Circular routes around the forest and limestone quarries in Brno’s Hády nature reserve: 3 km to 12 km

• The Hády nature reserve is the southernmost section of the Morasvký kras limestone area. The 25 km long strip of limestone was laid down in the Devonian period (approximately 400 million years ago). It is the largest karst area in the country and there are reported to be over 1600 caves, almost all of which are inaccessible to the public. Several of the caves are important archaeological sites dating back to the Paleolithic period (when they were used as shelters by our hunter-gatherer ancestors).
• As the closest section of this important Protected Landscape Area (PLA) to Brno, the Hády nature reserve is very popular with residents of the city, especially on sunny weekends. It is easily accessible and there are a wide variety of trails – from easy bike tracks to footpaths in the dense woodland. The reserve is topped by the striking 80m tall Hády communication tower, built in 1963 (but not accessible to the public).
• One attraction is the former limestone quarry at the edge of Hády. This is being converted into a wetland area with wooden boards and a nature trail. Close to the quarry area there is a popular lama farm open only at weekends. Further into the reserve the 29 meter U Lidušky viewing tower (constructed in 2021) is worth a visit and if taking the adventurous route on a steep forest footpath, there are the ruins of a 13th century castle, which was abandoned less than a hundred years after construction.
• A separate relatively easy 5 km circular walk to the U Lidušky tower (which starts and finishes at the Bílovice nad Svitavou train station) is described here. However, if wanting to include the limestone quarry area in the trip, there are closer starting points, including the bus stop/parking area of Velká Klajdovka. This is the start/end point of the route shown in the map below.
• A simple circuit of the quarry area (with optional visit to the lama farm) is around 3 km long. The quarry paths are unprotected to care is needed if walking with younger children. For a longer circuit of the Hády area, consider the route shown in the map which takes an extended loop through the forest area, passing the U Lidušky tower and climbing up through the ruins of Obřany castle. The circuit finishes with an optional loop in the quarry area.
• The full circuit is a little over 12 km long and involves 400m of height to ascend/descend. The forest paths around Obřany are quite steep and can be slippery. This is therefore not a route that is recommended in wet or icy conditions. There are no identified refreshment spots directly on the route, but there are plenty of tourist shelters and benches for a picnic!

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

• Starting at the Velká Klajdovka, take the GREEN hiking trail towards Kopaniny
• After 3.8 km reach the Liduščin památník junction and there turn left onto the YELLOW trail towards the U Lidušky tower, which is reached after 1.2 km
• From the tower, take the GREEN trail downhill to reach the Těsnohlídkovo údolí junction after 950m
• At the junction, join the BLUE trail heading steeply uphill to reach the castle ruin in 350m
• Continue on the BLUE trail for a further 1.2 km to reach the Šumbera junction and there turn right onto the YELLOW trail in the direction of Velká Klajdovka
• Just before returning back to the car park/bus stop (if taking the optional 3 km visit to the quarry area), turn right off the YELLOW trail to join the nature trail loop around the quarry. This runs anticlockwise initially following the terrace and then dropping down to the lower level and lama center, before circling back through the wetland area to return to Velká Klajdovka