Across the border

The trail begins in Dolni Zleb at the yellow trail near the church and passes the railway station. The way here is mostly paved, with segments of sandstone flagstones. After a couple of kilometers, it comes to Klopotsky brook, where there’s a small reservoir and waterfall. Then it follows the little brook upstream. The going is a bit difficult, but hikers are rewarded with the fantastic scenery of the sandstone gorge.

From the border marker 1/16, the trail starts to descend, leaving the brook behind and continuing on to the Grundweg trail where there is a natural spring, Ziskaquele. Before this point, there is an option to head right for Zirkelstein cliff and the Elbe River valley. Further on the trail continues into the Saxon interior on wooded paths. At Kreusels Eiche crossroad, you can turn off onto the yellow (later red) hiking path to Grosser Zschirstein or continue further on the green trail back to the Czech border, crossing at Ceska Brana and continuing to U Buku crossroad, where there is a covered rest stop.

You should know

You can reach Dolni Zleb on the national park rail link U28 (083) from Decin. Another good option is to take the ferry from Hrensko across to Schöna and take the train (083) from there one stop south – tickets can be purchased from the conductor.