Līgatne Nature Trails — Attraction in Līgatnes pagasts

Līgatne nature trails are only an hour and 15 minutes drive from the center of Riga. The picturesque area with forested mountains and deep ravines is complemented by viewing areas at the wildlife aviaries. For deer, hares and deer, they are larger enclosures, whole meadows where animals can even hide from the eyes of visitors. The length of the trail must be taken into account - 5 km. Families with prams and disabled people must take into account the mountainous terrain. Visitors who do not want the hustle and bustle of tourist holidays should arrive early in the morning so that they can enjoy nature and take pictures of animals in a peaceful and undisturbed way. The park has a large free parking lot, where you can eat lunch or buy grilled meat, sausages or ice cream. The staff of the park is very kind. During the ten years I have visited Līgatne nature trails several times, with children of different ages and noticed that a small number of animals placed in the forest sniefz as many positive emotions as a large zoo! The only moment when the trails will not be nice is rain or melting snow, but it is already Nature,...

Huge parking lot and Google Maps directions are easy to follow. There can be a queue for the tickets, and the same cashier sells the tickets and snacks/beverages. Various toilets available at the entrance, not so clean but doable. The trail is beautiful but not suited for young children, people with mobility disorders or with strollers or in wheelchairs, as there are a lot of rocks, roots and steps. My mom was having trouble completing the trail because of that. Also, although nature is wonderful, we didn’t see any animals appart from stresses caged squirrels (what??), two sad bears and a wild boar. Apparently, they have deers, for example, and it is the mating season now, so you would except to see them a lot and be very active. But we didn’t see a single deer. Or, for that matter, any other animal besides the ones already mentioned. So, not recommended, you can enjoy nature elsewhere (Latvia is such a beautiful country and has so many beautiful places…) and this is not the place for animal watching (and what you see will...

Worth the visit! Our 2nd time there, this time in autumn and with a toddler. We saw a bear which was the main reason of going, also 2 munching wild boars, a funny and very active polecat, several running and eating squirrels, a shy marten, and a shy rabbit plus a mouse, a glimpse of fox and a resting elk lady (last time we saw 2 bears, a lot of elks and deer as well as fox and racoon dog and even a bit of a linx, so I would say that April is better than mid October. The toddler had to be carried half of the time as we didn't have stroller and were not allowed in with a toddler balance bike. In the end it was probably better to not have stroller as there are enough of ladders where we would have needed to carry both. The reception has a small, but cute souvenir shop as well as sell coffee and cocoa. There are toilets not only at the entrance, but also along the trail thankfully for the relief of our toddler. Some school group was very loud, but only bothered us when we crossed...