Hiking in the Czech Republic

Stretch your legs and take a hike. The Czech Republic has a variety of hiking “styles;” be it flat, mountainous, fields or forests. An extremely well-marked trail system makes it a no-brainer to shed your weekly city life and get out for a nice easy/strenuous walk/hike in the fresh air of the Czech countryside.

If you´ve been out walking around the country already, you´ve probably seen the three striped markers on trees, signposts, and other handy marking spots. Two white bars sandwich an either red, blue, yellow or green stripe to indicate what path you are on and where you are going. Periodically on your walk you´ll come across a posting with information on how many kilometers to select cities on your chosen route. You´ll also see other variations on this colored sign; for example an arrow indicates the direction you should go. Loop paths and educational trails are specially marked; a symbol key can be found at the Czech Tourist Club´s website. The group also produces the very useful hiking and cycling maps, available in just about any bookstore. The green ones are designed more for hikers; the yellow for the bikers. If you have a region you´d like to explore, it´s worth it to pick up one of these maps before the trip. Not only can you plan a rough route, they also offer points of interest along the way – and a very helpful beer mug indicating where you can stop for the all-important hiking pivo.

There´s an opportunity to hike every corner of the country. For a more hilly and forested experience, head towards Pardubice and the Svitavy River. There´s an eight kilometer trail of mostly field and forest paths beginning in Březová nad Svitavou. Also in this region is the Králický Sněžník education trail. You´ll start from the city of Dolní Morava and follow the yellow path. You´ll begin in the Morava River Valley and nine kilometers later find your self at the top of Králický Sněžník. You can keep going along the red trail for another five kilometers, ending at Návrší lodge. From the town of Slatiňany, you can take an easy two kilometer walk to Kočíčí Castle. In relatively the same area, near the Orlické Mountains you can pay an educational visit to the Museum of Hiking, Winter sports and Crafts (Muzeum turistiky, zimních sportů a řemesel) in Deštné v Orlických horách. Here you can learn about glass making in the Orlické Mountains; domestic textile production; hiking and winter sports in the region, and a rare exhibit of washers and irons.

Forest lovers should head south of Prague to the town of Písek. Lots of trees east of the city amongst the 60 kilometers of paths. A nature trail, the Jarník lookout tower atop Kraví hory and the Živec chalet are a few sites you may see.

On the Austrian border, from the town of Šatov you can take a fascinating walk to former military fortifications. Three former infantry log cabins can be found along the trail, as well as other Czechoslovakian military outposts.

Heading north to the Polish border and the Jizerské Mountains will reward rock climbers, and people who like to observe rock formations. Jizerskohorské bučiny is a national nature preserve offering a forested walk on the steep slopes.

This is a very brief introduction to only a few of the hiking areas across the country. Mountain enthusiasts should of course head to the Krkonoše; Český Ráj is another not to miss location with beautiful forested paths and amazing rock formations. The best rock labyrinths though can be found in the Teplice-Adršpach Rocks of East Bohemia. South Bohemia and its fish ponds are for lovers of flat walking, while South Moravia offers the more rugged rolling hills of wine country.