When spending your vacation in Gorski kotar, Croatia, the Leska educational trail is going to be an interesting trip destination for you. Leska is as well, the name of a small village nearby. Both are situated inside the Risnjak National Park area.

Leska nature trail is a mild, regularly maintained round walk that starts and ends by the National Park office in Bela Vodica. Along the trail there are marked stations and informative boards erected next to points of interest.

From your accommodation in Doluš, there is about 35 kilometers drive to Bela Vodica. You’ll pass through Delnice, following the Rijeka direction. Few minutes drive from Delnice towards Rijeka, there is a crossroad for Crni Lug where you have to turn right. From Crni Lug you’ll follow the road signs for Risnjak, turning on sideroad which will lead you into the area of National Park and through the Bela Vodica village. By the end of the village, there is a National Park office building, a restaurant and information centre. If you are on the trip with your kids, take with you some old bread or grains. Children always enjoy feeding ducks in the small river beside the parking lot.

Now you should check your supplies: some snacks, water for drink and raincoat should be packed in your bag. The entrance fee should be payed at this point too.

Your walk starts by the forest behind the restaurant. It runs almost 4 km through the beautiful old forest, by the creek, across meadows where wild lilys are flowering and wild berrys grow and along the countryside. Information boards along the nature trail include all basic information about the present wildlife, fauna and flora, forestry, ecology, geology, about local rural tradition, history and many other interesting details. Very nice and interesting trip. The terrain is flat, walking path  has a plane surface that is easy to walk even to very small children or anyone in poor health or recovering from injury or illness.

HERE you can check the official Risnjak National Park web-site.