Stolowe Mountains with a dog - where you can walk and where you turn back

The Stolowe Mountains are one of the few places in the Polish mountains where the answer to "can I bring my dog" is "yes, but". The park allows dogs on most of its trails, under two firm conditions and with two exceptions that happen to cover the most popular attractions. Better to know that before you drive than in the car park at Karlow.

Two non-negotiable conditions

Leash and muzzle. The park leaves no room for interpretation here: a dog may be brought in only on a leash and wearing a muzzle. This is not the Tatras or the Karkonosze, where dogs are simply banned, so treat the muzzle as the price of admission. If your dog is not used to one, start two weeks ahead: short sessions at home, treats through the basket, never forcing it on right before the trail.

Where dogs cannot go

The two busiest spots in the park have their own rules, and this is usually where people are caught out.

Bledne Skaly. The Tourist Route, the narrow labyrinth between sandstone blocks, is closed to dogs. You can walk right up to the entrance, but you cannot go through.

Szczeliniec Wielki. Access is split in half. Dogs are allowed to the northern terraces and the PTTK hut, returning the same way. The Tourist Route across the summit labyrinth, with its stairs, crevices and the section known as Piekielko, is closed to dogs.

Beyond that, trails running through strictly and actively protected zones are excluded, as are routes designated as ski trails in winter.

Trails that are open to dogs

The park lists specific walking and cycling routes where a leashed and muzzled dog is welcome. Several combine into sensible day plans:

• the blue trail from Danczow to Darnkow via Krucze Skaly,
• the green trail from Kudowa-Zdroj to the YMCA clearing,
• the green trail from the YMCA clearing to Lisia Przelecz,
• the red trail from Jakubowice to Bledne Skaly (without the Tourist Route itself),
• the green trail from Bukowina Klodzka to Bledne Skaly,
• the blue trails from Karlow to Lisia Przelecz and from Karlow to Pasterka,
• the Skalne Grzyby educational path,
• the Kregielny Trakt from Karlow to Batorowek.

The park publishes a current map of permitted sections, and it is worth checking before you travel, because the list does get adjusted.

A weekend plan that works in autumn

If you are here for two days, this order holds up well. Day one: Skalne Grzyby, a calm shaded path with a decent surface underfoot and no crowds. Day two: Karlow, up to the northern terraces of Szczeliniec and back, with a stop in Pasterka on the way. Leave Bledne Skaly for a visit without the dog, or plan for one person to wait outside with them.

September and October simply work better than the summer holidays. Sandstone stores heat, and on a hot day the narrow passages between rocks turn into an oven where a dog starts panting long before you do. Once the season ends the queues disappear and the beech woods below look the way they only look in October.

Before you set off

• Water. Streams are not guaranteed along these trails, so bring a bottle and a folding bowl.
• Paws. Sandstone is abrasive, so check the pads at every longer stop.
• Ticks. Autumn is the second peak of tick activity, covered in our piece on ticks on dogs.
• Accommodation. Book ahead and make sure the dog is genuinely welcome rather than tolerated for a surcharge.

For pacing, fitness and route choice with a dog, see our guide to mountain trails with a dog.

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The Stolowe Mountains show that a national park and a dog are not always mutually exclusive. Check the DOGOUT map for what else in the area is open to a crew with a dog, and add the places you have tested on the trail yourself.