Rocks, peat bogs and lakes to explore on foot.
Nature5.8 kmA nature monument a short drive from Háj – basalt columns up to 12 metres high converging like the pipes of an organ. They formed as lava cooled inside a Tertiary volcano. From the car park by the bridge over Novoveský brook it is about 800 m along a nature trail, and the ridge above offers a view of Rotava.
Nature16 kmA granite rock town in the Ohře canyon between Loket and Karlovy Vary. Legend says it is a wedding procession turned to stone by the sorcerer Jan Svatoš. A flat cycle path leads here from Karlovy Vary and a suspension footbridge takes you across the river – an ideal short trip with children.
Nature19 kmA dried-up salt lake near Františkovy Lázně where carbon dioxide still bubbles up through the mud – the mofettes look like tiny mud volcanoes. A wooden boardwalk of about 1.2 km crosses the reserve, and there is a museum about the Earth's distant past. A place unique in Central Europe.
Nature14 kmAn upland heath and peat bog near Přebuz, the smallest town in the Czech Republic. In late August and September the hills turn purple with flowering heather, and black grouse and rare plants live here. The nearby lost villages of Rolava and Chaloupky are worth a visit too.
Nature8.4 kmThe largest lake in the Czech Republic created by flooding a lignite mine, between Sokolov and Habartov. Crystal-clear water and a landscape still taking shape – a path of about 13 km is being built around it. Swimming is not allowed yet, so come for walks and views.
Nature26 kmA boardwalk leads through a peat bog around the Tajga pond in the Slavkov Forest. In under an hour you walk through a Nordic-looking landscape unlike anything else in the country, and the romantic Kladská hunting lodge stands by the trail. An easy walk for the whole family.
Nature27 kmA nature trail from Boží Dar leads through a national nature reserve, one of the most valuable upland peat bogs in the Ore Mountains. The 3.2 km loop runs mostly on a wooden boardwalk past dwarf pine, sphagnum moss, cotton grass and small bog pools, and twelve stops tell about the wildlife and the old peat cutting. It's an easy walk that works with a pushchair too.
Nature20 kmTin was mined so intensively above Horní Blatná in the 16th century that the hillside literally split open – leaving deep, narrow rifts called the Wolf Pits, where snow and ice often last well into spring. A loop of about 5 km with a nature trail runs past them from Horní Blatná and can be combined with the lookout tower on Blatenský vrch. Nearby begins the Blatná water ditch, a 13 km channel from the 16th century with a trail along it to Boží Dar. Both are part of the UNESCO mining landscape.
Nature26 kmThis low wooded hill between Cheb and Františkovy Lázně is one of the youngest volcanoes in the country. The poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe studied its origin, and at his suggestion an exploratory tunnel was dug in 1834–1837 – and it really did strike the solidified basalt vent. A short nature trail leads through the old quarry to the mouth of Goethe's tunnel. Combine it with a stroll around Františkovy Lázně or the Soos reserve.
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