A circular 21 km tour in the quiet hills around the Slapy reservoir from Kamýk nad Vltavou

• The Slapy reservoir – the sixth largest in the country – was created in 1955 by damming the river Vlava around 30 km from Prague. It is a popular vacation spot, with sandy beaches, boat trips along its scenic shores and many other water sports activities. Walkers in the Slapy area also have multiple route options; some of the best walks are included in these pages (use the Region filter: Slapy to view the currently published walks).
• The quiet countryside around the lake is hilly and attractive, with mixed forests and open meadows filled with flowers throughout the spring and summer. With steep slopes on both sides of the reservoir, there are relatively few paths directly by the water. However, the terrain at the southern end of the 43 km long reservoir is a little more gentle and with two conveniently located bridges it is possible to create a very varied circular walk, including sections in the forests and meadows as well as a length directly along the lakeshore.
• The walk starts in the historic town of of Kamýk nad Vltavou, which has regular bus connections with Příbram and Dobříš. For drivers, there is a free parking area close to the river behind the main street. Just above the town are the well preserved ruins of Vrškamýk castle. The royal castle dates from the early 12th century, when Kamýk was a regional center for the late Přemyslid rulers of Bohemia. See the separate walk which tours the hills to the the south of Kamýk, passing through the castle area and circling the Kamýk reservoir.
• The suggested route for the trip on this page heads first into the hills and forests to the north of Kamýk, passing through the villages of Dolní Třtí and Luhy (where there is a lovely converted mill which is now a fine pension, the Myškův Mlýn). The trail then leads along the Vápenický stream before climbing into forests above the village of Vestec.
• The route crosses the Vestecký bridge and then follows the lakeshore closely before climbing one final time for an impressive view of the reservoir and then descending back to Kamýk through the attractive old village of Hojšín. There are often swimmers in the river near the bridge that crosses the river back to Kamýk, using a docking pontoon to access the water.
• The total route length is 21.4 km with 450m of height gained-lost on the journey. None of the trails are difficult or steep, and are mostly on meadow or forest footpaths. Part of the trail (the 7 km section from Luhy to Vestec) is on the E10 European long distance footpath.
• There are no refreshment options directly on the route (so take supplies and plenty of liquids). However, in Kamýk, the there are some good refreshment options, including the recommended U Smrček pub and the café Zmrzka u ADI, which makes its own excellent ice cream. Both are on the main street.

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 Kamýk nad Vltavou and take the YELLOW trail in the direction of Luhy
• Luhy village is reached after 5.6 km (the the Myškův Mlýn pension is on the left just before the village). In Luhy, turn right onto the GREEN trail in the direction of Obory
• Obory is reached in 4.2 km after a section along the Vápenický stream. At the Obory junction, cross the main road and continue on the GREEN trail in the direction of Vestec. Vestec is reached after a 3.9 km section is the forested hills
• At the Vestec trail signpost, turn right onto the RED trail in the direction of Kamýk
• After 1.3 km cross the Vestecký bridge and continue on the RED trail, partly along side the lake and then climbing the hills for a final time (at the top of the climb there is a short diversion to an excellent – but exposed – Roviště viewpoint over Slapy)
• Continue after the viewpoint in the RED trail through the attractive village of Hojšín and drop down to cross the bridge at Kamýk