Tranquil walks in the Hřebeny forest starting from Kytín; 5km – 23km

• The village of Kytín, just a few km from Mníšek pod Brdy, is an excellent starting point for walks in the highest section of the Hřebeny hills. These are walks for people who enjoy hiking on wide forest tracks, with few distractions and even fewer people. The forests on the higher western ridge line are less varied than in the lower eastern section, with mostly evergreen conifers, but there is enough variety of terrain and landscape to make even a long (20+ km) walk interesting.
• The village itself has a major attraction; a fine micro brewery serving some of the region’s best beers in the attached restaurant – a nice way to celebrate a good long walk in the Hřebeny forest! There is a second village pub, opposite the church and a small shop to buy supplies for the walk – there are no refreshment options on the ridge.
• On the ridge, not too far from Kytín, obscured by the dense forest, lies a formerly secret rocket base, commonly known as ‘Klondajk’. The base (which is no longer occupied by the army) was equipped with Soviet made VEGA anti-aircraft missiles in the 1980’s. The marked hiking and cycling trails, however, circle around the base, rather than through it.
• The approach to the ridge from Kytín is one of the gentlest (a 150m climb on a broad forest road) and enables easy access even in winter conditions. Once on the ridge the main trail heads west towards the summit of Liška (642 m) – the second highest summit in the Hřebeny range. For shorter walks, head back to Kytín the same way. For the longer walks (17 km or 23 km) , it is possible to drop down to the north side of the ridge and follow the marked cycle tracks on excellent forest tracks back towards the Kytín junction. The trails on the northern side offer some nice views towards the Křivoklátsko hills.
• The trails in this section of Hřebeny are mostly wide and easy, but can wet and muddy in places, so this is not ideal terrain for a stroller. The recommended long walk (23.2 km) passes over the summit of Liška and involves a total of 390m of height gained-lost on the route. Directions for the medium route (16.9 km, with 340m of ascent) are mentioned below.
• Note that there are also return options to Kytín on the southern side of the ridge that are equally interesting. Full directions are not shown below, but here is a link to a 17 km route, which has some fine views towards the hills surrounding the Slapy reservoir.

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

• Start the walk from the center of the village of Kytín. There are regular buses from Mníšek pod Brdy, and a few parking spots near the church
• Take the GREEN hiking trail in the direction of Na Soudném, which is reached after 2.2 km of gentle ascent
• At the Na Soudném junction, turn left onto the RED trail in the direction of Stožec. The trail passes under the former rocket base (it is invisible from the main path)
• After 5.4 km reach the trail junction of Stožec.
• If following the medium route (16.9 km), take the cycle path number 308, which descends the north flank for 1.3 km to reach a junction with the BLUE hiking trail. Here turn onto the green-yellow striped cycle path heading northeast (this is the same path as used for the longer route)
• If following the (23.2 km) long route from Stožec continue on the the RED trail in the direction of Jelení palouky, which is reached after 3.2 km
• At Jelení palouky, turn right onto the green-yellow striped cycle path (this is also a YELLOW marked hiking trail)
• After 800m the YELLOW hiking trail descends on of forest path, whereas the cycle path continues straight on, on a wider forest track. Stay on the cycle path
• After 3.5 km reach the junction with the BLUE hiking trail. Here stay on the green-yellow striped cycle path (this is the point the medium route connects with the longer route)
• Remain on the cycle path for a further 5 km until reaching the junction with the GREEN hiking trail. Here turn right and head uphill for 600m to reach the Na Soudném junction again
• At Na Soudném continue on the GREEN trail for 2.2 km to return back to Kytín village centre