The Drumul Maramureșului is a loop of over 700 km round Maramureș; this guide covers its first 29 legs, from Baia Mare over the hills to Săpânța, along the Tisa and up the Vișeu valley to Vișeu de Sus, village to village by Botiza, Bârsana, Ocna Șugatag and Breb, and over the mountains to Târgu Lăpuș.
Best season: May to October. The association gives no season. Its travel guide asks walkers to check the weather and walk in daylight. May to October is the best time in our weather record (below); snow is likely from December to February, above all on stages 2 and 23 over the hills. The Mocănița steam train at Vișeu de Sus runs daily from April to October in 2026. Before you go
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Plan your days
Your dates
Checking the seasons, closures and current conditions for today…
Twenty-seven stages, cut at the association's leg ends, from 4 to 49 km; many are half-day legs, so the plans join them into days of up to about 8 hours. One day stays longer: stage 2, Blidari to Săpânța, about 47 km and 12 hours over the hills, because no stay we could place splits it; take a tent and camp on the way, or plan a very long day. Stage 23, Budești to Ungureni, splits at Cabana GEO. Many villages have no stay we could place: book ahead by phone, or ask in the village. Choose a plan, or pick your own start, finish and nights below.
20-day plan
Routed by TrailSplits
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Flat (<5%)
Each day in its own colour, numbered where it starts; the rest of the Drumul Maramureșului: Baia Mare to Târgu Lăpuș in grey. Select a day for its elevation and 3D flyover.
Make your own plan
Changing where you stay suggests a new number of days: the fewest that keep each day under 8 h of walking and in daylight, where a place to stay allows.
Choose your nights (19 nights)
Days end where the route has a stay, a camp or a village.
Stage 1: Leg 1, from Baia Mare up to Lac Firiza and Blidari, by the Firiza reservoir: 25 km and a day, the association says; 20.1 km on our line.
BlidariTown or village
Leg 1 ends at Lac Firiza and Blidari, by the Firiza reservoir. We could not place a stay here from the association's list of partner stays: ask in the village, or camp (the association's guide says wild camping is allowed along the route). The next stage is the longest of the trail: about 47 km over the hills to Săpânța.
Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
A very long day. Check you can keep this pace on rough ground.
Stage 2: Legs 2 and 3 in one stage, Blidari to Săpânța: 20 km and 29 km, a day each, the association says (49 km); 47.2 km on our line, about 12 hours of walking with more than 1,100 m of climb, most of it high on the hills. Leg 2 ends at Poiana lui Dumitru, a place OpenStreetMap does not map, so we cannot cut the stage there, and we could not place a stay on the way. Plan two days with a tent (the association's guide says wild camping is allowed along the route), or one very long day.
SăpânțaTown or village
The end of leg 3, in the village of Săpânța near the Tisa. We could not place a stay here from the association's list of partner stays: ask in the village, or camp (the association's guide says wild camping is allowed along the route).
Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 3: Leg 4, Săpânța to Sarasău: 13 km and half a day; 11.6 km on our line. The Tisa here is the border with Ukraine: the halts and stations across the river are in Ukraine, not a way in or out.
Stage 4: Leg 5, Sarasău to Sighetu Marmației: 10 km and half a day; 7.6 km on our line. Sighet is the main town of the area, with a railway station.
Sighetu MarmațieiTown or village
The main town of the area and the end of leg 5, with shops and a railway station. We could not place a stay here from the association's list.
Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 5: Leg 6, along the Tisa to Lunca la Tisa: 19 km and a day; 15.4 km on our line. The far bank of the river is Ukraine.
Lunca la TisaTown or village
A village on the Tisa, the end of leg 6, with a railway station in OpenStreetMap; check trains on the CFR timetable. We could not place a stay here from the association's list of partner stays: ask in the village, or camp (the association's guide says wild camping is allowed along the route).
Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 6: Leg 7, to Valea Vișeului: 16 km and a day; 15.6 km on our line. The stage ends about 0.6 km from the village centre.
Stage 7: Leg 8, by Bistra to Petrova: 18 km and a day; 11.9 km on our line, 6 km less than the association says. The stage ends about 0.35 km from the village centre.
Number of places not published A campsite with 24 pitches for tents and caravans, with electricity, drinking water and showers, and guesthouse rooms.
Booking
Booking method not publishedBook with the host by phone: the number is on the association's listing page. There is no online booking on the trail's site.
The end of leg 8, about 0.35 km from the village centre. The campsite and guesthouse Dacii Liberi is on the line about 1.2 km on, towards Ruscova.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 8: Leg 9, to Ruscova: 13 km and half a day; 10 km on our line. About 1.2 km in, the line passes the campsite and guesthouse Dacii Liberi. The stage ends about 0.4 km from the village centre.
Stage 9: Leg 10, to Poienile de sub Munte: 17 km and half a day; 14 km on our line.
Poienile de sub MunteTown or village
The end of leg 10. We could not place a stay here from the association's list of partner stays: ask in the village, or camp (the association's guide says wild camping is allowed along the route).
Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 10: Leg 11, to Vișeu de Sus: 24 km and a day; 20.9 km on our line. The stage ends by the station of the Mocănița steam train, about 0.5 km from the town centre.
Booking method not publishedBook with the host by phone: the number is on the association's listing page. There is no online booking on the trail's site.
Contact
Not published
The town at the end of leg 11. The stage ends by the station of the Mocănița, the steam train up the Vaser valley, about 0.5 km from the town centre. Casa Chira, a guesthouse on the association's list, is about 1.3 km away.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
km 27.1–27.2: Joined by our routing here; the waymarked route may differ.
Stage 12: Leg 13, Moisei to Săcel: 33 km, "one to two days", the association says; 27.2 km on our line, about 7 h 30 of walking. The association's 80 km Borșa variant (13.1) is not on our line. At Săcel the last 149 m, on the DN17C, are not part of the mapped route: joined by our routing here; the waymarked route may differ. The stage ends about 0.8 km from the village centre.
SăcelTown or village
The end of leg 13, about 0.8 km from the village centre; the last 149 m into the village, on the DN17C, are joined by our routing. We could not place a stay here from the association's list of partner stays: ask in the village, or camp (the association's guide says wild camping is allowed along the route).
Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 13: Leg 14, to Săliștea de Sus: 22 km and a day; 16.7 km on our line.
Stage 14: Leg 15, to Dragomirești: 9 km and half a day; 6.5 km on our line.
DragomireștiTown or village
The end of leg 15. We could not place a stay here from the association's list of partner stays: ask in the village, or camp (the association's guide says wild camping is allowed along the route).
Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 15: Leg 16, to Bogdan Vodă: 9 km and half a day; 6.7 km on our line.
Stage 16: Leg 17, to Botiza: 20 km and a day; 16.6 km on our line.
BotizaTown or village
The end of leg 17. We could not place a stay here from the association's list of partner stays: ask in the village, or camp (the association's guide says wild camping is allowed along the route).
Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 17: Leg 18, to Glod: 11 km and half a day; 10.5 km on our line.
Stage 18: Leg 19, to Bârsana: 11 km and half a day; 12.1 km on our line. The line passes through the lower part of the long village and the stage ends there, about 1.7 km from its centre.
Number of places not published Tent and caravan pitches (the number is not given) and a restaurant.
Booking
Booking method not publishedBook with the host by phone: the number is on the association's listing page. There is no online booking on the trail's site.
The end of leg 19. The line passes through the lower part of the long village, about 1.7 km from its centre, and the stage ends there. Camping Bradova, on the association's list, is about 4 km north of the stage end.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 19: Leg 20, to Ocna Șugatag: 23 km and a day; 19.2 km on our line.
Ocna ȘugatagTown or village
The end of leg 20. We could not place a stay here from the association's list of partner stays: ask in the village, or camp (the association's guide says wild camping is allowed along the route).
Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Booking method not publishedBook with the host by phone: the number is on the association's listing page. There is no online booking on the trail's site.
Contact
Not published
The end of leg 21. Păstrăvăria Alex, a trout farm with a pool and rooms on the association's list, is about 1.3 km from the stage end.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Booking method not publishedBook with the host by phone: the number is on the association's listing page. There is no online booking on the trail's site.
Booking method not publishedBook with the host by phone: the number is on the association's listing page. There is no online booking on the trail's site.
Contact
Not published
The end of leg 22, about 0.5 km from the village centre, and the best-served village on this part of the trail. Casa Măriuca is about 0.4 km from the stage end; Casa din Vale is by the line about 1.3 km before it.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
13 places in total 5 rooms with their own bathrooms (3 triple, 2 double), for up to 13 adults and 4 children.
Booking
Booking method not publishedBook with the host by phone: the number is on the association's listing page. There is no online booking on the trail's site.
Contact
Not published
Not a stage end: Cabana GEO, a chalet on the association's list, about 20 km in, where the long stage over the mountains can be split.
Stage 23, of which this day walks part: Legs 24 and 25 in one stage, Budești to Ungureni: 23 km to Cavnic and 24 km on to Ungureni, a day each, the association says (47 km); 48.7 km on our line, nearly 13 hours of walking with well over 1,000 m of climb. The mapped route crosses the Rotunda pass and passes about 2.9 km from Cavnic, where leg 24 ends, so we cannot cut the stage there. Cabana GEO, a chalet on the association's list, is by the line about 20 km in: stay there to walk the stage in two days of about 7 hours each.
UngureniTown or village
The end of leg 25. We could not place a stay here from the association's list of partner stays: ask in the village, or camp (the association's guide says wild camping is allowed along the route).
Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 24: Leg 26, to Groșii Țibleșului: 23 km and a day; 17.6 km on our line.
Groșii ȚibleșuluiTown or village
The end of leg 26. We could not place a stay here from the association's list of partner stays: ask in the village, or camp (the association's guide says wild camping is allowed along the route).
Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 25: Leg 27, to Suciu de Sus: 10 km and half a day; 8.7 km on our line.
Stage 26: Leg 28, to Rogoz: 13 km and half a day; 11.5 km on our line.
RogozTown or village
The end of leg 28. We could not place a stay here from the association's list of partner stays: ask in the village, or camp (the association's guide says wild camping is allowed along the route).
Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 27: Leg 29, to Târgu Lăpuș: 27 km and a day; 24.4 km on our line. This guide ends here: the association's legs 30 to 41 go on by Rohia, Coaș and Chechiș back to Baia Mare and are not on our line.
Days end at a stage end with a refuge or a village, or in a village the route passes through. Walking times are measured on each stage's mapped line by our route analysis (terrain heights and our hiking-time model, moving time only): no time is published for these stages.Outside Switzerland our walking times often run short of the times route operators publish; treat them as optimistic. Running times use 7.5 km/h plus one hour per 700 m of climb: a steady reference, not a prediction. Daylight is sunrise to sunset where the day starts; the time left is for breaks, meals and delays.Refuge dates come from the operator's own pages; when they are not published, we say so. For villages we count the places to stay OpenStreetMap lists; we have not checked which are open. A plan is not a booking: reserve every night before you commit to these day lengths.
Huts and stays, stage by stage
Where each stage ends, the 2026 and 2027 seasons the operator publishes, and how to book. Read from the operators' pages on 13 October 2026; each stage page shows the sources and the grade profile.
Loading the forecast for low point (174 m) and high point (1,484 m)…
Weather by month
Typical weather on this trail: at the lowest point (174 m) and the highest point (1,484 m). Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.
Monthly climate averages and daylight
Month
Weather
Poor
Mixed
Mixed
Mixed
Good
Good
Good
Mixed
Good
Good
Mixed
Poor
Stages rated good on typical weather
0/27
0/27
0/27
20/27
27/27
27/27
19/27
14/27
27/27
26/27
1/27
0/27
High point, day / night
-3°/-10°
-2°/-10°
1°/-7°
7°/-2°
12°/2°
16°/6°
18°/8°
18°/8°
13°/4°
9°/1°
3°/-4°
-2°/-8°
Low point, day / night
2°/-5°
5°/-4°
11°/0°
18°/5°
23°/10°
26°/13°
28°/15°
28°/14°
23°/10°
17°/6°
10°/2°
4°/-3°
Rain, mm
52
60
72
67
99
116
123
94
77
68
64
63
Snow at high point
Likely
Likely
Likely
Likely
–
–
–
–
–
Possible
Possible
Likely
Daylight
8 h 50
10 h 14
11 h 49
13 h 34
15 h 05
15 h 57
15 h 38
14 h 20
12 h 39
10 h 57
9 h 21
8 h 28
Source: TerraClimate 1991–2020 monthly averages. Averages for the area at each point’s elevation (4 km grid, corrected for height). Not a forecast or a report of current trail conditions. Snow at the high point is estimated with a simple snowpack model from these temperatures and precipitation, not observed; steep islands and high summits can hold more snow than it shows. Daylight is for the 15th of each month. Hut, transport and park seasons are separate: check them for your dates.
Before you go
Prepare for the Drumul Maramureșului
Arrange your stays, food and travel first, then check conditions again near departure.
Book each night by phone
There is no central booking. The association lists 42 partner stays (guesthouses, rooms in village houses, chalets and campsites), each booked by phone with the host; the number is on the stay's page on the association's site. Many stage ends have no stay we could place on the map: ask a host before you go, or carry a tent. The association's guide says wild camping is allowed along the route; we have not checked the rules inside the natural parks.
Our line and the official legs
This guide covers the association's legs 1 to 29 of 41, Baia Mare to Târgu Lăpuș: 524 km on its figures, 452.4 km on our line, which runs about 14 % shorter throughout. Legs 30 to 41, back to Baia Mare by Rohia, Coaș and Chechiș, and the variants by Seini and round Borșa are not here. The association publishes a length and a day or half a day for each leg, but no hours (the association's route list, read 13 October 2026).
The association lists 42 partner stays round the loop, booked by phone with each host. We placed seven of them on this part of the trail: by Petrova, in Vișeu de Sus, Bârsana, Mara and Breb, and Cabana GEO on stage 23. Elsewhere, ask in the village or camp: the association's guide says wild camping is allowed along the route (the association's partner list, read 13 October 2026).
Stage 2, Blidari to Săpânța, is two legs (20 and 29 km) in one: about 47 km on our line, most of it high on the hills, with no stay we could place. Stage 23, Budești to Ungureni, is legs 24 and 25 (23 and 24 km): about 49 km over the Rotunda pass. Cabana GEO, about 20 km in, splits it; Cavnic, where leg 24 ends, is 2.9 km off our line (the association's route list, read 13 October 2026).
The trail is waymarked with a blue "M" or a red winding road. The association's guide says to look for a mark every 200 to 300 m (the association's travel guide, read 13 October 2026).
On stages 3 to 6 the trail runs near the Tisa, which is the border with Ukraine. Stations and halts on the far bank are in Ukraine and are not a way in or out. We could not confirm on an official page what the Border Police ask of walkers near the border, here or in the Vaser valley: ask locally.
Stage 10 ends by the station of the Mocănița, the narrow-gauge steam train up the Vaser valley to Paltin. It is an out-and-back tourist trip, not transport along the trail. In 2026 it runs daily from April to October, Thursday to Sunday in January, February, November and December, and Friday to Sunday in March (the operator's 2026 timetable, read 13 October 2026).
The association has no news or closures page; we watch its route list and partner list for changes. Salvamont Maramureș is the county's mountain rescue service; in an emergency call 112 (Salvamont Maramureș announcements, checked 13 October 2026).
Google Maps journey searches, not confirmed services. A mountain endpoint may need a booked transfer or an additional walk.
To the start in Baia Mare
CFR Călători, the national rail operator, runs trains to Baia Mare; its pages show the times after a search. The trail starts near the Stadion bus stop; the association's tourism office is on Piața Libertății in the centre.
Sighetu Marmației, at the end of stage 4, has a railway station; check CFR's timetable on the day. We found no official timetable for local buses between the villages: ask your host.
This guide ends in Târgu Lăpuș. We found no official bus or train timetable from the town: ask your host how to get back to Baia Mare, or walk on along the association's legs 30 to 41, which are not on our line.
Prepare each stage while you still have a connection: on the hills of stages 2 and 23 and in the side valleys the signal can be weak.
Keep your route and maps on your phone for places without a signal. For multi-day trips, prepare them in the installed TrailSplits app.
Open this trail in the app.Install TrailSplits, then open this trail there. On iPhone, downloads in a browser may not be available in the installed app.
Choose your route or stages. Choose Prepare offline above. Wait for the route and maps to finish downloading.
Try it before leaving coverage. Switch offline, close and reopen the app, then use My Hikes to start navigation. Repeat for every part you will need.
Saving a bookmark is not a map download. Storage can be cleared by your device; keep a backup map for remote trips.
Drumul Maramureșului: Baia Mare to Târgu Lăpuș — frequently asked questions
How long is the Drumul Maramureșului: Baia Mare to Târgu Lăpuș, and how many days does it take?
Asociația Origini Maramureș gives 702 km for the whole loop in 41 legs; legs 1 to 29, Baia Mare to Târgu Lăpuș, which this guide covers, add up to 524 km on its figures and 452.4 km on our line. Our map has it in 27 sections. The guide's day planner offers a 20-day plan on the overnight stops, and you can choose your own nights.
When is the best time to walk the Drumul Maramureșului: Baia Mare to Târgu Lăpuș?
May to October. The association gives no season.
How do you get to the start of the Drumul Maramureșului: Baia Mare to Târgu Lăpuș, and back?
CFR Călători, the national rail operator, runs trains to Baia Mare; its pages show the times after a search. The "Connect your journey" section has the travel details, with 2 more travel notes.
Do you need to book on the Drumul Maramureșului: Baia Mare to Târgu Lăpuș?
There is no central booking.
Can I download the GPX of the Drumul Maramureșului: Baia Mare to Târgu Lăpuș?
Yes: the route on our map and every section, free, for a GPS watch or a phone. The guide also saves your plan for offline use in the app.
Is the Drumul Maramureșului: Baia Mare to Târgu Lăpuș open? Where are closures announced?
Closures we know of are shown on the days and sections they affect, in the day planner and on the stage pages. We watch 3 official notice pages (Asociația Origini Maramureș: partner stays; Mocănița Maramureșului: timetable; Asociația Origini Maramureș: the legs); the date we last read them is shown with the notices on this page. Check them again before you set off.
Route & sources
Route map & sources
Asociația Origini Maramureș publishes the Drumul Maramureșului as a loop of 41 numbered legs, 702 km from Baia Mare and back ("over 700 km", its site says), plus two variants: 1.1, Seini to Țara Codrului (170 km), and 13.1, round Borșa (80 km). Each leg has a length and a duration of a day or half a day; the association publishes no stage times, and no climb or descent. This guide covers legs 1 to 29, from Baia Mare to Târgu Lăpuș: 524 km on the association's figures. Legs 30 to 41, from Târgu Lăpuș by Rohia, Coaș, Chechiș and Șișești back to Baia Mare, and both variants are not on our line. The line here is the route on OpenStreetMap (relation 13075143, from the planet of 11 October 2026), walked in the association's order: 452.4 km, cut at its leg ends into 27 stages. Our line runs about 14 % shorter than the association's figures throughout, so each stage gives both. Two stages join two legs each, because a leg end is missing from our line: stage 2 is legs 2 and 3 (the association's Poiana lui Dumitru, where leg 2 ends, is not on OpenStreetMap), and stage 23 is legs 24 and 25 (the mapped route crosses the Rotunda pass and passes 2.9 km from Cavnic, where leg 24 ends). At Săcel, 149 m of the DN17C are not part of the mapped route: our routing joins them there. Several stages end outside the village centre; each stage and stop says by how much. Times are measured on our line, and our climb on terrain heights, so short steep steps are smoothed out.
Official guidance and mapped-source comparison checked 13 October 2026. Map data is a route reference, not confirmation of today's path, weather or accommodation availability.
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