Risnjak National Park: trails, tickets and a peak above the sea

Risnjak National Park lies in Gorski Kotar, less than 15 km as the crow flies from the sea, in the hills behind Rijeka (NP Risnjak). Its 63.5 square kilometres run from the Kupa valley at 290 metres to the summit of Veliki Risnjak at 1,528 metres. The park office and the main entrance, Bijela Vodica, are in Crni Lug, 12 km from Delnice and from the Rijeka to Zagreb motorway. It suits visitors heading to the Kvarner coast in autumn who want a day in the forest: a level loop trail, a karst spring with a turquoise pool and a summit with views as far as Istria.

Croatia declared the area a national park in 1953, at the time on 36 square kilometres. In 1997 the park grew to include Snježnik and the source of the Kupa with its upper course. Forest covers 92 per cent of the area (NP Risnjak, Leska). The park is home to all three of Europe's large carnivores: bear, wolf and lynx.

Tickets and opening hours in 2026

The prices come from the park's 2026 price list (price list). The first figure applies from 1 January to 30 June and from 1 September to 31 December, the second in July and August.

• Adults: 8 euros, 11 euros in summer.
• Children aged 7 to 18, pupils, students, pensioners and members of a Croatian mountaineering club (HPD): 6 euros, 8 euros in summer.
• Family ticket for parents with children under 18: 16 euros, 21 euros in summer.
• Children under 7: free. Annual pass: 30 euros.
• Guide for groups of up to 50 on the Leska trail: 60 euros; to the Kupa spring: 80 euros; full day: 110 euros.

A ticket is valid for two days and must be kept during the visit. Tickets are also sold online through the Parkovi Hrvatske portal. The Bijela Vodica entrance is open from 9:00 to 17:00 Monday to Friday, and from 8:00 to 18:00 at weekends and on holidays in July and August (NP Risnjak, visiting). The park gives no separate weekend hours outside the season. Groups should book a few days ahead.

Three goals for one day

Leska is the easiest start. The loop is 4.2 km long, almost flat, and begins a few minutes' walk west of the park office in Crni Lug (NP Risnjak, Leska). Twenty-three boards, also in English, explain the forest, sinkholes, mountain meadows and the region's old farmhouse. The trail opened on 4 June 1993 as the first educational trail in a Croatian national park. It can be walked all year, and trainers are enough.

The source of the Kupa sits at 321 metres and forms a turquoise-green pool, a protected natural monument since 12 December 1963 (NP Risnjak, Kupa). The short route starts in the village of Razloge: on the road from Crni Lug to Gerovo, turn right after Malo Selo, and after 8 km you reach a car park and info point. The spring is 1.8 km and about 35 minutes away, 229 metres downhill, of medium difficulty. The easier route starts in Hrvatsko on the Slovenian border: 4.85 km along the river, about 1 hour 20 minutes.

From the main entrance, Horvat's trail climbs Veliki Risnjak: 7.9 km, 838 metres of ascent, about 2 hours 40 minutes, of medium difficulty (NP Risnjak, summit routes). The shortest ascent starts on the Lazac meadow near Gerovo: 3.75 km and 471 metres of ascent in about 1 hour 15 minutes. From the Platak ski area the route via Cajtige is 7.3 km, about 2 hours 30 minutes. The summit looks over the Kvarner Gulf and Istria to the Julian Alps. In winter the park lists the summit routes for experienced mountaineers with equipment only.

Closed: the Vilje trail, and the hut is being rebuilt

Since 26 June 2026 the Vilje entrance and the trail from Vilje to the summit, part of route 108, have been closed (NP Risnjak, notice). Vilje is the access road for materials and machinery for the renovation of Schlosserov dom, the mountain hut below the summit. In its place the park has opened the Cajtige access, about 2 km to the north-west, with route 101 to Risnjak. The park lists the hut itself as closed.

Schlosserov dom stands at 1,418 metres, has 43 beds and no access road. It opened in September 1932 and was last thoroughly renovated in 1988. According to Hina, the renovation contract went to Fracasso Production of Rijeka, the only bidder, for just over 1.5 million euros before VAT (Novi list). Neither the park nor the report gives a reopening date.

What it means for visitors

• Half a day is enough for Leska plus the Kupa spring. Neither route needs mountain experience.
• There is currently nowhere to eat or sleep at the summit. Pack water and food, as the park also advises.
• After heavy rain and during snowmelt the Krašićevica gorge on the Razloge route can block access to the Kupa spring. The route from Hrvatsko is then the alternative.
• Arriving on the A6: from 15 November winter equipment is mandatory in Gorski Kotar, whatever the weather. Details are in our guide to winter tyres in Croatia.
• The ticket is valid for two days. If you stay in the area, you can split Leska and the summit over two days. For the city on the coast, see what to see in Rijeka.