Along the Beskydy border ridge between Bílý Kříž and Konečná: 15 km to 25 km routes

• Many of the best walks in the Beskydy mountain range, in the far eastern corner of the Czech Republic, include sections along the significant high ridges in this undulating and heavily forested region. Over several centuries, small settlements and clearings have be created on the ridges, which means that walkers on the trails that follow the ridgelines get fabulous views in both directions.
• Probably the longest of the ridge trails in Beskydy follows the Czech/Slovak border line. Several of the walks in this guide feature sections of this particularly scenic trail. The walk on this page tackles the section from the border crossing at Konečná heading northwards to the small border settlement of Bílý Kříž, which has accommodated tourists to the region since the 19th century.
• The whole length of the border ridge offers numerous viewpoints with vistas into Slovakia to the east and over the Beskydy forests to the west. However, the particular section between Bílý Kříž and Konečná is attractive due to the refreshment options on the ridge, including the popular Doroťanka restaurant halfway between the two settlements. There is also a nice snack bar in Bílý Kříž.
• By taking the bus to/from the border crossing at Konečná, it is possible to create a nice circular 15 km route, along the ridge and then returning in the valley alongside the Černá Ostravice stream. There are, however, no official parking options at Konečná, so if driving the nearest parking spots are in the Černá Ostravice valley, adding at least 7 km to the walk. The ski village of Bílá is a little further down the valley and has a large parking area as well as good bus connections.
• There is around 630m of height to ascend-descend on the 15 km route and a similar height difference if starting in the valley. None of the slopes are particularly steep and the paths are all good, but the ridge path is unsuitable for strollers.

Note: click ‘Show on Mapy.com’  to go to a full screen version of the route directly on the mapy.com site. This can be used for on line navigation, saved or exported as a GPX file.

Directions

• A possible parking spot (marked as the finish spot in the map above) in the Černá Ostravice valley can be found 300m along the side road road leading from Bílá up to Konečná border crossing.
• From either Bílá center or the parking area on the Konečná road join the GREEN trail heading up the valley
• After climbing gradually up the valley, reach the Súľov trail junction (9 km from the parking area or 10.9 km from the center of Bílá)
• To reach visit the settlement of Bílý Kříž (eg for a refreshment stop) turn left along the RED trail for 600m and then return back to the Súľov junction
• From theSúľov junction, take the RED trail heading in the direction of Konečná, which is reached after 6.5 km on the ridge path (the Doroťanka restaurant is approximately halfway along this section of the route)
• At Konečná, turn right onto the BLUE trail and head down hill to reach the Údolí Černé trail junction after 1.6 km
• At the trail junction turn left onto the GREEN trail that was used for the outbound route, and return back to the parking area
• If starting and finishing at the bus stop at Konečná, a nice way to do the loop is clockwise, finishing with the mostly downhill ridge walk from Bílý Kříž back to Konečná. In this case, at the border crossing, take the BLUE path down hill and follow the route in the same way as described above