Blog · Rules · Sep 1, 2026

Wild camping in Poland: the state forest zones where it is allowed

Poland bans camping in the forest outside designated places, then designates a lot of them. The state forest service runs a free program called Zanocuj w lesie covering over 600,000 hectares in 425 forest districts. Here is what it permits, and why your motorhome stays at the car park.

FreeCampMaps Team Editorial team · 4 min read 6 sources cited

Poland forbids camping in the forest outside designated places, and then designates a great many of them. The exception is a national program run by Lasy Państwowe, the state forest service, called Zanocuj w lesie, which translates as “spend the night in the forest.” Its own site puts the current scale at over 600,000 hectares across 425 forest districts. It costs nothing, you cannot book it, and nobody hands you a permit. Checked on 1 September 2026.

The rule outside the zones

Article 30 of the Forest Act bans “biwakowania poza miejscami wyznaczonymi przez właściciela lasu lub nadleśniczego”: camping outside places designated by the forest owner or the nadleśniczy, the forest district manager. The same article bans lighting a fire anywhere the owner or manager has not marked for it.

So Poland is not Sweden. There is no right to roam here, and a tent pitched at random in the woods is not in a gray area, it is against a clear rule. The upside is that the exception is unusually generous once you know where it applies.

What the program gives you

Two consecutive nights in one place, in a group of up to nine people, with no notification at all. That covers most trips. If you want a third night or a tenth person, you email the local nadleśnictwo at least two working days before you arrive, giving your name, phone, email, dates, group size and the location, and you go only once the reply accepts it.

Zones sit all over the country. In the Szczecin regional directorate alone, 33 forest districts take part, with areas in the Puszcza Notecka and the Puszcze Szczecińskie.

The rules inside a zone

Fires only at a designated fire site. A camping stove is allowed with conditions attached: not every forest district permits them, so check that district’s own site first, check the fire danger level before you light it (it is refreshed at 10:00 and 14:00), it is off at level 3, it stays under constant supervision, and it is not allowed on peat soils, in young stands, in tall grass or heather, or where the tree crowns start below five meters.

A hammock or a tarp is what the rules recommend. A tent is allowed on hard ground, as long as you do not damage the forest floor or the leaf litter. There are no bins, and the rules tell you plainly to bring a rubbish bag from home and carry everything out.

Treat the zone as bare forest, because that is what is promised: no water, no toilet, no dump point. Fill up before you leave the road.

Why your motorhome stays at the car park

This is the part that catches drivers out. Point 18 of the program rules says do not drive a motor vehicle into the forest. The Forest Act says the same thing in Article 29: motor vehicles may enter only by public road, or on a forest road that carries a sign opening it to traffic, and parking on forest roads is allowed only at marked places. A forest road with no sign is closed, even though there is no prohibition sign on it. Forest rangers can issue an on the spot fine of 20 to 500 złoty for driving or parking where you should not.

Zanocuj w lesie is therefore a walk in permission. Leave the van in a marked forest car park and carry your kit to the zone. Sleeping inside the vehicle is not something the program covers and the rules say nothing about it, so if you are touring Poland in a motorhome, plan your nights around campsites and treat the forest zones as a tent, tarp and hammock affair. The same split shows up across the Baltic: see how Estonia’s RMK network handles it, where you can drive to the sites but the rules on where you may sleep are still the site manager’s to set.

National parks are out

Article 15 of the Nature Protection Act bans camping in national parks and nature reserves except at places the park director designates, bans fires and open flames outside designated spots, and bans vehicle traffic off public roads and off roads the park itself administers. The forest service program does not extend there. If you are heading for a park, the answer comes from that park, not from the forest map.

Finding a zone, and the last check

The zones are drawn on the Bank Danych o Lasach map that the program site links to, and individual forest districts publish their own areas. Parts of a zone or a whole zone can be closed temporarily for fire risk or other safety reasons, so check close to your departure date rather than months out.

The zone rules and most district pages are published in Polish only, and the Polish text is the one that counts. Ours is a summary of it. And when you get to the entrance, read the board: the sign on the ground and the forest district’s current word beat any website, this one included.

More on how the rest of the continent handles it is on our wild camping rules pages and the country rules index.

Sources

When a source is not in English, follow the link for the official wording.

Frequently asked

The questions people actually ask.

Is wild camping legal in Poland?

Not as a general right. Article 30 of the Forest Act (ustawa o lasach) forbids biwakowanie poza miejscami wyznaczonymi przez właściciela lasu lub nadleśniczego, meaning camping outside places designated by the forest owner or the forest district manager. What Poland has instead is a large official exception: the state forest service designates zones under the Zanocuj w lesie program where overnighting is expressly allowed. Verified on the Sejm text of the Act and on zanocujwlesie.lasy.gov.pl on 1 September 2026.

How many nights can I stay in a Zanocuj w lesie zone?

Two consecutive nights, in a group of up to nine people, with no notification and no booking. For a longer stay or a bigger group you email the local nadleśnictwo at least two working days ahead with your name, phone, email, dates, group size and location, and you wait for the reply that accepts it. Rules checked on lasy.gov.pl on 1 September 2026.

Can I sleep in a motorhome or van in the zones?

No. Point 18 of the program rules tells you not to drive a motor vehicle into the forest, and Article 29 of the Forest Act allows motor vehicles only on public roads and on forest roads signed as open to traffic, with parking only in marked places. The program is written for people who walk in with a tent, tarp or hammock. Leave the vehicle in a marked forest car park and carry your kit, or plan the night at a campsite.

Can I light a fire?

Only at a designated fire site. The program rules state that rozpalenie ogniska jest możliwe jedynie w miejscach do tego wyznaczonych. A gas stove is allowed under conditions: not every forest district permits them, so check that district’s own site first, check the fire danger level twice a day (it is updated at 10:00 and 14:00), it is banned at level 3, it must stay under constant supervision, and it is not permitted on peat soils, in young stands, in tall grass or heather, or where the crowns start below five meters.

Do the zones cover national parks?

No. Article 15 of the Nature Protection Act bans camping in national parks and nature reserves except at places designated by the park director, bans fires outside designated spots, and bans vehicle traffic off public roads. The forest service program does not reach into them. Verified on the Sejm text on 1 September 2026.

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