An ascent of Smrk (1124m), the highest peak in the Czech Jizerské mountains, from Smědava: 14 km
- At 1124m, Smrk (‘Spruce’) is the highest peak in the Czech Jizera mountains. It lies on the Czech/Polish border. The mountain apparently acquired its name from a giant spruce tree where the famous Imperial generalissimo Albrecht of Valdštejn nailed his coat of arms in 1628 (shortly after being made the Duke of Friedland). The tree was uprooted, in 1790, by a storm.
- The quickest way to ascend Smrk is to take the mountain tracks leading from the road pass at Smědava (847m), which has a large (paid) parking area and bus connections with Frýdlant. Most of the route is on mostly flat logging roads and only the last segment is a relatively steep (200m) climb up the south flank of Smrk. The summit is topped with a metal viewing tower, constructed in 2003.
- The route from Smědava to Smrk summit is 6.9 km long, with just under 300m of ascent. An alternative route is to take the 8 km trail from the spa village of Lázně Libverda (which has bus connections with Liberec and is a short walk from Hejnice train station). The route from the spa involves just over 700m of ascent. A nice option, if travelling by public transport, is to start in Smědava and finish in Lázně Libverda. This is the route shown in the map below. Most of the descent to Lázně Libverda is on easy mountain tracks.
- For refreshments, there where there is a popular buffet restaurant at Smědava and various options in Lázně Libverda, which has a pleasant spa park area.
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
- From Smědava, take the GREEN hiking trail in the direction of Předěl, which is reached after 3.1 km
- At the Předěl junction, join the RED trail heading towards Nebeský žebřík, which is reached after 2.7 km
- At the Nebeský žebřík junction, turn right onto the BLUE trail which leads to the summit of Smrk in 1.1 km
- Return back to the Nebeský žebřík after the summit climb and (assuming a continuation to finish in Lázně Libverda) turn right onto the RED trail, which leads directly to the spa in 7 km
