A 16 km walk around Tok (865m), the highest peak in Brdy

• Tok (865m) , the highest peak in the Brdy highlands, is a popular destination for walkers in all seasons (and occasionally for cross country skiers in winter). As with many of the higher peaks in Brdy, the top itself is unspectacular, being flat and surrounded by forest with no panoramic view at all.
• What makes the trip special is the ability to chose from a variety of access paths up, down and around the mountain. Unlike other areas in Brdy – which was a former military zone – most of the unmarked paths on Tok are unrestricted for walkers, which enables a variety of perspectives to be gained of this attractive highland forest landscape, while ‘capturing’ this famous peak.
• If comfortable walking on hardpacked snow, the walk to Tok provides an excellent winter hike – there may be an occasional cross-country skier sharing the (wide) paths, but unlike in some other Czech mountain areas the summer paths in Brdy are perfectly accessible for walkers in winter.
• The route described below starts in the village of Obecnice (5 km from Příbram) which has a large parking area near the sports stadium. This is the closest road access point to Tok. The most direct route from Obecnice to the Tok peak is 6.7 km long, but by choosing slightly less direct paths the trip can include visits to the excellent viewpoint on the nearby Klobouček peak (703m) and the open meadow of Na Carvánce, just below Tok, where there is a tourist shelter – a great spot for a picnic.
• The proposed circular route totals 16 km and involves 350m of height gained and lost. There are a couple of steeper rocky sections on the ascent route, which can be iced up and a bit slippery in winter. These sections can be avoided if needed by using the descent route (which mostly uses the wide forest roads) also for the ascent.
• There are no refreshment options directly on the route, but there is a potraviny (supermarket) just opposite the car park, to buy provisions for the trip.

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 the walk at the car park in Obecnice, close to the sports stadium and opposite the coop potraviny. If traveling by bus to Obecnice (buses go to and from from Příbram), the car park is 150m from the bus stop, following the RED trail
• From the car park, take the RED trail on the main road past the COOP. After 150m the trail turns right along a side road
• After a short section in a housing area, the trail enters the forest and climbs gently on a straight track, reaching the Zelená linie signpost after 1.2 km
• At the signpost, turn left onto the GREEN trail, which rises at first gently, and then more steeply through rocky section, to reach the peak of Klobouček after 2.1 km. There is an excellent view from the top
• Continue over the peak on the GREEN trail, which reaches the junction and signpost of Schůdecká linie after 350m
• At the signpost, continue straight on, joining the RED trail which climbs steadily for 3.7 km, to reach the plateau area at the peak of Tok. [Note: there is one steeper section approximately 800m after leaving the Schůdecká linie junction]
• From Tok peak, take the GREEN trail which leads downhill and reaches the meadow area of Na Carvánce after 400m. Here is there is a tourist shelter (see picture below)
• From Na Carvánce stay on the GREEN trail to reach the signpost of Pod Tokem after 2.4 km
• At the signpost, turn right (staying on the GREEN trail) but after 200m, take a sharp turn to the left onto the wide forest trail (unmarked) and follow this track for 1.1km to return to the Schůdecká linie junction
• At the junction take the GREEN trail. After a 200m section on a wide forest track, the path narrows and descends more steeply through the forest to reach the village reservoir after 1.8 km (Note: if conditions are very icy there is an option to stay on the wide forest track which leads more gently down the mountain to rejoin the GREEN trail at the reservoir)
• At the reservoir, stay on the GREEN trail which descends gently to return directly to the car park by the sports area after 1.6 km