From Smardzowice to the center of Ojców

From Smardzowice to the center of Ojców, follow the red nature and education trail signs. In less than one hour you can reach the center of Ojców and the Spa Park at the foot of Kazimierz Castle. This way you can avoid the crowded parking area in Ojców, and you can even come without a car.

Smardzowice: public bus access and parking

Smardzowice is a small village in the buffer zone of Ojców National Park. You can get here by public bus from Kraków. Bus line 267 starts at the Krowodrza Górka bus terminal. If you come by car, you can use parking areas, for example near the cemetery or near the recreation area on Szkolna Street.

From Smardzowice to the center of Ojców

To get from Smardzowice to the center of Ojców, start at the Smardzowice Remiza bus stop. Go north along Szkolna Street, and after a short walk turn left into Zamkowa Street. This part of the route goes along the side of an asphalt road, but car traffic here is only local and light.

After about 20-30 minutes, you reach the end of the asphalt road. There is a small lay-by here where you may sometimes see parked cars. Then walk along the edge of the forest and a scenic meadow until you reach the border of Ojców National Park.

From this point, the route goes through the forest. A wide and fairly comfortable forest path leads down to the Prądnik Valley. On the way, you walk through a beautiful beech forest with small rock outcrops.

Before you go down to the center of Ojców and the Spa Park, you can look at the Prądnik Valley from above, over the buildings:

The trail ends when it goes down to the asphalt road in Ojców, behind the old buildings known as Zawiszówki. From here, you can turn right towards Kazimierz Castle, the Nature Museum of Ojców National Park, and the spa buildings of Ojców, where you can find food, souvenirs, and toilets. You can also turn left towards Ciemna Cave, the scenic green trail, Kraków Gate, and the trail to Łokietek Cave.

What if you take the nature trail from Smardzowice in the other direction?

Then you will reach the Prądnik Valley near Smardzowicki Gorge, Puchaczówka, and the entrance to the scenic green trail:

Medium

directions_walk

From Smardzowice to the Prądnik Valley and Ojców

straighten 1.8km

timer 29min

north_east 19m

south_east 103m

You can find more ideas for getting to Ojców without a car in this article:

How to get from Kraków to Ojców without a car

Getting to Ojców and Ojców National Park, located only about 20 km from Kraków, is not as easy as it may seem. If you go by car, you should expect crowded paid car parks. If you use public transport, you need to plan the trip carefully. ...

Author

Marta Mleczko

Redaktorka portali trasadlabobasa.pl i szpiedzywiedzy.pl; przewodniczka górska beskidzka i terenowa, w tym po Ojcowskim Parku Narodowym

Publish Date: 2026-01-09