Skryjský waterfall and the western Křivoklátsko forests – 2 km to 29 km tours

• The village of Skryje, located on the Berounka river, some 25km west of Beroun, is mostly known as a fossil location discovered by the 19th century French paleontologist, Joachim Barrande. The famous ‘trilobite trail’ starts from Skryje and is a rewarding short walk (follow the link for details of the walk).
• Visitors to Skryje wanting a longer walk should consider a trip in the hills and forests above the village, including a visit to the Skryjská jezírka nature reserve, just a few kilometers from Skryje along the Zbirožský stream. The rocky canyon created by the stream is the location of the Skryjský waterfall and the shallow pond is a popular spot for paddling on a warm summer’s day. The waterfall itself is not particularly tall, but is one of the more powerful waterfalls in the country.
• Various walks to the waterfalls are possible. For a short walk, most visitors the falls seem to park in the small parking area of Slap, 4 km to the southwest of Skryje, and take the 1 km walk along the BLUE trail to the waterfall from there. Alternatively, starting in Skryje gives a pleasant 3 km walk, initially across the meadows, to the falls (6 km there and back).
• For a longer walk, it is possible to continue upstream along the stream, passing several attractive old mills, as far as Zbiroh (this is an excellent 18 km one way walk, and requires use of the bus connections to/from Skryje and Zbiroh).
• For those driving to Skryje – there is a paid parking area on the edge of the village who prefer a circular tour, mostly in forest areas, then two circuits are possible; the first is 19 km long with 400m of height difference, and the second is 29 km long with 550m of height difference. The longer route follows the stream until close to Zbiroh before circling back to Skryje, through the pretty village of Jablečno. It is one of the best long walks in the Křivoklátsko area and is shown in the map below. Directions are given for both the 19 km and 29 km options.
• The path along the river is good and mostly easy. Around the waterfall itself there are a few short rock sections to navigate, but these are not particularly challenging if careful. Some can be avoided by wading through the shallow pond area – take some flip flops if this option appeals! There are no refreshment options directly on the routes mentioned above, but there are a couple of pubs in Skryje (or Zbiroh) at the end of the walk. Take enough supplies and liquids for the longer options.

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 in the center of Skryje village. There is a paid parking area 100m from the village museum. Skryje is on bus routes from Beroun, Rakovník and Křivoklát
• From the village center, follow the BLUE hiking trail in the direction of Zbiroh
• After 2.9 km reach the waterfall and pond area
• If continuing on the longer walks, carry on along the BLUE trail climbing rocks to the right of the waterfall and contuing beside the stream for 1 km to reach the parking area of Slap
• From Slap, continue on the BLUE trail along the stream for 2.9 km to reach the Jankovský mlýn trail junction
• If wanting the 19 km circular tour through the forests, at Jankovský mlýn turn left onto the GREEN trail in the direction of Pod Týčským vrchem *, which is reached after a 4.2 km section of forest trail which climbs steadily to the junction
• If wanting the 29 km walk, continue along the stream on the BLUE trail for a further 5.3 km to reach the Sýkorův mlýn trail junction. Here, the trail leaves the stream and heads up into the hills
• Stay on the BLUE trail for 3.3 km until reaching the heritage village of Jablečno
• In Jablečno, turn onto the YELLOW trail in the direction of U sv. Petra which is reached in 2.8 km (this is the site of a 14th century fortress – only the church below the hill remains of this settlement)
• At the U sv. Petra junction, turn onto the GREEN trail in the direction of Pod Týčským vrchem*, which is reached after 2.4 km (those on the 19 km walk join at this point)
• At the Pod Týčským vrchem junction turn off the GREEN trail onto the (unmarked) wide forest track that heads northeast into the forest – this track is at 90 degrees to the GREEN trail
• Stay on the main forest road as it curves through the forest to reach the public road after 2.8 km.
• At the road junction left onto the road and continue for 70m and then take the forest track to the right. This connects after 600m to the GREEN hiking trail. Turn left onto the GREEN trail which leads directly back to Skryje village after 5.2 km