Lacul Scropoasă, Two-Hike Day
One day, 13.7 km on foot across two hikes, 371 m of climb
Read from two GPS-tracked workouts (11:14 → 13:03 from Moroeni · 13:52 → 16:13 from Dobrești) plus 46 photos from the trailheads, the trails, and a Sinaia stop on the drive home.
Two hikes in one day, both in the Bucegi above the Ialomița valley - the Zănoaga and Cheile Zănoagei corner of the range, reached from Moroeni and Dobrești on the Dâmbovița side. The morning walk from Moroeni is the Canionul Horoabe - Cabana Padina stretch: 5.3 km · 156 m climb · 1h 23m moving, climbing toward Padina with a high point near 1,623 m. The afternoon walk from Dobrești is the longer Cheile Zănoagei - Lacul Scropoasa route: 8.5 km · 215 m · 1h 54m moving, up through the Zănoaga gorge to the dammed lake at around 1,403 m. The two trailheads are about 9 km apart by road, which fits a short drive across the valley mid-day. The pattern is two short routes stitched into a full day, not a single big climb - this corner of the Bucegi, with its gorges and the lake at the top, rewards exactly that kind of structure.
1 Sep · Moroeni morning, Dobrești afternoon
Two tracked Hikes on the same day, ~9 km apart by road, stitched into one Bucegi-flank arc.
- Total distance
- 13.7 km on foot
- Total ascent
- 371 m (156 + 215)
- Morning high point
- ~1,623 m · Padina side
- Afternoon high point
- ~1,403 m · Lacul Scropoasă
- Trailheads
- Moroeni · Dobrești
The first workout leaves the Moroeni-side road in the late morning and climbs the Horoabe canyon toward Cabana Padina, topping out near 1,623 m before dropping back to the trailhead. A short drive across the Ialomița valley, then the second workout starts from Dobrești and follows the Cheile Zănoagei gorge up to the Scropoasa reservoir at ~1,403 m - the longer of the two, more distance, more climb, but lower. Neither hike pushes for the Bucegi summit plateau; both stay on the gorge-and-lake bench under it. The day closes back out through Sinaia on the road home.
- Duration
- 1 day · day trip
- Country
- Romania (Dâmbovița)
- Trailheads
- 2 · Moroeni · Dobrești (Dâmbovița)
- Hike signal
- 13.7 km · 371 m ascent · 2 workouts
- Top elevation
- ~1,623 m (morning) · ~1,403 m (afternoon)
- Mode
- back-to-back hikes · same area
- Photos
- 46 across the two trailheads and the drive home
- Total distance
- 13.7 km across 2 workouts
- Total ascent
- 371 m (156 + 215)
- Highest elevation
- ~1,623 m (morning loop)
- Total moving time
- ~3h 17m
- Trailheads
- 2 · 9 km apart by road
- Hikes logged
- 2 · Canionul Horoabe - Cabana Padina · Cheile Zănoagei - Lacul Scropoasa
- Photos this day
- 46 across the trailheads, the trails, and Sinaia on the drive home