Exploring the untouched wilderness of Šumava National Park is a thrilling adventure, but you have to observe certain rules along the way. One of those rules concerns sleeping. Šumava is one of the few national parks that offers every wanderer emergency campsites to fall back on. These shelters provide refuge in case of unexpected problems (bad weather or exhaustion). In this article we’ll introduce the emergency shelters in the park and show you where each one is, so you can easily plan something like the Šumava crossing.
A map of the emergency campsites
The emergency campsite
An emergency campsite is a designated place for sleeping legally in Šumava National Park. Maximum capacity 5-10 tents / 10-20 people (depending on the location). You can’t reserve; it works on a first-come, first-sleep basis. So the earlier you arrive, the more likely you’ll have somewhere to sleep. In summer especially, capacity fills very fast.
The rules – does anyone read those?
Even though nobody reads this information – possibly because it’s written in small print on a large sheet amid a smog of other text – it’s important to know it. So let’s sum it up and put it in order.
- Use the site for one night only
- Don’t light a fire (including using camping stoves of any kind)
- Take all waste with you (and that goes generally! – what I bring in, I take out).
- Open year-round from 18:00 to 9:00
The individual emergency campsites in Šumava
The emergency campsites described below run in exactly this order. The starting point is Hůrka u Prášil, an emergency campsite a few kilometres from Železná Ruda. At the other end is the Pod Plešným jezerem campsite, right by Plešné jezero and the Plechý summit.
Hůrka u Prášil emergency campsite
A very beautiful campsite roughly 7 kilometres beyond Železná Ruda. You won’t meet many walkers here; the site is either at the very start or too close to the end of your Šumava crossing. Like the others it has basic facilities. In rain, though, the grassy ground quickly turns soggy.
Poledník emergency campsite
It isn’t sleeping on the lookout tower itself – sadly. On the other hand, the campsite is right behind the tower. It’s large, has several dining tables and the area around the tower offers shelter in the form of a stone roofed “building”.
Modrava emergency campsite
Probably one of a kind – a few hundred metres from the centre of Modrava, a campsite spread over a small area with a base of wood chips and bark. Sleeping here is very pleasant, though. At this campsite in particular, watch out for occupancy – we arrived around 5 o’clock and by 6 there was no space left.
Bučina emergency campsite
One of the loveliest campsites, near Knížecí Pláně. Access right by the path, fairly spacious and with basic facilities.
Strážný emergency campsite
A pleasant campsite near Strážný, where you can stock up. Importantly, it’s roughly 1.5 km on foot into Strážný. So I’d think twice about whether to go with a full pack or to pitch camp first and then head into town.
Nové Údolí emergency campsite
A spacious campsite on flat ground. The all-inclusive facilities are a table with benches and a marked-out area. There’s a portable toilet nearby.
Pod Plešným jezerem emergency campsite
A marked-out spot in a sheltered part of the forest. In rain the campsite gets pretty soggy and finding a non-muddy spot is a challenge.
You’ll find more valuable information on the official Šumava National Park website. Also current news about what’s happening in the park and any restrictions.
Crossing Šumava in 3 days
We open the map of the world; a week’s holiday isn’t very long to head beyond the borders of our home patch. We circle around European countries, but during covid (May/June 2021) it was far too demanding to waste time on bureaucracy in exchange for a few days spent in, say, Madeira as we’d planned. So we set off to discover Šumava. You can read all the important information about this 3-day trek in this article.
