Łącko - Footbridge over the Dunajec - Osiedle Wyrobiska - Okrąglica Północna - Suchy Groń - Dzwonkówka

Stage 1: Łącko (market square) – Osiedle Wyrobiska

Distance: approx. 3.8 km
Elevation gain: approx. +320 m

We set off from the market square in Łącko and walk about 80 meters along Szczawnicka Street toward Krościenko. By the information board, following the yellow waymarks, we turn left and take the shared pedestrian and cycle path toward the Dunajec. After about 15 minutes we reach the river. There is a modern recreation and leisure zone here, which we bypass on the left.

Next we turn right and continue along the Dunajec to cross it via a two‑span pedestrian and cycle footbridge with distinctive green railings. On the opposite, steep bank a landslide exposes layers of Carpathian flysch.

Beyond the footbridge we turn left and for about 15 minutes climb gently on a wide asphalt road leading to the hamlet of Zawodzie. Some 900 meters from the bridge, following the yellow blazes, we bear slightly right and enter a forest road. By this point we have 2 km and about 30 minutes behind us from the market square in Łącko. The forest road climbs steeply in three switchbacks. Over a distance of 1.6 km we gain more than 300 meters. Roughly an hour after leaving the asphalt we reach a masonry chapel with several rows of benches beside it. A perfect place for a short rest.

From the chapel the trail becomes gentler. For the next five minutes we continue up the forest road, then emerge onto an asphalt road. This is the Wyrobiska settlement, with a few homesteads and a mobile‑phone relay mast. From the mast a broad panorama opens over the summits of the Island Beskid and the entire Łącko Basin.

Stage 2: Osiedle Wyrobiska – Okrąglica Północna

Distance: approx. 2.4 km
Elevation change: approx. +137 m / −59 m

From the mobile‑phone mast we head slightly uphill along the asphalt road for about 25 minutes, passing scattered buildings of Wyrobiska. After roughly 1,100 meters from the mast we leave the asphalt and, following the yellow waymarks, turn right onto a forest road.

For about 15 minutes we walk through the forest on a narrow, stony road that rises gently, then we return to asphalt. We follow it for around one and a half kilometers toward the ridge of Okrąglica Północna. An hour after leaving the mast we reach the area near the summit. From the treeless dome of Okrąglica there is a view of the Dunajec valley, Stary and Nowy Sącz, and in the distance the Grybów Mountains in the Low Beskids. In good weather two distinctive summits are easy to identify: Jodłowa and Rosochatka.

To the south we can see the wooden viewing tower on Suchy Groń, which is where the trail leads. There are benches here and an old, worn information board, a good spot to rest. By now from Łącko we have about 2.5 hours on foot and roughly 6 kilometers.

Stage 3: Okrąglica Północna – Suchy Groń

Distance: approx. 2.6 km
Elevation change: approx. +236 m / −50 m

Beyond Okrąglica Południowa we walk about 600 meters along the asphalt road, passing a few buildings belonging to the village of Obidza. Then, following the yellow waymarks, we enter a forest road and climb steadily. After about an hour on the move, passing Wojakówka and Suchy Groń, we reach the viewing tower on Koziarz. Although most maps and guidebooks give the name Koziarz, the sign on the structure states that the tower stands on Suchy Groń. In the past that name referred to the entire ridge between Wojakówka and Jaworz, while Koziarz was the name of a meadow on its slope. A cartographic error has meant that today these names are used the other way round.

On the forested summit dome of Suchy Groń a viewing tower was built in 2015 on the site of a former triangulation tower. The structure has enclosed stairs, which makes climbing it safe even for people with a fear of heights.

From the viewing terrace the panorama stretches across the ranges of the Beskid Sądecki, Gorce, Pieniny and the Tatras, as well as the Dunajec Gorge at Tylmanowa. On the platform there is a small box with a stamp that you can imprint in the special “Collect 4 Towers” booklet. It is a project of the Ochotnica Dolna commune. To earn the “Conqueror of 4 Towers” badge you must visit four sites: the tower on Suchy Groń (Koziarz), the tower on Polana Magurki, the tower on Gorc and the tower on Lubań.

Stage 4: Suchy Groń – Dzwonkówka

Distance: approx. 5.3 km
Elevation change: approx. +271 m / −227 m

We begin the descent from Suchy Groń with a short, slightly steep section through the forest. After about 400 meters the slope eases. Soon we come out into open ground. On the left we see the hamlets of Obidza rising high onto the ridge, and on the right the rise of Jaworzynka. In summer plenty of raspberries and blackberries grow along the path.

We drop to the pass between Jaworzynka and Błyszcz, where the green trail from Tylmanowa joins. From Suchy Groń it is about 15 minutes on foot and 800 meters. From here we follow the ridge. On the left we are accompanied by the meadows and hamlets of Obidza, and on the right a steeply falling forest containing the Kłodne nad Dunajcem and Pusta nature reserves.

Beyond the Złotne hamlet the final ascent to Dzwonkówka begins. The section is steep and demanding, the yellow trail climbs sharply and brings us to a broad, forested summit. The very name Dzwonkówka is associated with the old pastoral tradition, from the sound of bells of sheep and cattle once grazed on the mountain pastures.

The summit has several indistinct high points. One of them, at 982 m, we pass almost without noticing. After about 300 meters we reach the easternmost top, marked on maps as Przysłop. This is where the signpost with the name “Dzwonkówka” stands, pointing hikers to the right place.

Region Łącko