Štrbské Pleso Day Trip: Parking, Rack Railway and Hikes from Liptov

How to get there from Liptov: by car or by rack railway

From the cabin in Liptovský Trnovec to Štrbské Pleso it is 54 km, about 50 minutes by car. You take the D1 motorway towards Poprad and from Štrba drive up into the Tatras.

The other option is to leave the car down in Štrba and ride up on the rack railway, which everyone calls the zubačka. It is one of two rack railways in Slovakia. The line is 5.4 km long, climbs 453 m and the journey takes 15 minutes. In 2026 a single ticket cost:

• adults €4,
• children aged 6 - 15, students and holders of a ZŤP (disability) card €3.

If you want to carry on the same day on the Tatra Electric Railway (TEŽ) towards Starý Smokovec, a network ticket is worth it. In 2026 a 24-hour ticket cost €6 (reduced €4), and a 3-day ticket €12 (€8). Check the train timetable in advance, especially for the way back.

Children love the rack railway, and you do not have to hunt for a parking space. But do the maths: a family of two adults and two children pays €28 for single tickets there and back, while full-day parking at the top costs €12. So the rack railway mainly pays off when it is full at the top or when there are just two of you. For a return trip, compare two single tickets (€8) with a 24-hour network ticket (€6).

Where to park at Štrbské Pleso

Štrbské Pleso belongs to the municipality of Štrba, not to the town of Vysoké Tatry, and the municipality runs three car parks here:

• at the entrance to Štrbské Pleso, by the Pleso guesthouse,
• opposite the health centre,
• the central car park.

The price list has applied since October 2024: the first hour €3, the whole day (over 1 hour) €12. At the central car park the first 20 minutes are free, so you have time to drop off the children and your things. If you lose your parking ticket, you pay €20 at the pay station.

On summer weekends and during the school holidays, be at the car park by 9:00. Later on, you may well end up driving round and round looking for a space.

Around the Štrbské pleso lake

The Štrbské pleso lake lies at 1,346 m, covers 19.76 ha and is up to 20 m deep. It is the second largest lake on the Slovak side of the High Tatras.

A well-kept path about 2.5 km long goes all the way around the lake. It is step-free, so you can walk it with a pushchair or a wheelchair, and there are benches along the way. There is also a nature trail around the lake about the history of the spa, nature and the people who worked here. With children, allow roughly an hour including breaks.

If you only have half a day, this is the ideal plan: the loop around the lake, lunch and back to Mara for an afternoon swim.

By chairlift to Solisko

From Štrbské Pleso a 4-seater chairlift goes up to Solisko. At the top station is Chata pod Soliskom, a mountain hut, and from there paths continue higher, for example to Predné Solisko.

In summer 2026 the chairlift ran daily from 8:30 to 16:00 in September, and the summer timetable was valid until 30 September 2026. Prices are dynamic and depend on expected visitor numbers, the date of purchase and the weather. For a return ticket, the price list updated on 27 June 2026 refers you to the resort’s website, and when we checked on 1 October 2026 we did not find a fixed amount. Categories:

• children aged 6 - 11,
• juniors aged 12 - 17 and holders of ISIC, ITIC, EURO26 or GO26 cards,
• children up to 5 accompanied by an adult free.

Even in summer it tends to be cold and windy at the top station, so take a jacket even if it is warm down by the lake.

On foot to Popradské pleso and the Skok waterfall

Both hikes take half a day and start right at Štrbské Pleso. Both go through the Tatra National Park, so you may only walk on marked trails.

	Popradské pleso	Skok waterfall
Trail	red, the Tatranská magistrála	yellow, through the Mlynická dolina valley
One way	about 5 km, around 1.5 hours	about 5 km, up to 1 hour 45 minutes
Ascent	419 m	410 - 435 m

Popradské pleso

There and back it is 10 km. It also suits children who can already manage a few hours of walking. From the lake you can also walk down to the Popradské Pleso TEŽ stop and return to Štrbské Pleso by train.

Skok waterfall

The waterfall is about 25 metres high. The yellow trail continues above the waterfall to the head of the Mlynická dolina valley and over the Bystrá lávka saddle into the Furkotská dolina valley, but that is a demanding full-day high mountain hike. For a day trip from Liptov, we recommend going to the waterfall and back.

Do not do both hikes on the same day if you also want to fit in the loop around the lake. Choose one, depending on whether you want a lake (Popradské pleso) or a waterfall (Skok).

High mountain trails in TANAP have a seasonal closure from 1 November; we write more about it in our guide to the Roháče tarns. Before your hike, check the forecast and mountain information on the website of the Mountain Rescue Service (Horská záchranná služba), and in an emergency call 112.

How to plan the day

A suggested summer day with children:

• 8:00 leave the cabin, by 9:00 at the Štrbské Pleso car park or on the rack railway from Štrba,
• morning hike to Popradské pleso or the Skok waterfall,
• lunch at Štrbské Pleso,
• afternoon loop around the lake, and in good weather the chairlift to Solisko,
• evening back to Liptovská Mara; you are at the cabin within 45 minutes.

In winter there is a ski area at Štrbské Pleso, and the loop around the lake makes a lovely winter walk. For winter hikes higher up, check the TANAP seasonal closures and the conditions on hzs.sk.

What to combine it with

If you return from the Tatras to Liptov via Podbanské, you can stop at the Pribylina open-air museum. If you want another mountain day closer to the cabin, have a look at Chopok in summer or the Prosiecka and Kvačianska valleys. For a day when nobody wants to travel anywhere, Tatralandia is 2.5 km from the cabin.

Bosorka Zrub stands on the shore of Liptovská Mara, 54 km from Štrbské Pleso, so you can do the High Tatras as a day trip and come back in the evening to the water, the fireplace and the barbecue. Find available dates via a no-obligation enquiry. We are a local host and nobody pays us for our recommendations.