National Labour day was perfect with weather and it was screaming for a day trip. This time we decided to visit the Slovenian tourist icon – Bled. We have visited it several times, but this time we decided to walk the path around Lake Bled.
The path around Lake Bled
The walking path around the lake is 6 kilometers long and is suitable for walks, recreation, cycling or walks with small children (the path can be easily transported by stroller, scooter or pushchair). The path is mostly paved, only a short section of the path is on gravel and wooden footbridges above the water level. You will need a good hour of walking for the route, but if you start the route at a slower pace and with more stops, a little more. We really took the time to walk and take photos and we walked the route in a little over two hours. Along the way there are also many benches where you can relax or simply enjoy nature and the view of Lake Bled.
On the way around the lake, you will have a beautiful view on the island with a church, walk past the mighty Bled villas, rowing center, quite a few beaches suitable for swimming and you will also see some hiking tables to climb the nearby hills (Straža, Ojstrica, Osojnica, Grad, Ravnica, etc.).
One of the most famous and popular ascents is the path to Ojstrica. The trail will take you about 10-15 minutes of steep walking, and at the top you will have a beautiful view of the whole lake. You start the route on the west side of the lake, at the Mala Zaka parking lot (near the stands). You need suitable footwear (sneakers) for the hike.
The beginning of the journey
On a circular route, it usually doesn’t matter where we start. For the trail around the lake, it is recommended that you start the trail near the castle. You will have the least problems with parking here and in our opinion, it is also the best starting point for a trip around the lake.
Parking
In Bled, parking is allowed only in marked places, and parking lots differ depending on the possible length of parking and the amount of parking fees. More information about parking in Bled can be found on the official website.
To be quite honest, we were quite surprised by the high prices of parking in Bled. We knew that Bled is not cheap, but 3 € for an hour of parking, it just seems a bit much. At first we wanted to park the car in the Mala Zaka parking lot, where an hour of parking is € 3, but we preferred to look for a cheaper parking lot. A few car parks were supposed to have € 1 per hour of parking, but the information on the website was not updated and we wasted no time searching for these car parks. We left the car in the parking lot behind the sports hall. It is a larger parking lot, where an hour of parking is a bit cheaper, namely € 2.
… Conclusion
You can end your trip by visiting one of the Bled cafes, where you can treat yourself with traditional Bled desert. We couldn’t try it this time due to the closed bars (due to the Corona virus), but we heard that the most delicious and with the best view is offered at the Panorama restaurant.
You can also end the trip by visiting one of the interesting points that Bled has to offer. You can visit Bled Vintgar, camp Sobec, Straža, Lake Bohinj, Bled Castle, ride with Pletna (traditional Bled boat) …
