*Along the river Ohře from Karlovy Vary to Loket (extendable to Sokolov): 11 km to 26 km*

• The river Ohře is possibly at its most scenic in the section between the famous spa town of Karlovy Vary and the remarkable medieval town of Loket, which is perched on a granite outcrop almost encircled by the river.
• An excellent one way trip follows the river upstream from Karlovy Vary to Loket, on easy forest tracks suitable for strollers. On completion of the walk, it is possible to catch one of the regular buses back to the starting point. The trip can be done in either direction, but it is nice to finish the expedition with an exploration of the old town and Gothic castle in Loket. See the separate short walk around Loket for more information about the town and castle. (Note the option to extend the walk from Loket to Sokolov with a further attractive section of the Ohře cycle path. Taking this option puts Loket in the mid point of the walk – which can be started either from Sokolov or Karlovy Vary train stations).
• The route passes the Svatoš rocks (Svatošské skály), a unique series of spectacular granite rock pillars, sculpted by the action of the river and frost, particularly during the ice ages. The picturesque rocks have attracted the attention of many famous visitors over the centuries, including Goethe and Sigmund Freud.
• The route, if starting at Karlovy Vary bus station, is 16 km long (it will be slightly longer of starting in the center of the spa town) with 230m of ascent and 200m of descent. The route can be made shorter (and flatter) by catching the bus to Doubí and starting from there. This is an 11 km route. The route can also be extended by 10 km by walking along the Ohře cycle path from Loket to Sokolov and then catch the train back to Karlovy Vary.
• There are refreshment options at several points on the journey, including at Doubí (after 5 km), at the Svatoš rocks (after 9 km) and various options in the town of Loket at the end of the journey. The locals in Loket recommend the Atmosféra on the main square for its food, the Pivovar Svatý Florian for its beer and Kavárna Galerie Café for coffee and cakes! All three have map points below.

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

• Starting at the Karlovy Vary bus station, take one of the side roads heading south (eg Dr. Engel street) to reach in approximately 400m the GREEN hiking trail which runs along Vrázova street
• Follow this trail which rises gradually into the forest area and then descends quite steeply into Doubí (reached 5 km from the bus station)
• In Doubí, either follow the BLUE hiking trail in the direction of Loket (this trail has a steep forest section, not suitable for strollers, but saves 1 km) or the cycle trail which follows Svatošská street (this is suitable for strollers and is the route shown in the map above)
• After 3.5 km arrive at the Svatoš rocks, crossing the river on the footbridge
• Continue on the BLUE trail beside the river for 6.4 km until reaching the entrance to Loket town
• Continue through the town, crossing the bridge on the far side of town, to reach the bus stop for buses back to Karlovy Vary (or continue along the Ohře cycle path for 10 km to reach Sokolov and catch the train back to Karlovy Vary from there)