Poland is located in the heart of Europe and enjoys lovely geographical features that are simply amazing for camping. In the south of the country, the Carpathian and Sudeten Mountains are located, enabling a rugged and slightly extreme camping experience. Venture in the middle of the country, and you will get to the central lowlands that are home to more than 1,300 lakes. On the north, the sandy coast of the Baltic Sea awaits you. So, out of all that diversity, what are the best camping spots in Poland? Find out in the paragraphs below!
Camping Laws in Poland
When we look from an official perspective, wild camping in Poland is illegal. There is a 120€ fine attached to getting caught by the police if you are wild camping. But here is the catch: the punishments for wild camping in Poland are enforced mostly in nature reserves, forests, and on the coastline.
Cases like asking permission of the landowner to camp there are allowed. If you are in any kind of public area (like a town park), you can ask the authorities if it is okay to wild camp there too. When you are in rural areas of Poland (and there are a lot of them!) camping out in the wild is relaxing at the finest.
So, to sum it up, you should avoid wild camping in nature reserves and on the Baltic coast. And don’t light any wildfires in the forests! If you are out of these areas, people are pretty tolerant of wild campers, and they usually won’t call the authorities to enforce the camping laws of Poland.
What Are Some Lovely Camping Spots In Poland?
By now, you know that Poland is very friendly when it comes to wild camping. Just respect the nature and the people around you, and you should be fine. Below, you can find our choices for the best camping spots in Poland!
1) Bieszczady Mountains
Located in the southeast Poland, just beside Ukraine and Slovakia, sit the Bieszczady Mountains. This area is renowned for its mountainous meadows locally called Połonina. Just imagine pitching a tent on a meadow that is elevated 800m+ above sea level. Yeah, it is quite otherworldly, and definitely an ideal spot to camp out in Poland.
p.s. since this region lies on higher grounds where the humidity is higher and the temperature gets lower, especially during the night, it’s crucial to heat your tent.
You can wild camp over here, just make sure that you don’t do so in the nature reserves around this area, as well as in the Bieszczadzki National Park.
If you want to camp out in a designated camping spot with facilities like a hot shower, check out the Kamping Górna Wetlinka, located in a village called Wetlina, near the Bieszczadzki National Park.
2) Mazury
This area is located in the northeastern area of Poland and is as wild as you’re going to get in Poland. There are no major cities around here, as the region is filled with thousands of lakes, opting locals to take care of the natural beauty they have around here. The area is full of green grasslands, forests and lakes. Finding a campsite should be easy enough, not to mention the wild camping opportunities you have here.
Mazury is also full of quasi wild camping spots, where you need to pay a small fee of half Euro (or 2 Polish Zloty). One such site that is quite lovely is located at Rezerwat Jeziora Nidzkiego, where you can camp out on the high banks of the lake.
One thing that we want to mention about Mazury area is that it has very low light pollution. That feat makes it quite impressive for stargazing.
3) Pieniny Mountains
Last but not least, here is yet another mountain range in Poland that happens to be a beautiful camping opportunity. It is located just on the border with Slovakia, with Dunajec River serving as a natural border between the two countries.
The thing that sets the Pieniny Mountains apart is the sheer number of breathtaking trails that will take you to the fantastic peaks like Korony or Sokolica. On these trails, you will see stunning sights of Tatra Mountains too. The area is full of old pine trees, some being 500 years old.
Of course, we should definitely mention the Dunajec River again, as it is a popular rafting spot, with 200 years of tradition. There are numerous camping grounds around, where you will fall asleep with the mellow sounds of the river, and the wind blazing through the forests that cover the mountains. You could try wild camping here too but only do so on the outskirts of the national park. Asking around the locals around the Czorsztynskie Lake may reward you in the form of a lovely wild camping spot.
Conclusion
Poland is yet another of the camping-friendly countries of Europe. Even though wild camping is illegal, it is almost exclusively enforced in national parks, coastline, and in forests (if you get caught lighting up a fire). Otherwise, you can find numerous fantastic camping spots in Poland just by asking around the local populace for permission.
Other camping spots:
