Short walks around the Děd viewpoint from Beroun center: 8 km to 10 km

• The historic town of Beroun lies 20km to the west of the center of Prague and is possibly overlooked as a destination worth stopping at. For walkers, however, it is perfectly positioned directly between two of the best Protected Landscape Areas for hikes – Český kras and Křivoklátsko, as well as being situated on the picturesque Berounka river. Beroun itself has an attractive main square with several historical buildings, some well preserved 14th century town walls, an interesting town museum, two well regarded boutique hotels close to the main square, a number of interesting restaurants, and even a new Italian gelaterie – directly next to the Pražská brána (Prague gate)!
• Several superb walks are available within a short journey of Beroun, including trips along the Berounka near Křivoklát castle, Stradonice Celtic oppidum, and the ruins of Točník and Žebrák. Walks that can be started directly from Beroun train station include trips to the Tetín historical site, Koněprusy caves, Svatý Jan monastery and Karlštejn castle. All these walks feature elsewhere in this guide.
• However, one short walk that can easily be combined with a visit to Beroun’s historical center is the hike along the ridge to the northwest of the Beroun. Various circular routes can be created, starting and finishing in the main town square, and are from 8km to 10km in length, involving around 300m of height difference. The route shown in the map below is the 10 km version 9which follows the easiest trails.
• All the routes traverse the hill of Děd (493m) with its famous lookout tower, built in 1893 ( and was the first one constructed in the country by the Czech tourist club), and the photogenic neo-Gothic chapel of Panny Marie Bolestné (designed by the architect who oversaw the 19th century reconstruction of Karlštejn castle).
• Most of the paths are wide forest tracks with short sections on the road – there is one quite steep section up to the ridge from Beroun center, but otherwise the paths are easily graded, and quite shady, so this is a good walk on a warm day. The 10 km version is also a fine walk in winter.
• There are no refreshments directly on the route, other than in Beroun town itself, where there are several options, including several directly on the town square. The cafe and ice cream parlor, Bonté Gelaterie, on the left of the Prague gate (see first picture below) is worth seeking out.

Note: click ‘Show on map’ above to go to a full screen version directly on the mapy.cz site. This can be used for online navigation, saved or exported as a GPX file

Directions

• Start the walk in the main town square, where there are parking spots – free on Sundays and public holidays. If travelling by train, follow the GREEN (or RED) hiking trail for 700m to reach Beroun main square
• From the main square follow the BLUE hiking trail in the direction of Děd. After climbing out of the town the path leaves the residential streets and climbs steeply to reach the chapel of Panny Marie Bolestné in 1.7 km. There are several viewpoints back over the town
• From the chapel, continue along the BLUE trail onto the ridge and along to reach the viewing tower of Děd after 2.1 km
• After climbing the tower, join the GREEN trail in the direction of Zdejcina (note: for a shorter route – 8km total – take the RED trail at the Děd trail junction, reached 300m from the tower, directly back to Beroun town square)
• For the longer, 10 km version, continue on the GREEN trail. After 1.7 km traversing and gently descending through the forest, reach the village of Zdejcina
• From Zdejcina continue on the GREEN trail, following the road for 600m before re-entering the forest area
• After 200m on the forest trail to the right there is a rocky ridge approximately 20m above the path. From the ridge there is a fine view to the southeast, with the Berounka in the distance. Note – there appears to be evidence of some prehistorical remains on the ridge but these are not marked on the map – possibly fortifications connected with the Stradonice hillfort site, which would have in the direct line of sight if the ridge was free of trees
• Continue on the GREEN trail through the forest and then descend to reach the trail junction of Beroun – chaty. Here, join the RED trail and return to Beroun center in 1.2 km.
• Once back in the town square, do not forget to visit the new ice cream shop next to the Pražská brána (Prague gate)!