*Králický Sněžník (1423m) from Dolní Morava, along the Polish border trail: 25 km*

• Králický Sněžník is an important mountain peak situated on the Polish-Czech border close to (but separate from) the Jeseníky mountain range. Known for its snow cover for up to 8 months of the year, it is the eleventh highest mountain in the Czech Republic. On the southern slopes (facing Bohemia) the source of the important Morava river can be found. On the Polish side of the summit, a massive new viewing tower was (somewhat controversially) constructed in 2022, replacing an older tower that was originally built in 1899.
• The tower (as a viewpoint, at least) is little needed. There are majestic views into Bohemia and Poland from all along the ridge line. The Králický Sněžník ridge is a rare ‘triple watershed point’. Water flowing down from the mountain reaches one of three different seas: the Black sea via the Morava and Danube, the North sea via the Orlice and Elbe rivers, and the Baltic sea via the Eastern Neisse and Oder.
• From the Czech side of the mountain, most ascents of the mountain start at Horní Morava or the Dolní Morava ski-summer resort. There are several marked trails to the summit of the mountain, none of which are particularly difficult. All are around 12 km long. The suggested route shown in the map takes the steepest path in ascent, up to the start of the ridge, where there is another lookout tower on Klepáč (1144m).
• The suggested descent route passes the source of the Morava and continues down to Horní Morava, broadly following the course of the river. The only refreshment option on the mountain is the Śnieżnik Hostel on the Polish side. It is a short (400m) diversion from the ridge line to get to the hut.
• Overall the route (including the diversion to the hut) is just under 25 km long, with nearly 1200m of ascent. This is quite a solid day trip! Once back in the valley, the restaurant at the Dolní Morava Vista resort is surprisingly good and worth checking out.

Note: click ‘Show on Mapy.com’ above to go to a full screen version directly on the mapy.cz site. This can be used for online navigation, saved or exported as a GPX file

Directions

• Starting from the Dolní Morava, Velká Morava, U Slona bus stop/parking area. join the BLUE trail heading to the Pod Klepáčem junction, reached after 1.8 km
• At Pod Klepáčem, join the RED trail heading towards Králický Sněžník (note – the first section is a steep forest footpath, not easily spotted)
• The trail marker colours get a bit confused on the ridge as they include both Czech and Polish markers. It is easiest simply to follow the directions on the trail signpost to the summit of Králický Sněžník
• The diversion path to the hut is also not brilliantly marked, so if planning on a visit it is best to follow this part of the route using gps
• Once at the summit, the route back is easy: simply follow the YELLOW trail all the way back down to the Dolní Morava resort and from there down the road to Horní Morava