Gödöllő Blue Trail

Itinerary

• The route follows the K mark from Gödöllő to Bag.

Detailed description of the route

Although it starts from Gödöllő, the blue trail essentially bypasses the town famous among other things for its magnificent castle. The K marks start at the arboretum located on the outskirts of the settlement, where those arriving by bus need to get off at Gödöllő, Méhészet, and those traveling by train at Gödöllő, Állami telepek stop. From the latter point, a few hundred meters’ walk is still required to reach the starting point, where the Gödöllő Arbo Park offers even a full-day program. The botanical garden was basically established for forestry research purposes at the beginning of the 20th century and only opened to the public in 1989. In the arboretum, one can walk through various types of forests on a small area, as 130 coniferous and 650 deciduous tree and shrub species live here. The atmospheric forest paths are made diverse by a playground, a forest fitness park, and numerous resting places. The collections of 50-100-year-old Douglas fir, larch, and hybrid larch are impressive, as are the old Oregon alders and western thuja groups, the giant sequoia stand, the acacia cultivar collection, the resinous cypresses, atlas cedars, as well as native and exotic oaks.

Starting on the blue trail
From the arboretum parking lot, we set off on the gravel road towards Bag. The gently rising hills greet visitors immediately with locust trees, which is a tree species characteristic of this area and will accompany our wide path in many places. The current forest image was significantly shaped by centuries of forest use, as at the beginning of the 20th century, several hundred hectares of forest were cut down annually, and reforestation was most easily carried out with non-native species, so locust, black walnut, false acacia, and black pine were planted. During our hike, we will also experience the mosaic nature of forest communities.

View of the forest
We circle around the arboretum by following the fence, then the locust forest is replaced by shrubs, and after a few hundred meters, a view opens to the east. Further on, locust trees planted in a military row "pay a ceremonial review," and turning into the forest area called Nagy-Fenyves, similarly regimented plantations provoke ambivalent feelings: there is no naturalness in these plantations, yet their forest blocks possess a unique charm.

We head east and only need to pay attention to the markings once or twice, which basically lead clearly through the terrain. Following the forestry road's wheel tracks, we notice soft soil, and the occasionally emerging sand reveals the formation of surface shapes in the Gödöllő landscape. The area was filled with sediment deposited by the Ancient Danube and its tributaries, then covered in the Pleistocene by loess and drifting sand. This loess layer appears thicker and more uniform in patches towards the southeast.

We cross the Royal Road marked on the map, whose name tells the history of the Gödöllő region. For several hundred years, the area served mainly the interests of game management as a royal and later governmental hunting ground. Queen Elisabeth (Sisi) also loved to hike here; we will encounter her memory on the later part of our route.

We reach the country road connecting Gödöllő and Valkó next to a ruined hunting lodge surrounded by a carpet of flowers. We cross the asphalt strip next to a military grave and a roadside cross, and after a few steps, several hiking signs join our solitary K marking, including a special one with a yellow pattern inviting us to discover the Csörsz Ditch, the largest ancient fortification system in the Carpathian Basin, which runs here. This unique historical sight is a short detour from the Gödöllő Blue Trail and is therefore worth visiting.

Living history

The origin story of the Csörsz Ditch fades into obscurity; historians do not have a unified opinion about it, but this does not lessen the monumentality of the more than 1200-kilometer-long ditch system crossing the Great Plain. Those curious about one of the Late Roman era remains that can still be discovered can literally walk back in time on the educational trail branching off from the blue trail.

A few hundred meters later, we reach the Elisabeth Rest on an asphalt forestry road. During her stays in Gödöllő, Sisi regularly rode out here to one of her favorite resting places. Beyond the place name, a marble plaque also preserves its memory. At the rest site located in a pleasant environment, a rental resting house available by day, tables, benches, fire pits, and a small covered shelter provide comfort for hikers.

So far, we have passed through groves of diverse tree species; from the rest area on, we walk in the mixed Crown Forest, dominated by oak and hornbeam. Naturally, locust groves are still present, but black pine is now rarely seen in this area.

On watershed hills

It might strike you on the journey that the Gödöllő Hills are not rich in surface waters, with only ten streams originating in the area. Of these, the blue trail practically touches only one (in Bag), and no springs. Therefore, it is worth carrying an adequate amount of liquid with you. From a water management perspective, the region is interesting because it functions as a watershed: from the highest point of the hills—the Margita (344 m)—through the Calvary Hill in Isaszeg, the Pécel cemetery, and the castle hill in Gomba reaching Albertirsa, its main ridge directs water flows westward to the Danube and eastward to the Tisza.

We continue comfortably on a flat dirt road northeast. Before reaching the edge of expansive arable lands at the eastern end of Ménescsapás Hill, which offers an outlook, we pass by the “Scythian burial mounds” marked on the map. If you are looking for spectacular ancient mound cones like those visible in the Bakony Mountains, you will be disappointed here: only subtle terrain forms can be seen mostly by the sharp eyes of experienced archaeologists, indicating the presence of Iron Age nomadic horse people.

Our forest path passes flowery clearings along the border zone of the Aszód and Gödöllő districts. We almost never meet other hikers here, and if we walk quietly through the game-rich forest, there is a good chance to spot a roe deer, wild boar, or deer. On Ménescsapás Hill, our hiking palette enriches again: besides the splendor of the flower meadows touched by the route, broadly spreading arable lands offer a view of the particularly colorful wooded slopes in spring.

From the ridge, we turn north with a descent considered steep compared to the terrain conditions so far, leading us towards the Nagy-völgyi Ditch and our final stop, Bag. We meander down through hornbeam-oak forests, then from the forest occasionally opening up, we can discover more beautiful landscape views. At certain points, the mountain chains of Börzsöny and Mátra are also visible.

Arrival at Bag

We reach the village boundary, our last stop, in a pine-dotted young forest. Throughout our journey so far, we have walked only this short section on a path; all other parts were on dirt roads. We enter the village along the Nagy-völgyi Ditch, which the K marking crosses without any special sights. We cross above the M3 motorway, beside which the Egres stream trickles. The riparian grove by the watercourse (next to the overpass) hides a small rest area called Fási-kert. Here are benches, tables, fire pits, and an information board, as well as a shelter for rain – if the roaring motorway directly beside us does not bother us. This picnic area is part of a short environmental education trail, which starts behind the Nepomuki St. John statue at the end of the overpass.

From Fási-kert, it is only a few hundred steps to Bag railway station, which is the endpoint of the 19 km-long route.