Ojców National Park 2026: free entry, cave and castle tickets, hours
Short answer: Entry to Ojców National Park is free. Łokietek Cave is 30 zl (21 zl reduced); castle 22 zl. As of 18 Oct 2026 Dark Cave is closed for the season.
Ojców National Park, north of Kraków, is one of the easiest nature day trips from the city. Entry to the park itself is free, and you pay only for individual sites such as the Łokietek Cave and the Casimir castle. This guide uses the park's own pages on tourist sites and hours, checked on 18 October 2026. Autumn is a changeover period, so several sites are about to close for the season.
Entry to the park is free
The park's visitor page states that entry to the territory of Ojców National Park is free of charge. Groups may tour the park only with licensed guides, with no more than 50 people per guide, and the park itself does not run guiding services. Individual visitors do not need a ticket to walk the trails.
You can pay at the park's sites in cash or by card. The park warns that card or phone payments can have temporary problems, so bring cash, including for the pay-and-display car parks, which take cards or coins.
Ticket prices at park sites
The park's price list for its tourist sites shows:
- Łokietek Cave (Jaskinia Łokietka): 30 zl full, 21 zl reduced.
- Dark Cave (Jaskinia Ciemna): 20 zl full, 14 zl reduced.
- Casimir castle (Zamek kazimierzowski): 22 zl full, 15 zl reduced.
- Nature exhibition with film: 20 zl full, 14 zl reduced. Exhibition without the film: 14 zl full, 10 zl reduced. The 3D film alone is 6 zl, and the diorama alone is 6 zl.
- Prądnik Valley Heritage Centre: 15 zl full, 10 zl reduced.
A reduced ticket is for children over 3, school pupils and students up to 26, pensioners, people with disabilities, group carers (1 per 10 participants), families of national park and State Forests staff and holders of the Large Family Card. You must show a document that proves the entitlement. The page does not say whether foreign student or family cards are accepted, so ask at the ticket office. A detailed price list for 2026 is available as a PDF on the park's website.
What is open now, as of 18 October 2026
- Łokietek Cave: open daily from 20 April to 11 November, closed on 1 November. In October the last entry is at 16:30 and in November at 15:00. Tours with a duty guide leave every 30 minutes, with no reservations, for 2 to 60 people. Ticket sales end 10 minutes before the tour because the ticket office is far from the entrance. On sunny weekends the wait can be an hour or more.
- Dark Cave: open from 20 April to 14 September, so it is closed for the season.
- Casimir castle: open daily until 31 October, in October with last entry at 15:30. The extra weekend hour applies only until 19 October. From 2 November to 4 January 2027 it opens only on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, 10:00 to 14:30 (last entry), and it is closed on 1 November and 24 to 26 December.
- Nature exhibition: Monday to Saturday, 9:00 to 15:00 (last entry) from 22 June to 31 October. In November and December it is open to organised groups only, Monday to Friday.
The park does not run the castle at Pieskowa Skała. It sends visitors to pieskowaskala.eu for information.
* Photos: Jakub Hałun (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0), Ojców castle (cover) and Łokietek Cave (body).
Parking and where to start
The "Pod Zamkiem" car park, near the centre of Ojców, fills up very quickly on weekends and holidays, often before noon. The park suggests starting from the "Złota Góra" car park instead. It is about 1.5 km from the centre of Ojców along the black or green trail, or about 2 km on the yellow trail through the Sąspowska Valley. Pieskowa Skała has three car parks, and there are private car parks at the park's borders in several villages.
What the sources do not say
The tourist sites page is undated, although it points to 2026 fee rates and the hours list runs to January 2027. The pages do not say how to get to Ojców by public transport, and they do not describe special conditions for foreign visitors. Call the park at +48 12 389 20 05 (weekdays 7:30 to 15:30) if your plans depend on one site being open.
Frequently asked questions
Do I pay to enter Ojców National Park?
No. The park says entry is free. You pay only at sites such as the caves, the castle and the exhibition.
How much does the Łokietek Cave cost?
30 zl full and 21 zl reduced, according to the park's price list checked on 18 October 2026.
Is the Dark Cave open now?
No. It is open from 20 April to 14 September.
Can I visit the castle in winter?
From 2 November 2026 to 4 January 2027 the Casimir castle opens only on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, 10:00 to 14:30 (last entry), and is closed on 1 November and 24 to 26 December.
