How to Get to Yedigöller: Car, Bus and Park Entry Guide

How do you get to Yedigöller?

Yedigöller National Park (the 'Seven Lakes') has two road approaches: from the south, a road of about 42 km heading north from Bolu city centre, and from the north, a road that leaves the Mengen–Devrek road and climbs via Yazıcık. There is no scheduled public transport to the park; you go either by private car or on an organised tour. If you travel by coach, you take the bus to Bolu or Mengen and cover the final stretch by taxi, hire car or tour.

This guide brings every way of reaching Yedigöller together in one place: driving in from the Bolu side and the Mengen side, options for coach travellers, HGS payment and vehicle fees at the gate, parking and driving inside the park. For city-to-city directions we have separate guides: Istanbul to Mengen and Ankara to Mengen and Yedigöller.

Which side should you enter from: Bolu or Mengen?

According to the Bolu Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, the park is reached by roads heading north from Yeniçağa, at kilometre 152 of the Ankara–Istanbul highway, and from Bolu, at kilometre 190. Kültür Portalı, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's portal, adds the detail: the road north from Bolu centre is 42 km and fully asphalted; the second road leaves the Mengen–Devrek road at its 10th kilometre and is 45 km long.

Criterion	Bolu side (southern approach)	Mengen side (via Yazıcık)
Starting point	Bolu city centre	Mengen–Devrek road, Yazıcık
Distance	About 42 km (from Bolu centre)	About 45 km (from the Mengen–Devrek road); 48 km from Nesilce
Road character	Narrow, winding forest road; steep climb over a short distance	Longer, more gradual forest road
In winter	Closed by snow	Used as the winter route
Best for	Those staying in Bolu centre or arriving in Bolu by coach	Those staying in Mengen, or arriving from the Ankara or Zonguldak direction

The Bolu road was upgraded fairly recently: according to a Hürriyet report of 22 December 2015, the 24 km gravel section of the 44 km road was asphalted that year, cutting the drive from Bolu from 1.5–2 hours to 40–50 minutes. The same report noted that the easier road had filled the park with cars.

In winter, the Mengen side is the only way in

The Bolu Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism states that the Bolu route is closed by snow in winter and that access is via Yeniçağa–Mengen–Yazıcık or Devrek–Yazıcık. This happens every year: according to a report of 31 December 2025, the Bolu Branch Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks temporarily closed the Yedigöller road because of ice and announced that access would be via the Zonguldak–Mengen highway. Winter driving and car preparation are covered in detail in our guide to reaching Yedigöller in winter.

Driving routes by direction

1. From Ankara: Take the Anatolian Motorway past Gerede, leave at the Yeniçağa junction and head north on the D-750 to Mengen, then climb to the park via Yazıcık. You never enter Bolu centre.
2. From Istanbul, in summer and autumn: As you pass Bolu you can use the Bolu-side entrance, or continue to Yeniçağa and Mengen and enter from the Yazıcık side. You can also enter at one end and leave at the other – a "through route" that lets you see both sides.
3. From Zonguldak, Devrek and the Black Sea coast: The Devrek–Yazıcık road is the natural approach; there is no need to go down to Bolu.
4. Staying in Mengen: From Nesilce Tatil Köyü it is about 48 km to the park via Yazıcık. It is a forest road, so allow at least an hour.

Fuel note: Don't expect a shop or petrol station on the park road. The Bolu Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism also notes that there is no shop along the park road. Fill up and do your shopping in Bolu, Mengen or Devrek.

Can you get to Yedigöller by bus?

Not directly. The Bolu Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism states plainly that there is no public transport to the park and that visits are made with agency tours or by private vehicle. Realistic options for coach travellers are:

Option	How it works	Watch out for
Coach to Bolu, then taxi or hire car	The park is about 42 km from Bolu	If you go by taxi, agree the return trip in advance; don't assume you'll find a taxi at the park
Coach to Mengen, then taxi or hire car	From Mengen to the park via Yazıcık	The side that stays usable in winter
Day tour	Organised tours departing from the big cities	Autumn weekend tours usually reach the park at the busiest hours
Bicycle	For experienced cyclists	Long climb; traffic and early-fading light

Coach services to Mengen

According to obilet's Istanbul–Mengen page, Kamil Koç, Kale Seyahat, Efe Tur and Metro Turizm run services on this route, departing from terminals such as Esenler, Alibeyköy, Dudullu, Samandıra and Silivri, and the journey takes 5 hours 17 minutes on average. According to its Ankara–Mengen page, services leave from AŞTİ and take 2 hours 4 minutes on average. Coaches arrive at Mengen Bus Terminal. Timetables and operators change with the season, so check the current schedule before you buy a ticket.

If you are coming to Mengen by coach and staying at Nesilce, ask how to get from the terminal to the property when you book. For a day at the park, arrange a taxi or hire car in advance; there is no regular service from Mengen to Yedigöller.

Park entry: HGS and fees by vehicle type

At Yedigöller, vehicle entry is paid without stopping at the gate, via HGS (Türkiye's electronic toll tag). According to an announcement by the DKMP 9th Regional Directorate, entry fees at Abant Gölü and Yedigöller national parks have been collected via HGS since 25 December 2023; no fee is charged for transit passages.

DKMP's 2026 vehicle entry tariff sets the following fees for first-category sites in Bolu (Karadeniz-1); Yedigöller is in this category:

Vehicle type	2026 entry fee
Bicycle	75 TL
Motorcycle / ATV	150 TL
Car / pick-up, van	225 TL
Caravan / motorhome	450 TL
Minibus	675 TL
Midibus	1,125 TL
Coach	2,250 TL

The car fee covers everyone in the vehicle. According to the tariff's footnote, visitors entitled to free entry at HGS-equipped gates must submit their documents to the Branch Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks before entering or within 15 days of entry at the latest. If you're driving a hire car, ask the rental company whether it has an HGS tag and how toll charges will be passed on to you. Pedestrian fees and an hour-by-hour analysis of busy days are in our guide Yedigöller on a weekday or at the weekend.

Parking and driving inside the park

In autumn, Yedigöller's real bottleneck is not the gate but the car park. According to a CNN Türk report of 6 November 2022, long queues of cars formed at the entrance, the parking areas inside the park filled up completely, and drivers left their cars on walking paths and along the roadside.

Rules that make driving inside the park easier:

• Park first, then walk. The lakes are spread over an area of about 1,500 metres from north to south (Kültür Portalı); instead of driving from lake to lake, leaving the car once and walking is both quicker and more enjoyable.
• Don't park on the roadside or on walking paths. On a narrow road, a single badly parked car can block all traffic.
• Make way for oncoming cars. On narrow stretches, waiting at a wider spot is better than both cars ending up in the mud.
• Wet leaves and slopes: In autumn the road surface is covered in leaves; use a low gear on descents.
• Animals: The area lies within a wildlife development area; drive slowly at dusk.

Mobile signal and navigation

We could not find an official coverage map for the park and its forest road, so the safest assumption is "it may not work everywhere":

1. Download the route and the area map for offline use before you set off.
2. Enter "Yedigöller Milli Parkı" as your destination, but check whether your navigation app has chosen the Bolu side or the Mengen side. In winter it may suggest the closed Bolu road.
3. If you're in a group, agree a meeting point and time at the car park.
4. In an emergency, call 112; for road conditions, contact the Bolu Branch Directorate of National Parks: 0374 215 52 81.

Which route in which season?

Season	Recommended approach	Note
Spring (April–May)	Either side	According to Kültür Portalı, the best period to visit is April to November
Summer	Either side	Check the governorate's forest and fire decisions
Autumn (October – mid-November)	Either side; enter early at weekends	The car park fills up early
Winter (from mid-November)	Only Mengen–Yazıcık or Devrek–Yazıcık	Confirm conditions before you set off

Staying in Mengen and visiting Yedigöller

Nesilce Tatil Köyü is in Hacıahmetler, Mengen, 48 km from the park, on the Mengen–Yazıcık route that is used all year round. Check-in is at 14:00 and check-out at 12:00; every stay includes a Turkish village breakfast and free parking. Setting off after breakfast and entering the park in the morning is the easiest way to find a space before the car park fills up. Room types are on our bungalows in Bolu page and seasonal planning is on our Yedigöller page.

To book, call +90 507 922 11 18 or message us via the WhatsApp button on our contact page. Official online listings: Airbnb · Hotels.com.

Sources

• Bolu Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism – Yedigöller Milli Parkı
• Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Kültür Portalı – Yedigöller Milli Parkı
• Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, DKMP – Protected Areas Fee Tariff 2026 (Annex 3, Vehicle Entry)
• DKMP 9th Regional Directorate – Free-flow (HGS) entry system launched at our sites
• Hürriyet, 22 December 2015 – Yedigöller road asphalted, national park becomes a 'car park'
• İşçi Haber, 31 December 2025 – Bolu–Yedigöller road closed due to ice
• CNN Türk, 6 November 2022 – Long queues of cars at the Yedigöller entrance
• obilet – Istanbul–Mengen and Ankara–Mengen coach services

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To check availability for dates and rooms that fit your Yedigöller plans, call us on +90 507 922 11 18 or send us a WhatsApp message.