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The 12 km Klánovický les nature trail (and shorter routes) in Prague’s medieval robber forest

  • Klánovice forest, on the eastern edge of Prague, was once such a den of robbers and thieves that the king had to chop down the trees lining the imperial road leading out of Prague to protect travelers and traders from attacks. Today, the forest is a tranquil (and safer) place, its lattice of straight paths now inhabited by walkers enjoying the flat trails through the mixed woodland. Oak and birch copses alternate with spruces, larches and pines. This large forest, despite its flatness, is a pleasant place to go walking and is particularly colorful in autumn.
  • There are many trails through the forest, both marked and unmarked, and routes of varying lengths can be created, from a couple of km to over 20 km. Possible entry points include (at the eastern edge) the attractive town of Úvaly, which has a couple of local walks in addition to being a gateway to Klánovický les. However, more central to the forest area is the village of Klánovice itself. Both Klánovice and Úvaly have regular fast train connections from the center of Prague.
  • A good option for a medium length walk in the forest is the Klánovický les nature trail, which has 17 information boards outlining the history, legends and nature of the forest area and the surrounding villages (including those that have now disappeared) spread over its 12 km length. The trail starts and finishes at Klánovice train station and is almost completely flat. The route can be managed with a stroller, although some of the paths can be muddy, occasionally rocky, and are often lined with tree roots. Various short cuts are available to shorten the route if needed.
  • There are a number of refreshment options on the route, including the surprisingly good station coffee house, which has excellent cakes and sandwiches. Near the station is the popular restaurant Dasch, with its outdoor seating area and in Klánovice village (just off the trail route) there is the well known Czech restaurant Babiččina Beseda (map point 6).

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 on the north side of the Klánovice train station next to the Dasch restaurant
  • The nature trail starts by following the RED hiking trail for 3.4 km to reach the Klánovický les trail junction. Here the route changes onto the GREEN hiking trail in the direction of Cyrilov
  • Follow the GREEN trail for 1.8 km. The nature trail (green-white diagonal stripe markings) then turns off the main trail to reach the Cyrilov junction in 1 km (note – the GREEN hiking trail also goes to Cyrilov, so either path can be chosen)
  • At Cyrilov, join the YELLOW trail in the direction of Zalesí and continue for 1.1 km to reach a junction with a tourist shelter on the right side
  • The YELLOW trail continues on to return to the station (this is a short cut option), but the nature trail turns off to the right and continues through the residential area of the village (there is an option to divert 200m off the route to visit restaurant Babiččina Beseda at map point 6)
  • The nature trail rejoins the GREEN hiking trail in Klánovice village and then continues into the western side of the forest
  • After 600m the nature trail again diverts from the GREEN trail taking a 700m short cut to join the BLUE hiking trail
  • Turn sharply left onto the BLUE trail to return to the station in 1.8 km
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