Families with Children

What to Do with Kids in Rokytnice When the Weather Is Bad and You Can't Ski?

Has fog, rain, or strong wind ruined your skiing plans? In Rokytnice and the surrounding area, you'll find plenty of indoor activities where kids can enjoy bowling, a museum full of nativity scenes and skiing history, or games in your apartment. A winter mountain holiday can be great even without skis.

10. 11. 2026 · Apartmány Ilona

🏛️ Starý kravín Museum in Františkov

The Starý kravín Museum and Gallery can be found in Františkov, which is part of Rokytnice – it's just a few kilometres by car from Apartmány Ilona. The exhibition shows how people used to live here in the Krkonoše Mountains: the tough mountain life, old crafts, and firefighting equipment. Children will be interested in the old tools and fire engines, plus there are often exhibitions by contemporary artists.

For families with younger children, it's a pleasant stop for an hour or two – it's not a large museum, so you won't exhaust the kids with long walks. The tour is calm, warm and dry, ideal for an afternoon programme when the weather doesn't cooperate.

🎄 Trip to Jilemnice for Nativity Scenes and Skiing History

When you have a whole day and don't feel like walking anywhere, take the car to Jilemnice – it's about twenty kilometres, the journey takes half an hour. The Jilemnice castle houses the Krkonoše Museum, which will excite children mainly with two exhibitions.

The first is the famous Metelka Mechanical Nativity Scene – a huge, moving nativity scene with sounds that works like a magical machine for children. Demonstrations take place at specific times, so plan your visit in advance. The second part of the museum is dedicated to the history of skiing in the Czech lands – old skis, photos of racers, stories about how people skied here in the Krkonoše Mountains a hundred years ago. For skiing families, it's actually a kind of journey into the history of what you're doing today on the slopes.

The museum is in the castle complex near the centre of Jilemnice, parking can be found in the square near the castle gate. Count on an hour to two-hour tour. In Jilemnice, you can also take a stroll along Zvědavá ulička with its log cabins or stop for lunch at one of the local restaurants.

Krkonoše Museum in Jilemnice castle
Metelka Mechanical Nativity Scene with demonstrations
Exhibition on the history of skiing in the Czech lands
Distance from Rokytnice approx. 20 km, 30-minute drive

🏠 Relaxing Day in the Apartment

Sometimes it's the best idea – just stay home, in the warmth, and enjoy a day without a programme. Our apartments have fully equipped kitchens, so you can cook breakfast or lunch at your leisure, kids play on the floor, you read a book or watch a film.

Apartment C in the attic even has two floors, where children can play. When the weather improves a bit, you can run out into the garden for a while – with snow or in wellies.

For families who come to the mountains mainly for time together, bad weather is no disaster. Sometimes a relaxing day at home is better than a hectic programme. And in the evening you can go for a walk around Horní Rokytnice, it's beautifully quiet and peaceful here.

🎲 Games and Activities to Bring with You

When planning a winter holiday with children and anticipating that the weather might not be perfect every day, it pays to pack your own backup programme. Board games, cards, colouring books, bedtime stories, building blocks – all this takes up less space in your suitcase than ski boots and will save your afternoon.

We have a few toys and books prepared for children.

And don't forget that even foggy weather has its charm in the mountains – children can draw what they saw on the slopes in previous days, or write a holiday diary. When they browse through photos in a few years, they'll also remember that day when it looked like a fairy tale outside, but you stayed inside and played cards.

🏔️ Back to the Slopes When the Weather Clears Up

Bad weather in the mountains rarely lasts a whole week. Usually it clouds over for a day or two and then the sun comes out again. From Apartmány Ilona, you have ski resorts in Horní Rokytnice within reach – the Horní Domky (Nahoru) ski area is 600 metres on foot, the family slopes Modrá hvězda and Sachrovka are half a kilometre away. Evening skiing is 400 metres away, the free skibus stops 100 metres from the house.

When you wake up in the morning and it's clear outside, you'll pack in a moment and be on the slope before other guests arrive by car from the city. That's the main advantage of accommodation directly in the ski area – you don't have to deal with long journeys, queues in car parks or stress about whether you'll make it to the morning slope.

And even if the weather doesn't work out for a day or two, you've managed to rest, spend time together and enjoy the Krkonoše Mountains differently. The mountains aren't just about skiing – they're also about being away from the usual rush, in peace, with family.

What guests ask most often

Is the Krkonoše Museum in Jilemnice suitable for younger children?

Yes, mainly because of the Metelka Mechanical Nativity Scene, which fascinates children – it's moving, with sounds and lights. The skiing exhibition will be appreciated more by older children and parents. The tour takes one to two hours, which is acceptable even for preschoolers.

Can we stay in the apartment all day when the weather is bad?

Of course. The apartments have fully equipped kitchens, plenty of space for games and relaxation. The larger Apartment C even has two floors, so children have space to play. A mountain holiday doesn't have to be just about activities – sometimes peace, cooking together and relaxation are enough.

How far is it from Rokytnice to Jilemnice?

By car it's approximately 20 kilometres, the journey takes about half an hour. Jilemnice is the nearest larger town with an interesting museum and other options for a trip when you've exhausted the programme in Rokytnice.