Cesta hrdinov SNP
Where to sleep on the SNP Heroes' Trail
Shelters, lean-tos and huts along 737 km from Dukla to Devín. How to plan the nights, where roofs are thin on the ground and what to check before you go.
2 min readUpdated 26 October 2026Read in Slovak
Cesta hrdinov SNP — the Slovak National Uprising Heroes' Trail — crosses Slovakia from Dukla on the Polish border to Devín near Bratislava. At 25 to 30 km a day it takes three to four weeks, so twenty nights or more. You can spend many of them under a roof, if you plan your nights around where the roofs are.
The kinds of roof on the trail
- Shelters (útulňa) — unstaffed and free, with or without bunks. Always carry a sleeping bag and mat.
- Lean-tos (prístrešok) — a roof and three walls. Good in a storm, not much on a freezing night.
- Huts (chata) — staffed, with a bed and food. Mostly paid, and worth calling ahead.
Each place's page in Bivaq shows its type, elevation, water and the latest report with its date. If there is no report, or an old one, read it as "we don't know", not as "open".
Shelters and lean-tos along the trail
From Dukla towards Devín, in the order you meet them:
- Útulňa Čierna HoraUnguarded shelter · 668 m · Nízke Beskydy
- Útulňa ŽobrákUnguarded shelter · 903 m · Čergov
- Lackova útulňaUnguarded shelter · 312 m · Šarišská vrchovina
- Útulňa Jána KrutekaUnguarded shelter · 848 m · Volovské vrchy
- Útulňa SNP ÚhornáUnguarded shelter · 1,012 m · Volovské vrchy
- Útulňa GálováUnguarded shelter · 1,123 m · Volovské vrchy
- Mária SkalaLean-to · 1,113 m · Stolické vrchy
- Ramža (útulňa)Unguarded shelter · 1,260 m · Nízke Tatry
- Útulňa pod KečkouUnguarded shelter · 1,132 m · Starohorské vrchy
- Búda nad Kráľovou studňouUnguarded shelter · 1,373 m · Veľká Fatra
- Útulňa KapucínkaUnguarded shelter · 852 m · Kremnické vrchy
- Miesto bývalého partizánskeho bunkraLean-to · 659 m · Žiar
- Holubyho chataUnguarded shelter · 905 m · Biele Karpaty
- Útulňa Jozefa MakaUnguarded shelter · 446 m · Malé Karpaty
- Sološnická útulňaUnguarded shelter · 280 m · Malé Karpaty
How to plan the nights
- Start from the roofs, not the kilometres. First choose where you want to sleep, then work out the daily stages.
- Have a second option for every evening. A shelter can be full, closed or destroyed.
- Check the water. A shelter may have no spring, and springs dry up in summer.
- In national parks, sleep only where it is allowed. The details are in Bivouacking in Slovakia: what the law says (in Slovak).
The Bivaq trip planner lays out your nights by where the roofs on the trail are, and shows where you need another option.
The Low Tatras
The section over the Low Tatras ridge has its own rules and its own article: Where to sleep on the Low Tatras ridge.