Accessible hiking trails and routes in Slovakia: tips for wheelchair users

Slovakia does have accessible hiking trails, but don’t expect an all-inclusive service. Natália Turčinová recommends the Tichá and Kôprová valleys below Kriváň, Morské oko, the Jánska valley, the Stratená Canyon and the Roháčska valley. For harder routes, such as the one up to Popradské pleso, consider an all-terrain wheelchair and help from AssisTTour.

I wrote this article in 2019. Prices, opening hours and connections may have changed since then, so check them before you travel.

Slovakia has accessible hiking trails and routes too. When Naty and I were planning topics for a series of articles on accessible travel with wheelchair users, it struck me that one of them could be about accessible hiking trails.

Wheelchair-accessible hiking trails and routes in Slovakia

Are there any hiking trails for people in wheelchairs at all? Hiking in a wheelchair is one of Naty’s favourite pastimes, so she has plenty to say on the subject. That’s partly thanks to her community of friends with disabilities who, like her, have covered all kinds of paths, smooth and rough. Don’t expect an all-inclusive service, though, or an accessible toilet on every corner. And of course, being out in nature has its limits for people in wheelchairs.

1. Accessible trails below Kriváň
2. Routes around Morské oko
3. The Jánska valley
4. The Stratená Canyon and its accessible nature trail
5. The Látaná and Roháčska valleys in a wheelchair
6. Popradské pleso

Accessible trails right below Kriváň: the Tichá and Kôprová valleys

One way for people in wheelchairs to enjoy the scenery is a trip through the Kôprová and Tichá valleys (Kôprová dolina and Tichá dolina), right in the heart of the High Tatras. Both valleys have tarmac paths along the stream right below Kriváň. Each valley has a barrier at the entrance, and when it’s closed you have to ask passers-by for help. However, in 2019 the Slovak muscular dystrophy patients’ organisation (Organizácia muskulárnych dystrofikov v SR) said that Marián Jurík, the TANAP State Forests (Štátne lesy TANAP) manager in Podbanské, was due to set up makeshift bypasses alongside the barriers. That’s another reason why we recommend finding out, before every trip, who is in charge of the area and how to contact them.

Tip from Milan I recently visited Čajka v oblakoch near Prievidza, an accessible lookout tower close to Bojnice Castle. I’d recommend it, wheelchair or not.

Morské oko: accessible trails and routes around the lake

This time we head right over to the far east of Slovakia, to the village of Remetské Hámre, about 12 km from the Zemplínska šírava reservoir. We don’t stop in the village but drive straight through. We cross a small bridge over the Okna stream, and on the other side there’s an open barrier and the way into the forest. We continue for about another 8 km through a wide valley to the Krivec car park. Here we leave the car and carry on under our own steam, deep into the Vihorlat forests, which have the highest level of protection. We study the board showing the marked trails, then simply follow the blue waymarks along a nice tarmac road.

From the car park it takes about 20 minutes to reach the shore of Morské oko. The walk around the lake on the nature trail takes about an hour. Beyond the dam the tarmac isn’t as good, but it’s fine for an electric wheelchair, or a manual one if you have a reasonably fit personal assistant with you. In all, the route you can manage in a wheelchair is 5 km long.

The Jánska valley: accessible trails and routes for a trip with a wheelchair user

At 18 km, the Jánska valley (Jánska dolina) is one of the longest valleys in the Low Tatras. It starts in the village of Liptovský Ján. From there, people with physical disabilities who get around in a wheelchair can also follow the blue-marked hiking trail.

The tarmac forest paths in the Jánska valley are ideal for accessible hiking. This is above all a place for devotees of spruce trees and squeaky-clean air. And if the Liptov region wins you over so completely that you want to stay longer, we recommend staying at the accessible Hotel Alexandra.

The Stratená Canyon nature trail: accessible hiking in Slovak Paradise

The nature trail through the Stratená Canyon (Stratenský kaňon) is one of the first hiking areas that also suit people in wheelchairs. This easy trail follows a surfaced track through the gorge-like upper reaches of the Hnilec river in Slovak Paradise National Park. It lies in the Stratená nature reserve and is part of a waymarked hiking and cycling route. The best place to join the nature trail is the car park at the eastern end of the road tunnel.

One nice touch: all the information boards are set into the rock at a height that wheelchair users can read from. The 1.1 km route has eight stops, and even in a wheelchair you can do it within half an hour.

Roháče in a wheelchair: the Látaná and Roháčska valleys

Around the Roháče mountains you can do two lovely trips. The first follows a mountain stream through the Látaná valley (Látaná dolina), the second runs right beneath the Roháče peaks through the Roháčska valley (Roháčska dolina). Both valleys have a tarmac road and a red-marked trail that is easy to manage even in a wheelchair. In the Roháčska valley, the waymarked trail starts as far back as Zuberec and runs all the way to the Ťatliakova chata mountain hut. If you’re not in a hurry, stop in Zuberec and visit the Museum of the Orava Village (Múzeum oravskej dediny). For more ideas, read my tips on what to see in Orava. Admission to the museum is no longer free for people with severe disabilities. As of 1 July 2026, you pay €5 with a ZŤP card (Slovakia’s severe disability card) and €1 with a ZŤP/S card (the version for people who need an escort). For the escort of a ZŤP/S card holder you pay €5. There’s also an accessible toilet.

The ideal starting point for a hike through the Roháčska and Látaná valleys is the car park at the Zverovka resort. Zverovka is also home to the lowest-lying tarn in the Tatras, the tarn below Zverovka (pleso pod Zverovkou). On this walk of more than 3 km, visitors in wheelchairs get fine views of the main Roháče ridge and the surrounding countryside.

Popradské pleso: an accessible trip in an all-terrain wheelchair

This accessible hiking route starts at the car park by the Popradské pleso stop on the Tatra Electric Railway. The whole route follows a tarmac road through the Mengusovská valley (Mengusovská dolina), and the blue waymarks show you the way. The first few hundred metres are the toughest, with a steep climb, so you’ll need either an electric wheelchair or a physically fit personal assistant. After that the route climbs only gently, but bear in mind the way back, when you’ll have to brake hard. At the end of this 4.5 km wheelchair hike, your reward is the view of Popradské pleso, a beautiful mountain lake.

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AssisTTour: guides for people with physical disabilities

Time to head for the hills, thanks to assisted mountain hiking. Nature lovers from AssisTTour, a non-profit association, decided to accompany people with physical disabilities in the mountains, together with their family and friends. With a special all-terrain wheelchair, they can open up natural and cultural scenery that is otherwise hard or impossible to reach. Think mountain trails in the valleys, ruined castles, caves, places of pilgrimage, or simply the view from a hill over your home town or village.

All this is thanks to enthusiasts who are short of neither strong muscles nor an all-terrain wheelchair. A French mountain guide invented the original version of this wheelchair in 1987. He had the idea of building an all-terrain wheelchair so that he could take his nephew, who had muscular dystrophy, into the mountains. He built the first prototype in an unbelievable two days. Since then the wheelchair has been through 30 years of development, right up to today’s version with its brilliantly thought-out features.

‘I only found out about assisted mountain hiking recently. I haven’t tried it first-hand yet, but the idea that one day I might really get to places I’ve only ever looked at from a distance absolutely thrilled me.
At the same time, I’m delighted, and I take my imaginary hat off to the people who came up with it. I’m seriously thinking about giving assisted mountain hiking a try. All that’s left is to put my fear aside and off I go,’ adds Natália.

Natália Turčinová & Milan Bez Mapy