Szklarka Waterfall and the Kowarski Ridge with kids - the Karkonosze 2022

The Szklarka Waterfall is about 13 m high and the second highest waterfall in the Polish Karkonosze (Giant Mountains), after Kamienczyk. It is only a few minutes' walk from the car park on the road to Jelenia Gora, so it is a good walk for your first day in the mountains. We went there in August 2022 with our three daughters, at the start of our summer in Poland.

Between these two walks we climbed Szrenica. We wrote about that loop in a separate post, Szrenica with kids.

An afternoon at the Szklarka Waterfall

On 5 August we arrived in Szklarska Poreba at 15:20. We left our bags in our room and went straight to the Szklarka.

The path follows a stream. The water runs over granite stones, and the youngest of the girls found a stick at once and took it right down to the water. The waterfall itself drops into a narrow green gorge. We took a selfie together next to it.

Right next to it is the Kochanowka mountain hut. There has been an inn on this spot since 1868.

Fun fact

In summer 1800 John Quincy Adams visited the Szklarka Waterfall. He was the US envoy to Prussia at the time and later became President of the United States. The name of the waterfall comes from a legend about a glassmaker's daughter who died here.

The Kowarski Ridge: from the Okraj Pass to Jelenka

On 7 August we drove to the Okraj Pass at the eastern end of the Karkonosze. Until 2007 there was a road border crossing with the Czech Republic here. We were on the trail from 9:30.

The blue trail goes from Okraj along the ridge, right on the border. Every few hundred metres there is a white and red border post. Each one was a good reason for a photo, and the youngest of our three sat on one of them.

The Kowarski Ridge is about 4 km long, and its highest points are Czolo (1266 m) and Skalny Stol (1281 m). Granite rocks stick out between the dwarf pines, and there is a viewpoint on the way. We sat there for a while. From up there we could see the green ridges of the Karkonosze on both sides of the border.

A break at Jelenka

After the Sowia Pass we walked down to the Czech side, to the Jelenka mountain hut (Bouda Jelenka) at 1260 m. A Czech count built a hunting lodge here in 1936. Today it is a mountain hut with Czech food.

At 12:00 we had a half-hour break at Jelenka. Nearby, next to a signpost, there is a carved wooden animal. We took a family photo with it.

We went back to the Okraj Pass a different way: on the Czech side, along a tarmac road. This way we did a loop and did not have to walk the same trail twice. At 14:00 we were back at the car. The whole walk took us 4.5 hours with breaks. From there we drove straight home, because the next day we were going to the Drawsko Lake District.

Practical info

Checked in November 2026.

• Szklarka Waterfall: about 400 m from the car park on road no. 3, about 10 minutes on foot. The waterfall is in the Karkonosze National Park, and the park ticket covers the Szklarka too.
• Karkonosze National Park tickets: 11 zł for adults, 5.50 zł reduced, children under 7 go free. There is no ticket office on the Kowarski Ridge, so buy your ticket online.
• Okraj Pass: the car park by the mountain hut on the Polish side is paid. From Okraj to Skalny Stol it is about 3 km on the blue trail.
• Trail closures: the blue trail from Okraj to Skalny Stol is sometimes closed in spring to protect birds. Check the park's notices before you go.
• Jelenka: the hut is on the Czech side and does not take cards, so bring Czech crowns in cash.
• Pram: a cobbled path leads to the Szklarka, but you cannot take a pram up the Kowarski Ridge, as the trail is rocky.