Samotnia Hut and Mały Staw Lake

Samotnia mountain hut and the glacial lake Mały Staw (MAH-wee stahv, "Little Pond") form one of the most photogenic spots in Poland's Karkonosze, the Polish half of the Giant Mountains. The hut sits right on the shore of the lake, beneath the steep walls of a glacial cirque, about an hour's hike from Vang Stave Church in Karpacz. People have sheltered here since at least the 17th century, which makes Samotnia one of the oldest mountain huts in Poland and a perfect half-day goal.

Where it is

Karpacz is a mountain resort in Lower Silesia, southwest Poland, about two hours by car from Wrocław and its international airport. Samotnia ("Solitude") lies above the upper part of town inside Karkonosze National Park, part of a cross-border UNESCO biosphere reserve shared with the Czech Republic. There is no road access for visitors — you walk.

The lake and the cirque

Mały Staw lies at about 1,183 m in the floor of a cirque carved by an Ice Age glacier. It covers roughly 2.9 hectares and is up to 7.3 m deep. Even in summer the water stays cold (up to about 14°C / 57°F), and the lake is frozen for much of the year. Alpine newts and brown trout live here, along with a tiny glacial-relict flatworm. Swimming is prohibited, and you must stay on marked trails.

A hut with 350 years of history

The first record of a cabin by the lake dates from 1670, when a warden lived here guarding a trout fishery for the noble Schaffgotsch family; the poet Christian Gryphius visited him that September. Tourism grew after railroads reached the region in the 1860s, and the cabin was expanded into an inn known in German as the Kleine Teichbaude. After World War II and the border change of 1945, the hut passed to the Polish tourist association PTTK. From 1966 it was run for decades by Waldemar and Sylwia Siemaszko, and it now bears Waldemar's name.

How to get there

• From Vang Stave Church in Karpacz: blue trail, about 1 hour uphill via the Polana clearing.
• From the Strzecha Akademicka hut above: about 10 minutes downhill — handy if you are combining Samotnia with a Śnieżka (SHNYESH-kah) summit hike.

You need a national park ticket: a one-day adult ticket costs PLN 11, reduced PLN 5.50 (as of October 2026). Buy it online or at park booths, including one next to Vang church. Dogs on a leash are allowed on most park trails.

Winter and spring closures

The cirque is avalanche terrain. The blue trail section between Domek Myśliwski and Samotnia closes in winter because of avalanche risk and from March 15 to May 31 for wildlife protection; a service road serves as the detour. Check the park's daily trail bulletin and mountain rescue (GOPR) avalanche warnings before you go, and carry traction devices in winter. The Polish mountain rescue number is 985.

Food and overnight stays

PTTK runs the hut with rooms for hikers and skiers and a buffet serving hearty Polish classics such as sour rye soup, bigos stew and apple cake. Bookings: phone/WhatsApp +48 455 501 958 (daily 8 a.m.–7 p.m.) or rezerwacje@schroniskosamotnia.com. Opening hours of the buffet and room rates were not published at the time of checking, so contact the hut before you go.

Is it worth visiting?

Yes — it is the best payoff for a modest hike in Karpacz: a real high-mountain landscape in an hour, plus a warm meal. Go early on summer weekends, when the trail is busy.

Nearby

Continue up to the Strzecha Akademicka hut and on to Śnieżka, or return to Vang Stave Church and the Kopa chairlift.