JIZERA MOUNTAINS - Tips for trips (Czech rep.)
Are you going to Jizera Mountains? Let me give you a few tips on what to do nearby and where to stay
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Experience Czech Republic with Get Your Guide:
1) Tip on the bike path
Královka - Bedřichov - Nová Louka - Kristiánov - Josefův Důl - Hrabětice - Královka - 14 km
If you take a bike to the Jizera Mountains, I will describe our two circuits for inspiration. This first one was from the Královka lookout tower, because we lived there, and we made a circuit, it is only slightly demanding, but sometimes you just can't avoid the hill, when Královka is on the hill :) But calm down! We are not Sagans (famous Slovak cyclist), just ordinary bikers (me), so don't worry. However, if you wanted to take the route in the opposite direction, it is worse and you can enjoy more hills.
The circuit is about 14 km and you will drive it in an hour. Well, we didn't chase and we stood in many beautiful places, so it was almost a day trip :) You will ride about 240 up and down the altitude meters.
We started from the Královka lookout tower (already by bike), by the way, there is a parking lot where you can leave your car, as well as a restaurant, playground for kids and bonus - lookout tower, if you have little in your feet, you can climb and enjoy the beautiful views.
From Královka, you will set off along the tourist blue from the steeper hill down the asphalt road towards Bedřichov. As soon as the first crossroads, you will turn right in the direction of Nová Louka (cycle path no. 3023). There is Šámal's cottage with a restaurant and a garden, have a beer, then nothing will happen for a long time :) You can drive here and leave your car here.
From here we took it along the forest path to the Blatný pond, cycle path no. 3022. We stopped here too, it was like a fairy tale. It was originally built for a sawmill in 1780 and until 1897 it was the only reservoir in Jizerky. When you have enough, you continue along the trail.
At the Kristiánov crossroads, turn right from the cycle path, follow the red road, onto the forest path. Here you drive around the glass settlement Kristiánov. The settlement was founded in the 18th century. For almost a hundred years, it was the most important forest glassworks in the Jizera Mountains. To date, only 2 buildings have been preserved, namely the hunting lodge and the fairytale timbered house, today the Monument of Glassmaking, open only in summer.
Then you take it down, and you cross the forest a bit. At the bottom you will connect to the cycle route 3021 and follow the yellow road. You can enjoy beautiful views of the large Josefův Důl dam. When you reach the dike, where we also took a break.
Not to drive downhill all the time, you also need to get a little wet, so from the dam up to the left you still climb the cycle path 3021 (but cars do not usually run here) to the village of Hrabětice, where you can ski in winter thanks to several lifts. Finally, again, the opportunity to refresh yourself, there are several pubs. In June, however, many of them were closed. We did not give it up because the thirst was biiiig, and in the end we found one open - Pension Arnika.
From there you have to ride back up the hill and return to the path from the dam, to the bike path No. 3020 and 3023, tourist green. And through Hrabětické meadows you will still get straight back to Královka. Because we like to taste local specialties and we didn't want to go back to the Královka apartments yet, we turned right to the Presidential Cottage. And when we returned to the main road, we were still interested in the shortcut around the Premier Hotel, which is directly below Královka and there was a beautiful terrace with a great view. Well, it was almost a day trip when you dont hurry up :)
2) Jizera Fifty by bike
Jizerka Mořina - Bílý potok - U Studánky - Na Knejpě - U Knejpy -Mariánskohorské boudy - Protržená přehrada - Souš za přehradou - Jizerka Pod Bukovcem (Mořina) - 27 km
Actually just part of it. We had mountain bikes, some parts of the route are off-road. We drove to the large parking lot Jizerka - Mořina. From here there are several marked trails for both cyclists and tourists. We cycled the red tourist route E3 - Hřebenovka. You drive along a nice asphalt road slightly downhill and then along a plain. E3 turns right, we continued straight on the cycle path 22 Hřebenovka. I recommend braking at the Jizerka peat ponds. When crossing the Promenade, there was a small bistro with draft beer, and it will take quite a long time before you come across another, so don't forget to resfresh.
We reached the main road No. 290, where cars were already driving, the Bílý potok signpost. Here we turned left, uphill. It is still a marked cycle route No. 22 Hřebenovka. Another signpost is U studánky. Here we got off the main road and continued along the cycle path No. 22 - Kasárenská silnice, to the signpost Na knejpě. Here is another smaller bistro, if I remember correctly, they did not have draft beer, only bottled beer.
We turned left on the cycle path 22 Hřebenovka (Štolpišská silnice), tourist red. Another signpost U knejpy, sharply to the left downhill, cycle path 3022, tourist blue and red. At the crossroads at the Pařízkův kříž signpost, turn left onto the cycle path No. 3019 Kyselá voda, all the way to the Mariánskohorská Bouda signpost. Here turn left along the cycle route No. 3019 and 3020 - Hřebenovka, along the yellow road, in the direction of the Protržená dam (přehrada). I recommend stopping at the broken dam and seeing it, there is also refreshments and a nature trail. In September 1916, the dam burst and more than 60 people died at the time. The dam was never restored. The area of the ruptured dam has been a cultural monument since 1996.
And now you will not like the hill on the forest road, it is steep, but fortunately it is not very long.. and .. it will be worse :) So go up the hill, yellow, bike path No. 3020 Hřebenovka (Jezdecka cesta).
Another signpost - Souš za přehradou (Land behind the dam)..keep the cycle path No. 3020 Hřebenovka (Soušská road). Here you ride a short distance along the road where cars drive, but in a short time you turn right into nature again on the cycle path No. 3020 Hřebenovka (Riding Road). Again a little hill, then relatively cool. But here comes the biggest disgust, a looong, steep hill, I almost had a heart attack. But who can't anymore, just get off the bike and go on foot. Don't worry, then there will be no another disgust :) Actually, you stick to the 3020 cycle path until it even leads you to the car in the Pod Bukovcem car park. You can admire several bunkers on the Promenade Road. And at the parking lot there are two nice pubs Chata pod Bukovcem and Hospoda na Jizerce, so you won't miss the deserved reward! With the stops, the bike ride took us about half a day.
3) Jested
Jested (1012 m above sea level) is a mountain in the north of the Czech Republic, southwest of Liberec, the highest peak of the Jested-Kozak ridge. At the top is a famous television transmitter. At the bottom of the transmitter is a hotel and restaurant. There is a cable car to Jested, there is a ski resort on the slopes and you can also admire the ski jumps. In summer you can go down the slopes by bike, there are several bike trails of varying difficulty, or on a rented scooter. You can also go to Jested by car, but you would be deprived of your experience.
You can drive to the parking lot almost to the cable car, there is also a bus stop. If it is full here, you can stand in a large parking house, which on the maps is called Central Parking P1 - Ski Resort Ještěd. I recommend cyclists to park here, because if you want to go down the trail, they all end at this parking lot and you no longer have to step up to the cable car to the car parking. We left the car here and beat Beran's path by bike - a pleasant almost spa forest path to the cable car, uphill, to the Horní Hanychov cable car station. The fighters are probably able to step it up, but I'm not such a fighter :) So the cable car will take you with the bike up to the transmitter. There you can enjoy a beer or coffee in the stylish circular restaurant with great views. In the photos, Hotel Jested in the transmitter looks absolutely luxurious, but unfortunately we did not have the honor of visiting it in order to share the experience with you, so maybe next time. Outside the transmitter, you can also admire the bronze statue of the Child from Mars or the Rohan Stone. There is also an outdoor seating area and a bistro.
So we cycled down the asphalt road to the Jestedka mountain hut, where there is also a large parking lot. Here you will take breathtaking photos with a transmitter in the background, you will finally fit in there :) We turned onto the forest cycle path No. 3007, tourist red, and we reached the cable car and the Cerny vrch ski slope. And a short distance behind them begins mountain bike trails. The nearest black one is called Trail B3 El Masacre Downhill. The name discouraged us a lot, we didn't want to kill ourselves, so we kept going. Then you pass Cerny kopec and the Skalka cable car. Here's the red Trail B1 La Spaghetta, which also seemed straight down, so again nothing. As soon as we reached the Plane pod Jestedem signpost, the light blue Trail B2 Tourist started. So it already seemed suitable to me. But even so, it was quite sharp at times, several times I felt like I was just going to fly over the handlebars, and my hands so brutally ached from the brakes that I was happy to get to the car in one piece :) But I would go again. Just as anyone dares, you can still drive down the asphalt road from Jested, however, you will probably brake too :) All trails go down at one place, at the Skalka cable car above the central parking house. So if you park at the cable car to Jested, you still have to ride up the hill to the car.
4) Frydlant castle
Frydlant State Castle and Chateau is one of the largest and most important monuments in northern Bohemia. In one unit you can admire the medieval castle and the Renaissance chateau. The castle was built in the 13th century, the chateau in the 16th century. The set became the property of the state in 1945. The most important families here were the Bibrštejns, Rederns, Albrecht of Wallenstein and the Gallas and Clam-Gallass, who in 1801 opened part of the castle with its collections to the public.
There are a total of 4 sightseeing tours. You can choose from:
1) Frýdlant Castle and Chateau (90 min.)
- castle, chapel, renaissance chateau incl. attic, women's and men's rooms, representative part
2) New armory (60 min.)
- cold, firearms, military, hunting weapons
3) Children's tour (45 min.)
- 7 castle rooms and one special for children
4) Frýdlant Treasure (30 min.)
- a new exhibition with archeological finds from the walls, the Castle Pond and the Frýdlant Treasure
If you want to enjoy the interiors, you must visit the castle, I only offer you exteriors in the photos. We were on circuit number 1 and I definitely recommend it, it's beautiful. I'm not sure if there was allowed to take pictures inside, if I don't have a single photo, I guess not.
5) Accommodation in Jizera Mount.
From my own experience, I recommend new beautiful apartments at the Královka lookout tower, with all comforts, in beautiful nature. The full review, including photos, can be found here:
