The Hill of Crosses with kids: a short stop near Šiauliai on the way from Riga to Kaunas

The Hill of Crosses is about 12 km north of Šiauliai in Lithuania, close to the Via Baltica. Entry is free, and you can visit at any time of day or night. Dogs are not allowed. We stopped here on 12 August 2026, on our way from Riga to Kaunas.

A stop off the Via Baltica

From Riga it was 122 km to the Hill of Crosses. We didn't come here with any particular plan. We stopped because it is an interesting place right by the Via Baltica, and we also wanted to stretch our legs.

We parked in the paid car park. Once there, we realised it hadn't been necessary, as we could have pulled over by the road. The only thing by the car park is a shop.

Signs at the entrance say that dogs are not allowed, and the site's rules say the same: no dogs or other animals on the hill, except guide dogs.

A hill covered in crosses

Wooden steps and narrow paths lead up the hill. There are crosses on every side, big and small, wooden, metal and brightly painted. Many have small plaques with inscriptions in different languages. Estimates of how many crosses there are vary widely, from several tens of thousands to more than 200,000.

A little history

A few facts about the place:

• In the Middle Ages a wooden fort stood on the hill. Livonian forces destroyed it in 1348.
• The first crosses appeared in the mid-19th century. They are most often linked to the January Uprising of 1863, when crosses were put up in memory of those who died.
• The Tsarist authorities banned putting up crosses, but people kept bringing new ones anyway.
• In Soviet times the hill was bulldozed several times, the first time in 1961. The crosses kept coming back, because people brought them at night.
• On 7 September 1993 Pope John Paul II prayed at the Hill of Crosses and celebrated Mass in a chapel next to it.

Kaunas Lake Camping

After the Hill of Crosses we drove 90 km, did some shopping at Lidl and, after another 80 km, reached Kaunas Lake Camping on the edge of Kaunas. The campsite sits right on Lake Lampėdžiai, among pine trees. Next to it there are outdoor gyms with excellent equipment. We don't have anything like that back home in Poland, so all we could do was envy them. Dad and Justyna went for a run in the forest, and two of the girls relaxed in a hammock.

The next day we took the bus into Kaunas. The whole route is in our post Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia by campervan with kids.

Practical info

Checked in November 2026.

• The Hill of Crosses is about 12 km north of Šiauliai. Entry is free, and the hill is open 24 hours a day.
• The car park by the Hill of Crosses is paid. For a short stop, you can also pull over by the access road.
• Dogs and other animals are not allowed on the Hill of Crosses, except guide dogs.
• The rules also ban cycling on the hill, lighting fires, burning candles and playing loud music.
• The tourist information centre by the Hill of Crosses is open Monday to Friday, from 9:00 to 18:00 between April and September and from 9:00 to 17:00 in the other months.
• Kaunas Lake Camping is at Raudondvario pl. 161A in Kaunas, on Lake Lampėdžiai. It is a seasonal campsite, usually open from early May to mid-September.