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A two day – 57 km – walk along the Hřebeny ridge from Lochovice to Černošice

  • Hřebeny is a ridge of lows hills made up of very old sedimentary rock, running from near Zbraslav, to the southwest of Prague, and finishing close to Příbram. The hike along the whole ridge is a superb walk, in very attractive rocky forested landscape, with some spectacular viewpoints. It is not a particularly famous trail, so is usually very quiet and peaceful.
  • The ridge walk is over 50 km long, so (for most people) hiking its full length needs to be split into at least two days. Several shorter walks exploring individual sections of the ridge and its most important features are included elsewhere in this guide.
  • The walk can be done in either direction: heading westwards or eastwards. The Prague end of the trail can be started at Zbraslav, but a (preferred) alternative is the mainline station of Černošice. The trail leading to-from the latter is more interesting. A convenient starting-finishing point at the western end of the ridge is the train station of Lochovice, which has direct trains to-from Prague.
  • There are unfortunately relatively few choices for overnight stops on the route, but the village of Kytín is located approximately in the middle, and is only a short diversion from the ridge line. It has overnight accommodation located just next to the excellent microbrewery and restaurant – a fine spot for celebrating the first leg of the journey!
  • Starting in Lochovice (and travelling west to east) means that the hardest day – 31 km and 800m of height gain – is day 1. That leaves the milder 26 km and 300m of height gain for day 2. If preferring to do the walk on separate days there are regular buses to/from Kytín, connecting the village with the nearby town of Mníšek pod Brdy, which has fast connections to Prague.
  • Day 1 itinerary (31 km including the short diversion to Studený vrch) : From Lochovice the trail climbs to the peak of Plešivec, which offers excellent views from its summit. This is also the site of one of the largest and most important Bronze Age hillforts in Central Bohemia. The trail then follows the ridgeline, including a lovely section in the rocky Kuchyňka nature reserve and climbs gently to the Studený vrch peak (660m) where a stone lookout tower rises above the tree-line (the tower is usually only open at weekends). Then there is a long section just below the ridgeline, passing an abandoned Soviet era rocket station known as Klondajk, before dropping down to Kytín.
  • Day 2 itinerary (26 km including the short diversion to Hvíždinec): From Kytín, the route gently ascends back to the ridge, stopping at the historic monastery area of Skalka, above the town of Mníšek pod Brdy. There follows a long section in the very attractive mixed forests of Hřebeny, with the option of a short detour to one of the best viewpoints in the hills: Hvíždinec. The route then passes the famous climbing rocks of Černolické skály before dropping down to the village of Jíloviště. The final short ascent is to the landmark TV tower of Cukrák on Kopanina hill, before the trail descends to reach the Berounka river at Kazín (the site of another ancient hillfort). The final section of the route follows the Berounka towards Černošice station.
  • None of the paths on this trail are particularly steep or challenging. Some sections can, however, be muddy after wet weather. There are no refreshment options on the route from Lochovice to Kytín (day 1) so take plenty of liquids and food for this long day. On day 2 there are options to stop for refreshment in Skalka, Jíloviště and Kazín.

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 – day 1 (Lochovice to Kytín)

  • Start from Lochovice train station and take the RED trail to reach the peak of Plešivec in 5.3 km
  • Continue on the RED trail to reach the trail junction of Komorsko after 4.8km
  • At Komorsko take the left hand branch of the RED trail towards Pod Malým vrchem, which is reached after 2.4 km
  • At the Pod Malým vrchem junction stay on the RED trail, heading in the direction of Kuchyňka and traversing the peak of Malý vrch
  • Continue on the RED trail for 4.5 km to reach the trail junction of Pod Studeným vrchem. Here there is diversion of 700m to reach the peak of Studený vrch (660m). After visiting the lookout tower, return back down the hill to reach the Pod Malým vrchem junction again
  • Continue on the RED trail in the direction of the Jelení palouky trail junction, which is reached in 2.8 km
  • At Jelení palouky, continue on the RED trail in the direction of Stožec which is reached in 3.5 km
  • From Stožec, continue on the RED trail for 5.4 km to reach the junction of Na Soudném. Here turn right onto the GREEN trail and walk down the hill to the village of Kytín, which is reeached in 2. 3 km. If staying overnight in Kytín, the accommodation is in the next building to the right of the restaurant attached to the brewery

Directions – day 2 (Kytín to Černošice )

  • From Kytín village take the YELLOW trail in the direction of Skalka
  • After 1.9km rejion the RED trail and continue in the direction of Skalka, which is reached in 2.1 km (take the short diversion to the church on the edge of the ridge, with views over Mníšek pod Brdy)
  • From Skalka return back to the RED trail and continue for 3.2 km to reach the trail junction of U Trojáku
  • Continue for 250m on the RED trail to reach the junction of U Šraňku, where there is the option of diverting along the BLUE trail for 900m to visit the viewpoint of Hvíždinec
  • After visiting Hvíždinec, return back to the U Šraňku junction and continue along the RED trail in the direction of Jíloviště
  • In 3.4 km reach the rocks of Černolické skály – there is a short diversion to the viewpoint at the top of the rocks which is definitely worth taking. Then descend on the RED trail to Černolice village and on towards Jíloviště, which is reached in 5 km
  • From Jíloviště join the YELLOW trail in the direction of (the TV transmitter) Cukrák, which is reached in 1.7 km
  • At Cukrák turn left, staying on the YELLOW trail heading in the direction of Kazín (note just before descending to the river bank, there is an unmarked track to the left which leads after 200m to a good viewpoint over the river, where the old hillfort was located)
  • Continue on the YELLOW trail down to the Kazín settlement, and from there follow the YELLOW trail for 1.9km to reach Černošice railway station

For pictures and more information relating to the landmarks referred to on this two day follow the TAGS at the bottom of the page to see shorter walks that visit these sites.

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