A circular walk in the forests above Harrachov near the Kamenice stream: 10 km

• Harrachov is a popular ski (and walking) resort in the in the Krkonoše mountains, which has expanded rapidly in recent years. There are direct bus connections to Harrachov from Prague and extensive paid parking areas. The town (which has a glassmaking history, dating back to the 17th century) is today particularly known for its massive ski jumps, which were first built in 1920.
• There are several good walking options from the center of town, including the beautiful (but popular and often busy) route to the Mumlava waterfall and beyond on a long asphalt mountain road. Search using the Harrachov tag for further options.
• For a quiet walk, mostly in the spruce forests above Harrachov, try this circular route which starts at the historical glass museum. The ascent path follows beside the Kamenice stream which has some small cascade waterfalls and nice pools near the top of the route. The return leg has a section in the managed forest area, with some information boards on the work being done to return the Krkonoše forests to their natural mixed state (rather than a spruce monoculture, which prevailed for much of the 20th century).
• The walk is 10 km in length, with a short cut to avoid the buildings around the CZ/Poland border crossing. There is quite a climb beside the Kamenice stream, with around 400m of height to ascend/descend, but none of the paths are particularly steep. There are no refreshments on the route itself, but back at the museum there is a pleasant café. Behind the museum is the Harrachov microbrewery, which has a good restaurant.

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 at the glass museum – there is a bus stop directly in front of the museum, and a parking area for visitors to the museum
• Take the RED trail which follows beside the main road towards the border for 400m to reach the Harrachov – kemp trail junction
• At the junction, take the BLUE trail in the direction of Alfrédka
• Follow the path beside the stream to reach the Kamenice – most pod Jakšínem junction after 3.2 km
• At the junction, turn left to follow the forest road, still on the BLUE trail to reach the Alfrédka after 1.5 km
• From Alfrédka continue on the BLUE trail on the forest road for a further 1.4 km. At this point (next to a forestry information panel) the BLUE trail heads into the forest. Leave the BLUE trail at this point and simply carry on walking down the forest road – this skips a section around the (unattractive) border area
• After 600m the forest road joins with the marked cycle path. Continue down hill on the forest road to reach the main road after 500m
• Cross the main road and head down the unmarked footpath opposite. After 100m this footpath reaches the main RED hiking trail (part of the E3 European long distance footpath). Turn left onto the RED trail
• After 1.1 km the RED trail joins with the blue marked education trail. Continue for a further 200m on the combined path and then turn off the RED trail following the blue diagonal strip markings of the education trail
• After 300m this trail reaches a side road, with the start of the Harrchov residential area. Turn left onto this side road and follow the road for 900m back to the museum-brewery complex