Lithuania maintains five national parks and approximately 30 regional parks within its 65,300 square kilometers. The country's protected area network covers roughly 15 percent of its territory, administered since 1997 by the State Service for Protected Areas under the Ministry of Environment. The landscape protected reflects the glacial geomorphology of the Weichselian glaciation, which retreated between 12,000 and 10,000 years ago, leaving moraines, eskers, kettle lakes, and extensive peatlands. Lithuania's protected areas preserve not only ecosystems but also archaeological continuity dating to the Mesolithic period and cultural landscapes shaped by Baltic tribal settlement patterns predating the 13th-century formation of the Lithuanian state.
**Curonian Spit National Park** occupies the Lithuanian portion of the 98-kilometer sand peninsula separating the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea. Established in 1991, the park covers 26,474 hectares, of which 9,765 hectares are terrestrial and the remainder lagoon waters. The Curonian Spit itself is a Holocene formation continuously reshaped by wind, with dunes reaching 60 meters in height near Nida. The Parnidis Dune, located at Nida's southern edge, measures approximately 52 meters above sea level and has migrated eastward at documented rates varying between 0.5 and 10 meters per year depending on vegetation cover and wind patterns. The spit became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000 jointly with the Russian Kaliningrad section, recognized for its ongoing aeolian processes and the record of human intervention to stabilize the dunes through afforestation beginning in the 19th century. The park supports nesting colonies of great cormorants numbering approximately 2,000 pairs and serves as a critical migratory corridor, with the Ventės Ragas Ornithological Station on the mainland opposite recording over one million migrating birds annually during spring and autumn passages. The human settlement history includes Curonian fishing villages established before the 13th century, Karaite communities dating to the 15th century, and German settlements from the 18th century, visible in the traditional wooden architecture of Nida, Juodkrantė, and Pervalka. Access is by ferry from Klaipėda or via the southern land connection through Kaliningrad Oblast. The park authority limits vehicle access during summer months, implementing a toll system introduced in 2000 to manage visitor pressure, which exceeds 300,000 annual entries.
**Aukštaitija National Park**, established in 1974 as Lithuania's first national park, covers 40,570 hectares in the northeastern lake district. The park contains 126 lakes formed in glacial kettle depressions, representing one of the highest lake densities in Europe. Lake Tauragnas, the deepest within park boundaries, reaches 60.5 meters. Lake Drūkšiai, partially within the park's northern sector, is Lithuania's largest lake at 44.8 square kilometers, though divided by the Belarusian border. The park's forests comprise 70 percent of the territory, dominated by Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and Norway spruce (Picea abies), with small-leaved lime (Tilia cordata) stands marking the northern extent of this species' range in Europe. The forest structure includes documented old-growth sections exceeding 200 years, particularly in the Gaveikėnai and Salos IV forest districts. The park protects 59 bird species listed under the EU Birds Directive, including lesser spotted eagle (Clanga pomarina), black stork (Ciconia nigra), and capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus), the latter maintaining a small relict population at the southern edge of its boreal range. Archaeological evidence within park boundaries documents human presence from 9,000 BCE, with concentration around Lake Kretuonas, where excavations by Rimutė Rimantienė between 1962 and 2003 revealed Mesolithic and Neolithic settlements. The park contains the ethnographic village of Palūšė, established in the 16th century, and the wooden Church of St. Joseph, built in 1750 using horizontal log construction without metal fasteners. The park headquarters in Palūšė operates a visitor center displaying regional geology and provides access to 13 marked hiking trails totaling 87 kilometers and six water routes suitable for kayaking. The longest hiking trail, the Žeimenys cognitive path, extends 32 kilometers through varied forest types and past 11 lakes.
**Dzūkija National Park**, established in 1991, covers 55,902 hectares in the southern Dzūkija ethnographic region along the Nemunas River. The park protects the largest continuous pine forest in Lithuania, covering approximately 86 percent of the territory. These forests grow on ancient river terrace sands deposited during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene periods. The park contains Čepkeliai Marsh, Lithuania's largest raised bog at 5,858 hectares, with peat deposits reaching 7.5 meters in depth representing approximately 8,000 years of accumulation. Čepkeliai achieved Ramsar Wetland of International Importance designation in 1993 and functions as a strict nature reserve with restricted access limited to a 4.7-kilometer boardwalk trail from Marcinkonys village. The marsh supports a breeding population of approximately 50 pairs of common cranes (Grus grus) and maintains viable populations of wolf (Canis lupus) and lynx (Lynx lynx), though precise numbers fluctuate due to cross-border movement with Belarus. The Nemunas River section within park boundaries retains natural meandering patterns absent from regulated sections downstream, creating oxbow lakes and floodplain forests dominated by black alder (Alnus glutinosa) and ash (Fraxinus excelsior). The park villages of Marcinkonys, Merkinė, and Lynežeris preserve traditional Dzūkija timber architecture and ethnographic traditions including mushroom and berry collection, which remains permitted for residents under park regulations established in 1995. The park's southern boundary coincides with the Belarus border, creating management challenges addressed through bilateral cooperation protocols initiated in 2003. Park infrastructure includes five marked trails ranging from 1.5 to 12 kilometers and a bicycle route network totaling 65 kilometers, primarily following forest roads.
**Žemaitija National Park**, established in 1991, covers 21,720 hectares in the Žemaitija ethnographic region of northwestern Lithuania. The park centers on Lake Plateliai, Lithuania's seventh-largest lake at 1,200 hectares with a maximum depth of 49 meters. Seven islands within Lake Plateliai include Pilies Island, site of a wooden castle documented in 14th-century chronicles that served as a defensive position during conflicts between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Teutonic Order. The castle was destroyed in 1493 and its archaeological remains were excavated between 1962 and 1968 by archaeologist Adolfas Tautavičius. The park landscape bears visible evidence of Soviet military use, with former missile bases near Plateliai converted to public access after Lithuanian independence in 1990. The Cold War Museum, opened in 2012 in a decommissioned missile silo, displays four underground launch positions and associated infrastructure from the R-12 Dvina medium-range ballistic missile system deployed between 1963 and 1978. The park's forests cover 48 percent of the territory, with hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) reaching its northeastern European distribution limit here. The park supports populations of white-backed woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos) and lesser spotted eagle, with approximately 12 breeding pairs of the latter documented in annual monitoring since 2001. Žemaitija National Park contains 78 cultural monuments including the Beržoras manor complex from the 18th century and the Plateliai wooden synagogue site, destroyed in 1941, now marked by a memorial installed in 2009. The park maintains 11 cognitive trails totaling 42 kilometers and operates a visitor center in Plateliai providing canoe rental for lake access.