Dzūkija National Park, Lithuania's largest, lies immediately south and east of Druskininkai and is one of the most accessible forest experiences in the country. The park covers nearly 600 square kilometres of pine and mixed forest, river valleys, and small traditional villages where the old wooden farmstead architecture survives largely intact.
Hiking and cycling trails of varying lengths start from Druskininkai and lead into the park. The Nemunas river valley within the park is particularly attractive — a mix of sand dunes, riverside beaches, and deep forest. In summer the park fills with Lithuanian families on camping and mushroom-gathering expeditions; in spring and autumn it is quiet. The village of Zervynos, inside the park, is often cited as the best-preserved traditional village in Lithuania, with late 18th- and 19th-century farmsteads that have barely changed in two centuries.