Wielkopolski National Park (Greater Poland National Park)

Wielkopolski National Park (Greater Poland National Park; say "vyel-ko-POL-skee") is a free-to-enter landscape of forests, glacial lakes and wooded hills just 15 km south of Poznań, one of western Poland's biggest cities. It is the easiest national park to reach from Poznań by train, and with around 1.2 million visitors a year it is a favorite weekend escape. Come for lakeside walks, a castle ruin on an island and a compact nature museum.

Why this park is special

Established on April 16, 1957, the park was the brainchild of Professor Adam Wodziczko, a Poznań botanist who campaigned for it before World War II. It now covers 7,584 hectares (about 18,700 acres) along the Warta River between the towns of Luboń, Stęszew and Mosina.

The scenery is a textbook of the last Ice Age: lakes lying in long glacial troughs, moraine hills, eskers and huge boulders dragged here from Scandinavia by the ice sheet. Eighteen strictly protected areas (about 260 ha in total) are left entirely to nature. Botanists have recorded more than 900 vascular plant species, and over 220 bird species nest or stop over here; in fall, thousands of geese and other waterfowl rest on the lakes.

Top things to do in Wielkopolski National Park

• Walk around Lake Góreckie, the park's signature lake, and look out to Castle Island (Wyspa Zamkowa). Its romantic Gothic Revival castle was built in 1824–1825 by Count Tytus Działyński as a gift for his sister Klaudyna Potocka and wrecked by Prussian troops during the 1848 uprising. The island is now a cormorant colony and is viewed from the shore.
• See the Foresters' Boulder (Głaz Leśników), a glacial erratic 4 m tall and about 20 tons, by the parking lot at the Komorniki–Jeziory junction.
• Find Napoleon's Well on the red trail below Osowa Góra. Legend says Napoleon stopped here in 1812 and compared the water to champagne.
• Visit the Nature Museum in the hamlet of Jeziory: four rooms covering the park's history, Ice Age mammals such as the woolly mammoth, aquariums with local lake fish, a forest-and-lake diorama and a large bird collection.

A sober footnote of history: the museum and park headquarters occupy a building constructed during World War II as a residence for Arthur Greiser, the Nazi governor of the annexed "Wartheland." After the war it served as a children's sanatorium.

Hiking and biking: how much time you need

A dense network of marked walking, cycling and horse trails crosses the park. The classic is the red trail from Puszczykówko station past Jeziory and along Lake Góreckie to Osowa Góra. The park also describes themed loops such as the 8.4 km Professor Adam Wodziczko Route from Osowa Góra.

• 2–3 hours: Jeziory, the shore of Lake Góreckie and the museum.
• Half a day: red trail from Puszczykówko to Jeziory and on to Lake Kociołek.
• Full day: cycle through the park and finish at a lake beach in summer.

Stay on marked trails, visit from dawn to dusk, and keep dogs on a leash and muzzled, as park rules require. Picking plants and mushrooms is not allowed.

Tickets, hours and parking

As of October 2026:

• Park entry: free.
• Nature Museum: Mon–Fri 8 am–2 pm; closed Saturdays; Sundays 11 am–6 pm from April 1 to September 30, closed on Sundays from October through March.
• Museum tickets: 10 PLN adults, 5 PLN reduced (children over 3, students, seniors); guided tours in Polish or English for groups of 10–25 cost an extra 60 PLN per group.
• Parking: eight paid lots (meters or the moBILET app) at 7 PLN for the first two hours or 12 PLN per day; the lot by Trzcielińskie Bagno is free, and cars with a disabled parking card park free.

Contact: Jeziory 1, 62-050 Mosina; phone +48 61 898 23 00.

How to get there from Poznań

By train, take a regional service on the Poznań–Wrocław line to Puszczykówko and walk along ul. Dworcowa toward Jeziory. By car, follow the county road Komorniki–Jeziory–Puszczykowo to the main lot in front of park headquarters. Poznań itself has an airport and direct trains from Berlin and Warsaw, so the park works well as a day trip from the city.

Is it worth visiting in winter?

Yes, if you like quiet forest walks: the park is open year-round, although in winter 2026/27 the museum opens on weekdays only. Lakeside paths can be icy, and walking on frozen lakes is forbidden. Swimming in Lake Góreckie has been banned since 1995; in summer, use the municipal beaches on lakes such as Łódzko-Dymaczewskie, Jarosławieckie or Chomęcickie. May and October are the most beautiful months.