a horse-drawn sleigh ride for the ones that don't feel like walking. The last sleigh ride up is at 16:00 and the last sleigh ride down is 19:00. Unfortunately on our day clouds rolled in and we were not able to see the peaks of the mountains that surround the lake, but it was still a nice site to see. Arrive early, it's a lot easier to find parking and you can have the lake all to yourself before all the crowds arrive. There is a mountain chalet at the end of the trail, it has a restaurant where you can get some food or hot coffee/tea to warm up. Parking is available at Palenica Bialczanska, the cost to park 30zl, or you can take a bus from Zakopane. Entrance to the park is 5zl per person. The one thing that disappointed me in this hike was the tourists that walk the path. I don't understand why they have to litter so much, we were one of the first ones on the path in the morning and there were many cups, plastic bottles, receipts and wrappers that were discarded on the path. Its a disgrace that tourists pollute such a beautiful place. Please discard your trash at the wastebaskets that are provided and not on the trail. If you found this helpful feel free to hit the Thank button below. Happy Hiking.