• Cycling in the Ore Mountains
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The Sphinx Rock Formation

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The Sphinxes National Natural Monument consists of stone formations up to 15 meters high, created by frost weathering, whose shapes strikingly resemble reclining Egyptian sphinxes. This attraction is located just 50 meters from Bike Trail No. 23, right behind the village of Měděnec along the road toward Kamenné. Visiting this site is extremely easy for cyclists—all you have to do is get off your bike, lean it against the wooden railing lining the road, and walk a few steps to the rock overlook itself, which offers a view of the Eger Valley.

 

Photo by K. Proch – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29621957

Other objectives in this stage

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Mount Saint Sebastian

This former royal mining town—a title bestowed upon it by Emperor Rudolf II as early as 1597—lies at an elevation of 843 meters directly along Highway 23, which serves as...

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Přísečnice Reservoir

In the 1970s, this monumental reservoir with azure-clear water flooded the historic mining town of Přísečnice, and today it is surrounded by rugged, treeless plains. Bicycle Route No. 23 runs...

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Copperhead

Near Měděnec lies Mědník Hill, with a Baroque chapel at its summit. It is a key part of the Erzgebirge mining region, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the entire...

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The Sphinx Rock Formation

The Sphinxes National Natural Monument consists of stone formations up to 15 meters high, created by frost weathering, whose shapes strikingly resemble reclining Egyptian sphinxes. This attraction is located just...

More
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Blacksmith's Shop and Historic Lime Kiln

The historic coal-fired lime kiln in Háj u Kovářské is a unique 19th-century industrial monument; its two massive stone shaft kilns, built from crushed limestone, resemble the mysterious ruins of...

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Meluzína

Meluzína is a rugged, treeless basalt peak with two distinctive rock massifs and seas of stones, offering some of the most beautiful panoramic views of the rugged landscape of the...

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Klínovec

The highest peak of the Ore Mountains (1,244 m above sea level), with its prominent television transmitter and newly restored stone observation tower, represents a major milestone along the entire...

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Jáchymov

This historic town in the valley below Klínovec is world-renowned as the cradle of uranium mining, the site of the world’s first radon spa, and the place where the historic...

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God's Gift

Boží Dar (1,028 m above sea level) is the highest-elevation town in the Czech Republic and serves as the natural hub for cycling tourism throughout the mountain range. The Krušnohorská...

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Refreshments on the route
Accommodation on the route

Next stages

  1. 01StageStage 1: Děčín – CínovecThe first section of the Ore Mountains Trail starts in Děčín on the Elbe, from where the route takes you on a demanding climb over the majestic Děčínský Sněžník. You continue past the sandstone towers of Tisá to Petrovice, where you finally enter the Ore Mountains. You then ride along the ridge, climb the famous Komáří hůrka, and the main destination of this stage is the mountain resort of Cínovec. The stage is 57 km long.
  2. 02StageStage 2: Cínovec – Mount Saint SebastianThe second section of the Ore Mountains Trail starts in the mining village of Cínovec, from where the route leads you through rolling ridge country past the Vlčí hora lookout tower at Dlouhá Louka to a technical landmark – the Fláje dam. The route then continues through deep forests via Mníšek, the picturesque surroundings of Hora Svaté Kateřiny and the border village of Kalek. The main destination of this stage is the historic little town of Hora Svatého Šebestiána. The stage is 76 km long.
  3. 04StageStage 4: Boží Dar – KrasliceThe fourth section of the Ore Mountains Trail starts in Boží Dar and takes you through a wild landscape full of peat bogs. You will ride along the unique Blatenský příkop water ditch (UNESCO), pass Horní Blatná and, via the characterful village of Přebuz, begin your descent from the ridges. The main destination of this stage is the town of Kraslice in the Svatava valley. The stage is 46 km long.
  4. 05StageStage 5: Kraslice – ChebThe final section of the trail descends into the Cheb Basin. The route takes you through the town of Luby and, thanks to side trips, offers the best of the region – Vildštejn and Seeberg castles, the Soos nature reserve with its mud volcanoes and the parks of the spa town of Františkovy Lázně. You will successfully complete your journey at the Skalka reservoir in Cheb. The total route including side trips is 54 km long.