An easy 3 km walk around Staré Splavy – the Bohemian Rivieria?

• The header picture might easily be mistaken for somewhere on the Mediterranean coastline. Pine tree clad rocky slopes leading down to a white sandy beach with views towards a medieval castle ruin… It is not a surprise that in the 1930’s the resorts on this Bohemian lakeshore marketed themselves as the largest outdoor spa in Czechoslovakia, with comparisons to the French Riviera and St Moritz as a desirable destination.
• The location pictured is the beach at Staré Splavy on the Máchovo lake and the view is towards the famous 13th century castle of Bezděz in far distance. The lake itself was created by the Bohemian king and Holy Roman Emperor, Charles IV, in the 14th century. It became famous as a tourist destination in the 19th century. Part of the appeal was due to the association with Czech poet Karel Hynek Mácha, who visited at least six times in the 1830’s and used the lake as the setting for his most famous poem, ‘Máj’.
• Several easy walks are possible near the lake, and walks may be completed by catching a ferry boat at one of several docking stations to complete a tour of the scenic lake. The full circuit of the lake can be done in around 15 km long. The full walk is mostly spent in the sandy pine forest sections that surround the lake, rather than on the lakeshore. For a much shorter taste of the Máchovo jezero experience, an attractive easy walk – suitable also for strollers – circles around the resort village of Staré Splavy, at the northwest corner of the lake.
• The Staré Splavy circle requires paying an entrance fee to walk through the beach and aquapark area, but if not using the beach facilities it is usually possible just to pay a nominal ‘walk through’ fee. The Staré Splavy beach has some of the best views on the lakeshore, including across to the sandstone rock ‘island’ on which the ruined medieval fortress of Myšlín sits. Nearby is famous Jarmilina rock that was named after Mácha’s heroine in the poem Máj.
• For a swim, during (or after) the short walk, the paid beach is perfect, particularly with children who will want to test out the long slides directly into the sea…There are also smaller free swimming areas close to the ferry docking station in the port.
• There is a train station in Staré Splavy, which is on the regional train line from Mladé Boleslav. If driving there is a large paid car park just off the main road and a couple of other parking areas just along the lakeshore. These are not hard to find on mapz.cz. For refreshments, there are several options in Staré Splavy, but the Turnovská pivnice Nad Jezerem directly next to the ferry station looks stylish.

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 the hiking trail junction next to the Staré Splavy train station, take the RED trail in the direction of Doksy
• After 400m, just as the forest area begins by the tourist shelter, leave the RED trail and continue straight on the wide track that leads into the forest (signposted to the aquapark). Later on this path there is a ticket office – ask for a ticket just to walk through the beach area
• After 450m pass under the Jarmilina skála and stop for photos at the excellent viewpoint over the lake
• Continue on to the white sand beach and pass through the aquapark area, continuing on the lakeshore path for 900m to reach the port area
• Continue beside the lake passing the Turnovská pivnice Nad Jezerem restaurant and join the YELLOW hiking trail just after the path turns inland
• Turn left onto the YELLOW trail and return back to the train station in 500m