A tour of the Veselské pískovny (sandpit lakes) from Veselí nad Lužnicí: 12 km to 14 km

• The protected landscape area of Třebonsko is a region full of man-made lakes and fishponds. Many date back to the late Medieval and Renaissance periods. However, some are much more modern, including the lakes created by sandmining in the floodplain of the Lužnice river.
• The Veselské pískovny are a series of sand quarries located just south of Veselí nad Lužnicí, which date from the second half of the 20th century. The quarries are now shallow lakes. With their sandy bottoms and beach-like shorelines they become popular swimming spots in summer. The area is also good for hiking and outside the peak summer period they are very tranquil locations! There is a short educational trail around two of the filled quarries.
• Veselí nad Lužnicí is a good starting point for an easy walk around the lakes. Veselí can be reached on a number of regional bus routes and there are various parking options close to the town center, including on the main square. There is also a main line train station – but note that this is 1.5 km from the town center.
• It is worth hiking through the whole series of ponds to reach the village of Vlkov, where there are some attractive 19th century village houses lining the streets and a couple of good restaurant options.
• The full suggested route is 14 km long, but the loop around the first lake can be skipped if preferred, shortening the walk to 12 km. It is a virtually flat route, mostly on good sand and mud footpaths, which are sometimes narrow but should be manageable with a good stroller. For refreshments, there is a nice café on the main square in Veselí, Kavárna U Fialky (map point 10) and in Vlkov try the outdoor Vlčí bouda (map point 6) or the Vlkovská hospoda (map point 8) by the train station.

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

• Starting at the main road bridge in Veselí nad Lužnicí, join the YELLOW trail in the direction of Vlkov
• After 1.6 km reach the edge of the first sandpit lake. The nature trail does a full circle around this lake (2 km) and rejoins the YELLOW trail just 200m from the starting point (this loop is optional)
• On completing the loop, leave the YELLOW trail again to follow the footpath on the west side of the largest lake, which is also part of the educational trail
• After 1.6 km, just before reaching the end of the lake, there is a metal and wood footbridge on the right side of the path, which crosses over the Lužnice river. Take this bridge and then turn left to follow the footpath beside the second largest of the lakes
• follow this footpath for 200m until metting the GREEN hiking trail. Continue on the GREEN trail beside the Lužnice river heading towards Vlkov
• After 1.3 km reach the public road and there cross the Lužnice river once more
• Immediatelz after crossing the bridge take the side road to the left, which leads after 400m to the Vlčí bouda restaurant
• Continue from the Vlčí bouda for 500m through the first part of Vlkov village
• On reaching the main road turn right, continue for 50m and then cross the road to take the side road which leads in 350m to the train station and hotel Vlkov and the Vlkovská hospoda, situated beside the rybník (fishpond)
• At the train station, re-join the YELLOW trail, heading in the direction of Veselí nad Lužnicí
• This trail returns back to the main Veselská pískovna lake and follows the eeastern shore, where the main swimming spots are located
• Stay on the YELLOW trail all the way back to Veselí nad Lužnicí (reached 6 km after leaving Vlkov station)