Čap and the Goose
Kokořínsko , CHKO Kokořínsko – Máchův kraj , Point to point , hiked 24 August 2024
A 26.7 km rock-hopping traverse of the northern Kokořínsko over the Čap overhang, the goose-shaped Husa, Hvězda and Ronov. It ends at the U Doušů pub in Kravaře.
This is a day of named rocks. The quiet northern Kokořínsko is full of sandstone formations with their own names, and this route connects the best of them, then crosses into the edge of the Středohoří to finish. Direct buses from Prague (Střížkov) to Dubá make the start easy.
From Nový Berštejn on the edge of Dubá the way leads north-west through pine woods and rock lanes. The first big stop is Čap. For my money it is one of the most interesting rocks of the whole area, and from the top you see the whole wooded plateau. The trail then continues to Husa, the goose-shaped rock on its 449 m summit, where the marked path crosses directly over the iron-banded formations.
The second half is easier. It goes through the hamlets of Pavličky and Lešnice to Hvězda, then up the basalt cone of Ronov. That is a real climb to the castle ruin, and the one summit of the day that is not sandstone. The descent ends in Kravaře, where the U Doušů pub is the traditional finish. The railway stop is a few minutes beyond it.
Practical info
| Start | Nový Berštejn, by bus |
|---|---|
| End | Kravaře v Čechách railway stop, by train |
| Terrain | forest path |
| Food & water | U Doušů (Kravaře) (pub, km 26.5). Czech classics and Svijany, the finish line |
| Links | Open route on Mapy.com |
| GPX | Download track |
On the way
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Čap
A sandstone spur west of Dubá with the rock-cut traces of a 14th-century castle and the Čapská palice club nearby. From the edge you see across the whole Kokořínsko plateau.
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Husa
A goose-shaped sandstone rock on a 449 m summit above Tuhaň, a natural monument since 1991 for its iron-crusted, mushroom-like weathering, with a marked trail directly over the top.
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Hvězda
A tiny hamlet of timber-framed houses at the western foot of Vlhošť, founded in 1676 by the bishop of Litoměřice.
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Ronov
A conical basalt hill (552 m) between Kravaře and Blíževedly, topped by the ruin of a 14th-century castle of the Ronovec family, burned down by Swedish troops in the Thirty Years' War.
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Kravaře
A village below Ronov hill with the Vísecká rychta, the largest timber-framed farmhouse in Bohemia and now a folk-housing museum, and the U Doušů pub. Railway halt on the Česká Lípa–Litoměřice line.
