We made the drive up to Plitvice Lakes National Park from Trogir, stopping in Zadar for lunch along the way. We had a bit of trouble finding our lodgings but finally pulled in right around sunset.

We arrived at the park at 8 am, and were glad we made the effort. We had portions of the boardwalk to ourselves at that early hour. It was cold enough to see your breath, and we had deep shadows in places. But the lack of people made it worth while.

It’s a truly beautiful park, and it’s one of the most well run parks I’ve ever visited. The boardwalks are beautiful and get you into places you could not have gone otherwise.

Plitvice Lakes National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was National park is 1949 and UNESCO site in 1979. It’s our fifth UNESCO site of this trip, something we weren’t even trying to do.

It is absolutely pristine. The water is crystal clear, but they make a huge effort towards that. No feeding the ducks or fish, no swimming in the lakes. There were park rangers galore.

We started our walk at Gate 1, then took the shuttle boat to the drop off point to the upper lakes. We walked the upper lakes, all on boardwalks and trails. It’s very well maintained and marked. We think we walked about 5 miles. There were many people with dogs, welcome visitors, as long as they are on leash.

I was impressed with the boardwalk. It was sometimes over the lakes, or marsh, or even placed over waterfalls.

I was impressed with the park and recommend a stop here if visiting Croatia.