Nordwaldkammweg II Tour 14 Zadní Zvonková - Dreisesselberg

Please note that the core zones of the Czech national parks may not be entered or ridden through!

After the overnight stay in Zadní Zvonková or Schöneben, the Schwarzenberg Rafting Canal is on the hiking agenda. This means: only gentle inclines, sun protection through the trees, many cyclists, and repeatedly interesting sights: locks for crossing streams. Along the rafting canal, there are historic albums about the once-thriving places here in Glöcklberg / Zadní Zvonková, Josefsthal / Josefův Důl, and Hüttenhof / Huťský Dvůr. You can leave the rafting canal a bit earlier at N48° 46.188', E13° 55.344' and follow the red marking over the hill to the orientation point Konsky potok, or exit the rafting canal at the Rossbach lock and climb from there on the green marking over the orientation point Konsky potok (N48° 46.524', E13° 54.062') to the resting place Hirschröhren / Sestak in Rijiste (N48° 46.468', E13° 53.824'). From here, there is the connecting route V1 to the customs hut near Holzschlag on the NWKW.

The green marking takes us to the orientation points Přístřešek Jezerní stezka (N48° 46.762', E13° 53.080' with rest area), Pod kamennym morem (N48° 46.464', E13° 52.502'), and Kamenne morem before reaching the Plöckensteinersee / Plešné jezero. Again, there is a historic album to view here. Just after the lake, at the same-named orientation point N48° 46.676', E13° 52.054', the NWKW II leaves the green marking and follows the red marking steeply up the path to the Stifter Obelisk. The poet Adalbert Stifter shaped the image of the Bohemian Forest with his descriptions; here a monument was erected for him at a place with a beautiful view and sight of the "Eye of God," the Plöckensteinersee.

The remaining climb to the Plöckenstein / Plechy (1,378 m), the highest peak of the tour, is repeatedly enriched by beautiful deep views to the Plöckenstein and Moldau reservoirs. Due to storm Kyrill and the bark beetle epidemic, hardly any trees remain on the Austrian side of the ridge, while in the Šumava National Park (zone 1, with entry forbidden) tree skeletons still stand beside new trees – a ghostly view to the day's goal, the Hochstein.

On the red-marked KCT path towards there, one encounters the interesting stone called Stifterrast and the three-sided memorial stone at the tripoint / Trojmezi. Before that, the northernmost point of Upper Austria is reached. Shortly after, we are already in Bavaria; it goes uphill to the Bavarian Plöckenstein / Trojmezna (1,361 m), before at Vysoky hreben (1,241 m) the day's goal becomes directly visible and after a short descent the final "slope" to the Dreisesselberg hut remains to be mastered. Those who want to hike further can follow the old ridge trail of the Bohemian Forest Association from 1910. This further route is now called Goldsteig and leads over the heights of the Bavarian Forest to the Ore Mountains, where it is again called ridge trail. After crossing the Elbe at Saxon Switzerland, the historic ridge trail led through the Jizera Mountains to the Giant Mountains and ended in Poland. The blue ridge has also been a marking symbol since that time.

The Nordwaldkammweg II ends at the beginning of the classic Nordwaldkammweg at Hochstein near Dreisesselberg (1,332 m) in Bavaria; around 175 km of return path through the Green Belt lie behind us.

Since 2023, overnight accommodation is available again at Dreisesselberg.