Forgotten Trails

Total length

22 km

Duration

2 hours

Terrain

Unpaved

Recommended period for visiting

Summer, dry autumn

Difficulty level

Medium, elevation gain 803 m

Route description

The route starts identically to the loop “Over 3 thousanders, 2 lookouts and 1 castle” – from Javorník, you take a gentle asphalt “warm-up” ride to the Javorník lookout tower, from where the real biker fun begins. A rooty-stony descent above Krankoty, then continuing under Královský kámen on gravel beneath the Žďánov ridge. Here, you turn left, then sharply right uphill on the red tourist trail towards the Chapel of St. John.

From the chapel, continue on the red trail, which turns left after approx. 400 meters – but you keep going straight on a technical singletrack climbing between rocky outcrops above. From the rocky summit, continue along a long-unused forest path until you reach the second highest peak of the Javorník range – Žďánov (1064 m a.s.l.). On the way there and back, you'll enjoy several beautiful views – right over the Šumava foothills towards Strakonice, and left to the central ridge of Šumava.

This entire ridge section of the Javorník mountains – according to many the most beautiful – ends in a sharp descent through a half-overgrown forest hollow with several technical features. You reach the gravel loop around Žďánov, go left past a tourist shelter, and after less than 200 meters turn right across a meadow towards Chlum Hill (once a military shooting range). You circle Chlum on the right, after about 100 meters you turn left from the descending gravel road onto a contour trail, and from there descend on a narrow forest singletrack. After exiting the forest, you connect to the road leading to Kašperské Hory. You reach the square in Kašperské Hory (refreshment opportunity), turn left, and at the next junction again left towards the ski area on Liščí vrch. At the parking lot below, turn off the asphalt onto a field path, and after a few meters right onto a forest trail. This winds around Liščí vrch to the paved road leading down to Amálino Valley. You just cross it, pass a gate, and continue on a forest path to a partly buried gold mining tunnel. From there, continue to a path branching right, and after a few hundred meters turn left uphill onto another semi-overgrown forest trail. A climb around elevation 821 leads to the solitary house "U Naděje", ending with a wooden bridge that leads onto a forest gravel road. Turn right, pass a meadow edge with a wide view, and continue along the forest path. After a few hundred meters, turn right onto a long-unused forest road, cross a wooden bridge over a murmuring tributary of the Golden Stream, pass a partly ruined First Republic bunker, and at the first crossroads turn right to begin the final forest segment into Řetenice.

In Řetenice village, turn left at the bend – from here it's practically the final elevation gain to Královský kámen. From there, descend playfully via the blue trail and a forest singletrack above Krankoty, then continue along the red trail towards Javorník to the viewpoint Krásná vyhlídka (with a great view of Boubín, Zadov and Šumava in general), and further on the green trail to a cottage just beyond. Ride beneath the building, and just after it cross a meadow uphill into the woods, where you enter the final forest path that brings you to the Chapel of St. Antonín above Javorník. Unforgettable views with a pseudo-Romanesque rotunda stretching to the Brdy mountains and a final downhill along the ski slope back to the parking lot in Javorník.