Izera Mountains from Jakuszyce — how to plan the day

The Izera Mountains lie on the opposite side of Szklarska Poręba from the Karkonosze: broad flat ridges, peat bogs and treeless valleys instead of steep cirques. We run the Toy Exhibition at ul. Jedności Narodowej 16 and are regularly asked whether the Izeras work on foot, without a bike and without cross-country skis. They do — most simply from Jakuszyce. Here is what our sources confirm, and what we openly do not know. Checked in September 2026.

Why does an Izera day start at Polana Jakuszycka?

Polana Jakuszycka is a clearing in Jakuszyce, part of Szklarska Poręba, at about 880 m above sea level, close to the border crossing to Harrachov. You start the day high up, with no long climb out of the valley.

• The Lower Silesian Sports Centre is here, with a restaurant and bistro, ski and bike hire, and an Interactive Sports Centre with five simulator stations across more than 700 m².
• The Polana Jakuszycka railway stop (878 m) stands right by the centre and is the highest passenger stop in Poland.
• The clearing lies in the Izera Mountains, outside Karkonosze National Park, so no park ticket applies here. Only the centre’s services are paid.

How do you get to Polana Jakuszycka?

By train. Line 311 runs from Jelenia Góra through Szklarska Poręba Górna to Jakuszyce and on to Harrachov, and you get off practically at the centre’s door. Check your connection before you travel: according to the town notice of 31 August 2026, replacement buses run instead of trains between Jelenia Góra and Szklarska Poręba Górna from 31 August to 24 October 2026 (an older March notice said 30 September). We do not copy timetables — confirm them with Koleje Dolnośląskie.

By car. There is a 200-space underground car park at the centre. According to the centre’s announcement of June 2024 it costs 3 PLN per hour — the current price list is published only as an image, so check it before you set off. Details: parking at Polana Jakuszycka.

By bus. The holiday line 116 of the county bus network ran for the last time on 31 August 2026 and has not operated since 1 September 2026, so older timetables showing it are out of date.

How long does the walk from Jakuszyce to Orle take?

We give no time, because we found none in any official source. Wikipedia and the town’s tourist service describe the route but publish no walking time from Polana Jakuszycka to the Orle Tourist Station. What we do know:

• a yellow trail leads there along an old asphalt road, and a green one from Rozdroże pod Działem Izerskim;
• Orle lies about 4 km west of Przełęcz Szklarska in Jakuszyce (as the crow flies, not along the trail);
• the town’s full “Do Jizerki” route — from the clearing via Orle and the border bridge to Jizerka and back — is 15.7 km and takes about 5 hours, is of medium difficulty, dogs yes, pushchair no.

From those 15.7 km and 5 hours you can estimate your own pace, but we will not guess it for you. Set off early and have a fallback plan for the way back.

What is waiting at the Orle Tourist Station?

Orle is a year-round hostel in the Orle settlement within Szklarska Poręba, at 840 m below Granicznik, on the Izera river. In 1754 the Preussler family founded the Carlsthal glassworks here; the cutting house and the administrative building survive. The owner is the Szklarska Poręba Forest District.

• A buffet with home cooking: soups, bigos, pierogi, pancakes and cake.
• Accommodation — 73 beds in two buildings, plus a campsite. Cash only, on the spot; rates in the Orle price list.
• A Finnish sauna above the stream, hire of bikes, cross-country skis and snowshoes, and a sundial.
• We publish no buffet opening hours — before a long walk, call ahead and confirm it is open that day.

You may drive here only in summer and only with the permission of the Szklarska Poręba Forest District. When there is snow, the road from Jakuszyce is impassable — the hostel then offers paid transport.

Hala Izerska and Chatka Górzystów — where next from Orle?

From Orle the red trail leads to Hala Izerska; Chatka Górzystów is about 6 km away, and on the way you pass a model of the Solar System in the Izera Dark Sky Park.

• Hala Izerska is a mountain meadow at 840–880 m in the Izera valley and Poland’s “cold pole”: −36.6 °C was recorded here on 29 December 1996, and sub-zero temperatures occur in every month, summer included. Snow can lie until May — bring a warm layer whatever the season.
• Chatka Górzystów is the only surviving building of the former village of Gross-Iser, home before the war to about 240 people in 43 houses. Students from Zielona Góra converted the 1938 school into a hostel in the mid-1980s.
• The other direction from Orle is Czech Jizerka — about 4 km across the border bridge over the Izera and along the “Three Izerinas” educational path. Bring your ID card.

Step-by-step directions: how to reach Hala Izerska.

The Izera Valley peat bog reserve — rules, and what we do not know

Part of Hala Izerska, right by Chatka Górzystów, is the Izera Valley Peat Bogs Nature Reserve: 529.36 ha, in its present form since 2000, supervised by the Regional Director for Environmental Protection in Wrocław.

• It protects raised bogs whose deepest peat layers are about 11,000 years old. Dwarf birch grows here — one of only three sites in Poland — along with dwarf mountain pine, bog pine, sundews and cottongrass.
• According to the Świeradów Forest District, 71 bird species nest here, including black grouse, eagle owl and white-tailed eagle. In September 2023 the Izera trails were rerouted on the environmental director’s instructions, because new black-grouse protection zones were designated.
• We found no separate dog rules for this reserve — neither on forest district pages nor in the town’s service (as of September 2026). With a dog, keep it on a lead and stay on the trail; if in doubt, ask the environmental protection office in Wrocław.

A shorter option: Wysoki Kamień instead of the Izera valley

If you only have half a day, or the weather turns, there is the nearest Izera summit. Wysoki Kamień (1,058 m) gives a panorama of the Karkonosze, the Izera Mountains, the Kaczawskie Mountains and the Rudawy Janowickie.

• On the yellow trail from Zakręt Śmierci — about 3.1 km and roughly 1 h 15 min uphill (about 6.2 km and 2–2.5 hours there and back). The car park at the bend is free. This is the gentler option, recommended for families.
• On the red trail from Szklarska Poręba Górna station — about 3 km and roughly 1 h 30 min, steeper.
• At the top there is a hut with a small snack bar and a free viewpoint beside it. According to visitor reports from June 2026 the stone tower charges admission, and we cannot confirm its hours.
• The summit lies outside Karkonosze National Park, so you buy no ticket. Leave the pushchair behind — the town route over Wysoki Kamień is marked as unsuitable for one, but fine with a carrier.

A ready-made Izera day plan

Time	What to do	Tip
Morning	Start at Polana Jakuszycka	Line 311 train to the stop by the sports centre, or drive to the underground car park. Set off early — no official source gives the walking time to Orle.
Late morning	Yellow trail to the Orle Tourist Station	An old asphalt road, then the green trail from Rozdroże pod Działem Izerskim. Orle lies on the Izera below Granicznik.
Midday	A stop at Orle	A buffet with home cooking and a sundial. We publish no opening hours — confirm them by phone.
Afternoon	Option A: Hala Izerska and Chatka Górzystów	The red trail from Orle, about 6 km, passing a model of the Solar System. The peat bog reserve begins on the meadow — stay on the trail.
Afternoon	Option B: the border bridge and Jizerka	About 4 km from Orle on the “Three Izerinas” path. Bring your ID card.
Evening	Back to Jakuszyce and dinner	Restauracja Jakuszycka at the sports centre is open daily 13:00–22:00, with last orders an hour before closing. The centre announced changed hours for 31 August – 24 September 2026.

On foot from town: the municipal “#nawycieczkę dla biegaczy” route starts by the tourist information centre at ul. Jedności Narodowej 1A, climbs the red trail over Wysoki Kamień to Zwalisko, then follows the green trail to Rozdroże pod Cichą Równią and Polana Jakuszycka — about 13 km and roughly 4 hours, medium difficulty, dogs allowed. You can return by train from the stop at the sports centre.

Where to hire equipment in Jakuszyce?

• Grabek Sport in the sports centre building hires out cross-country skis and bikes and runs a workshop service. The centre’s website gives its hours as daily 8:30–17:00 on level 1 — confirm before you arrive, as the facility is only just starting up.
• Stacja Jakuszyce in the middle of Jakuszyce hires out cross-country skis and mountain bikes, has a shop and a service point, and hands out a trail map with every pair of skis. Its website gives no opening hours.

What to keep in mind in the Izeras

• There are no national park fees here. Polana Jakuszycka, Orle, Hala Izerska and the reserve all lie outside Karkonosze National Park, so no park ticket applies.
• The forest district closes individual sections during forestry work — for example, from 8 to 11 September 2026 the yellow and blue trails from the wayside shrine towards Chatka Górzystów were closed. Check the forest district’s news and the town service’s “Uwaga, ważne!” section before you go.
• With a dog you cannot take the green trail along Mokra Droga towards the Karkonosze — the national park bans dogs along the whole Ścieżka nad Reglami, from Przełęcz Karkonoska past the Pod Łabskim Szczytem hut all the way to Jakuszyce.
• There is no national park entry fee on the Czech side, and not far from Jakuszyce, above Harrachov, lies Mumlava Waterfall — the approach follows an asphalt road.
• Numbers and addresses for emergencies are gathered on our useful information page.

See also: Winter: what is open — because in winter the road from Jakuszyce to Orle is impassable, Szklarska Poręba in winter, Szklarska Poręba without a car and A free day of views.