*A circular 8 km tour from Mšeno, passing the famous Pokličky rock formations*

• This 8km circular walk gives a great introduction to the towering sandstone rock formations in the Kokořinsko protected nature area, and visits the famous Pokličky rocks, with their exotic mushroom shape (the link provides an excellent description of how the rocks were formed from the sandstone deposits laid down some 80million years ago under the Cretaceous seas which covered the Bohemian basin at that time).
• The tour’s starting point is in the town of Mšeno, which has an interesting recorded history, stretching back to the 14th century king Wenceslas III, but the settlement is probably Slavic (6th century AD) in origin. Several archaeological sites dating back to Paleolithic times (hunter-gatherers) have been identified in the area, and there are also important Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in the vicinity, indicating that the Mšeno plateau has been farmed for millennia.
• The walk starts near the famous art deco town spa, which provides an opportunity for a refreshing dip after (or even before) the walk. After crossing a section of the Mšeno plateau the route descends into the Močidlna gorge with looming sandstone towers on both sides (some of which are listed as climbing terrain eg the Žlutá věž).
• At the half way point the route climbs up to the Pokličky rocks, and then returns towards Mšeno along the Droužko ridge. The final section of walk follows the Lesopark Debř nature trail, with its information boards detailing the sites along the sandstone gorge.
• The route is on mostly easy wide paths, but there are steep step sections up to the Pokličky rocks, and the trails can be quite muddy in wet weather. A total of 220m height is gained/lost on the total 8.3km route. There are no refreshment stops available directly on the route, but there are various options in Mšeno, and at the swimming pool. In Mšeno center, there is an excellent coffee and cake shop, the Cukrárna U Živných a měšťáků and on the other side of the church a popular ice cream parlor, Zmrzlinový ráj. Both are worth visiting.

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 Mšeno swimming pool. If driving, there are two small (paid) parking areas close to the pool (and also parking options near the main town square). If traveling by train, note that the Mšeno station is some 1.4km walk from the swimming pool (follow the RED trail to the main square, and then the yellow diagonal – nature trail – signs to get to the swimming pool)
• From the (Mšeno – koup.) hiking signpost, situated next to the pool parking, take the yellow diagonal nature trail ( the Cinibulkova stezka) in the direction of Faraon
• The path crosses the fields and reaches the Faraon signpost after 1.5km
• From Faraon, take the GREEN trail to reach the Náckova rokle signpost after 600m.
• At Náckova rokle, turn right onto the BLUE trail in the direction of Apatyka, and follow this trail for 1.9km to reach the roadside signpost of Pokličky – rozc.
• Turn right, staying on the BLUE trail in the direction of the Pokličky rocks, which are reached after 200m of climbing on steep step sections
• From the Pokličky rocks continue on the BLUE trail along the ridge to reach after 2.1km the Obří hlava a žába signpost (situated next to these named rocks, pictured below)
• Continue 400m on the BLUE trail up the slope to the top of the hill marked with the Švédský val signpost, and from there on towards Mšeno
• The final section of the walk (still on the BLUE trail) is along the Lesopark Debř nature trail, with its information boards featuring items in this gently descending sandstone gorge. The swimming pool is 1.6km from the Švédský val signpost