Best trails in South Bohemia, Czech Republic

Continuing the Ceska Kanada trail with stops at the Bison Ranch in Roznov, the Cimrman marker, and Landstejn. This is a fun and easy ride through the forest, crossing through a Bison ranch which is undergoing extensive renovation and modernization until you finally wind your way in to Kaproun where you have a dedication to Czech character of fiction Jara Cimrman. Like many of my rides in Czech Canada, they cross the multiple other paths organized by the district of Nova Bystrice; for example, the "Path of the 20th Century" which is a great way to get to know not just the physical environs but also the history of the German, Czech and Austrian people between the end of WWI and 1989.Show more

This trip is mostly about the ride and the Mariz ceramics workshop. Unless you stop to look for mushrooms, there is not a lot in between the start and finish. There is a lot to look at, but not a lot of things to actually do. The forest stretch is reletively flat and then downhill into Stare Mesto. Then it's a bit of a sloping uphill out of Stare Mesto to Kadlec and then it's all downhill and leveling out to Mariz. This is a nice ride through the forest and below Landstejn and finishing up in Mařiž. This area also has a few stops for mushrooming in the forests between Klaster and Dobrotin, but I'm forbidden to give specific locations. You'll just have to look (and smell, yes, sometimes you can even smell them in the air from your bike). Mařiž is a well-known ceramics workshop since 1991. It is definatey a tourist spot but it is also a great stop either before or after Slavonice. This year has seen an expansion of the back yard and children's petting zoo and the addition of a very nice restaurant next door (with Wi-Fi). Show more