Exploring the Slavkovský forest north of Mariánské Lázně: 16 km

• If staying in or visiting the UNESCO listed spa town of Mariánské Lázně consider spending some time exploring the attractive surrounding forest, which is part of the Slavkovský les protected landscape area. Most of the forest area is today made up of evergreen spruce trees, introduced after most of the original deciduous forest was felled during the period when the area was extensively mined, mostly for its tin ore during the Middle Ages.
• The forest areas lie mostly above 700m, and only gently undulate so provide good conditions for winter cross country skiing and in summer for easy hiking on quiet paths. The forest canopy and relatively high altitude means these trails stay cool even in the height of summer.
• Many of the forest trails lead to the famous cold mineral springs that made Mariánské Lázně so popular in the 19th century. There are more than 100 springs in the area to be discovered. Most are acidic ferrous springs with a high amount of CO2 and have been used over the centuries for different medicinal purposes.
• The easy forest trails to the north of the town visit a couple of interesting sites, including the Smraďoch spring with its bubbling (and smelly) H2S and CO2 gas discharges and the more palatable Farská kyselka spring. Further on along the trail is that site of Kaiserruhe fortress, dating from the 13th century, when the upland forest area had small settlements. Just the ramparts and moat of this small fortress are visible today.
• The suggested circular route is approximately 16 km long, assuming a start in the central spa area of Mariánské Lázně. The forest walk can easily be combined with a broader exploration of the spa area. This standalone walk is described here. The forest walk has 200m of height to ascend-descend, none of which is difficult. The outbound route is mostly on forest footpaths, with the return on wider forest tracks. In addition to the Farská kyselka spring there are refreshment possibilities at the restaurant Luna Park, which has a pleasant outside terrace. The restaurant is passed on both the outbound and return trails.

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

• If arriving by train, head into the center of town either by bus, or join the Hlavní třída main start and walk the 2 km up the to spa area (note – this extra distance is not included in the 16 km walk length)
• From the hiking junction below the main park area, take the BLUE trail in the direction of Luna Park
• After 2.4 km reach the Luna Park junction (restaurant option)
• Continue on the BLUE trail for 3.4 km to reach the Smraďoch spring after (a short diversion along a wooden walkway)
• Continue on the BLUE trail for 600m to reach the Farská kyselka spring (located inside the wooden gazebo)
• At the Farská kyselka trail junction, join the RED trail and head in the direction of Potok Rota
• After 1.1 km on the RED trail, pass the site of the Kaiserruhe fortress (there is a red marker on a tree and a small footpath leading to the ramparts, which are visible from the main trail – see photo below
• Continue on the RED trail for a further 1.2 km to reach the Pod Popravčí loukou junction. Here, turn left onto the YELLOW trail heading in the direction of Králův kámen
• After 1.8 km reach the Králův Kámen cycle trail junction. Here, turn left onto the GREEN trail heading back to Mariánské Lázně
• After 3.5 km pass the Luna Park restaurant and continue on the GREEN trail back into the center of town, which is reached in 2.3 km