Best Day Hike Near Prague

Karlstejn, Czech Republic

“Why do I do this to myself?”, I mumble breathlessly as I attempt to hurl my body up a seemingly endless, steep uphill trail. I had been hiking for almost four hours – my legs were screaming with exhaustion, the blister on my heel – despite my attempts to ignore it – kept making itself known, and I had just arrived at the very bottom of the cliff that I wanted to be on top of.

The best day hike near Prague is arguably to Karlstejn Castle & the surrounding areas. Along with experiencing the grandeur of the castle itself, there is a whole network of trails just beyond, waiting to be hiked. The most notable view point is at the top of a cliff looking down on Svaty Jan Pod Skalou – a teeny town with an impressive monastery surrounded by sheer cliff walls and endless forests.

Which brings me to my predicament. Do I continue through the village to the train station that will take my tired, aching body back to Prague? Or do I suck it up for 30 more minutes of strenuous hiking and hope to be rewarded?

The Best Day Hike Near Prague

Getting to Karlstejn is an easy peasy train ride from Prague’s central station (38CZK). Once off the train, follow the herd of fellow hikers alongside the tracks, across the Berounka River, and up the road to Karlstejn Castle. The castle itself is quite stunning. It was founded in the mid-1300’s and has been rebuilt though the ages to its current appearance. It’s possible to book a tour of the castle grounds, but I had my mind set on hiking – so it was off into the forest for me!

Quarries

From the castle, follow the red trail (the blaze is a white square with a horizontal red stripe) through the forest and past a smattering of cafes & restaurants. Eventually you’ll see a fork in the road. The red trail continues to the left, and the yellow trail goes to the right. It’s totally possible to take the red trail the entire way, but if you’re in the mood for a longgggg hike, and want to see some pretty incredible quarries, opt for the yellow trail.

After about 1.5km, you’ll come across the first quarry – Mala Amerika. There is plenty of flat ground here and some log benches making it a perfect lunch spot! If you continue through the forest, you’ll hike through some fields, go by the first of many epic views of the hike, and eventually come out at Mexiko quarry. The depth of the sheer rock walls is hard to conceptualize and I was careful to not get too close to the edge!

If you think the Mexiko quarry is special, just wait until you see Velka Amerika! This quarry is full of deep blue water, making it the perfect swimming spot on a hot summer day. This quarry is so big – I just had to stop and stare and try to take it all in. Once you’ve got your quarry fix, retrace your steps back to Mala Amerika and then along an unmarked, but heavily used trail (I think it’s called Kamenivka).

Waterfalls & Forests

The unmarked trail will pop you out at a junction, and here you’ll turn right and rejoin the red trail. The trail snakes through the forest and alongside a river and a waterfall (Bubovické vodopády – Bubovice waterfalls). Apparently this waterfall is incredible – the trail actually winds over and up the rocks – but in the dry summer season, there was not a drop of water to be seen. Ah well. I had the promise of epic monastery views pushing me onwards.

After some time, you’ll come to another junction with the option to head right towards an abandoned railway yard & (another) quarry (Solvayovy Lomy). If you opt to do this detour, follow the educational trail blazes (white square with a diagonal green stripe). Taking this side trail will lead you straight to the lookout point on top of the cliff. If you’re semi-distracted and not so forward-thinking like me, stick to the red trail.

Monastery Views

You’ll wind your way down, down, down (this should have been an obvious clue that I was not going to the top of a cliff…)  through the forest and eventually end up almost on level ground with the monastery. Drat. If you continue around the back of the building, there will eventually be a trail (white square with a red triangle) that will lead up to the view point. It was here that I grappled with the decision to climb back up, up, up the cliff to see the view I had hiked all this way for. If would have been so easy to continue to the train station. But, I’m stubborn, and a sucker for views. “Why do I do this to myself?” was all I could ponder as I trudged upwards to the top of the cliff.

And?

It was totally worth it (as it so often is). So, why do I do this to myself? – because the reward is so much sweeter knowing I pushed myself to my limits and achieved the goal I had set from the beginning. Also,  in what has become a common travel mantra of mine, ‘I’ve got nowhere to be’, so I  may as well hike the damn cliff!

The Not-So-Long Way Home

Once you’ve got your fix of views, take the red trail back down to the village and follow the road to Hostim. Here, you can branch off the road and follow the yellow trail that will lead you back to the Berounka River and eventually to the Srbsko Train Station. From there you can take the 40-minute train ride back to Prague (44CZK).

Practical Information

Distance: ~20km. This can be reduced of you opt not to visit the quarries. If you ditch the quarries, but tack on the rail yard, the hike will be 17km.

Time: 5 – 7 hours

Transportation

– For train schedules, use the website cd.cz. Trains leave Prague every hour, and they leave from Sbrsko every half hour or so. The train from Prague to Karlstejn is 38CZK, and the train from Sbrsko back to Prague is 44CZK. You can buy tickets on the train. If you have a transit card for Prague, get the ticket from/to Ratodin Station. This stop is still within Prague, but farther along the line, so you’ll be able to save a bit of money than if you were to get the ticket from Prague central.

Packing List

– BRING WATER & snacks! I guzzled a bunch of water on the train and on the trek up to the castle. I then filled up my water bottles at the castle before I started my hike, but I was definitely approaching extreme thirst by the time the train got back to Prague (I brought two bottles – 0.5L & 1L). Snacks & a good-sized portable lunch are also important. 15+km of hiking is not a small distance, and you should fuel yourself properly.

– Don’t forget the sunscreen! Most of the hike is through forests, but the trail is especially exposed en route to the quarries. Lather up, folks!

– It’s always a good idea to tell someone where you’re going and what time you expect to return. And remember to bring a First Aid Kit!

Resources

– The trails are really well marked in this area (and in all of Czech Republic, actually!). But, if you like paper maps, they can be bought at the many info stores leading up to Karlstejn Castle. If you’re tech savvy, I highly recommend using the app Maps.Me. You can download areas for offline use, make routes between two spots, and bookmark locations for reference. This app also has every single trail marked. We used it in Konigstein, and I used it exclusively in Czech Republic and it has never let me down.

– I used these two blog posts as references for planning this hike. Both really came in handy!

Hiking Near Prague and Hiking Around Karlstejn Castle

– Route: This is the route I took, but feel free to click this link for more info.

Route 3,568,991 – powered by www.wandermap.net

So what do you think? Would you agree that this is the best day hike near Prague? With its close proximity to the city, ease of access, wide range of attractions, and epic view points, what more could you want? (Maybe a nice massage and/or hot tub waiting for you upon your arrival back in Prague?!)

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