Nagy-mező–Büdöskút Loop

  Itinerary

• From Nagy-mező we head east on the K trail.
• We turn right onto the S trail.
• We make a round trip detour to the Berzsenyi Lookout via the S▲ trail.
• We switch from the S trail to the Z+ trail.
• After 300 m, we turn left onto the Z▲ trail leading to the Padkű Lookout.
• We return to the Z trail, where we turn right.
• From the Büdöskúti Resting Place we head left on the P trail.
• In the Büdöskúti Valley, we switch to the connecting K trail, which leads back to Nagy-mező. 

Detailed description of the hike  

Starting from Nagy-mező

Nagy-mező, located at the junction of the main hiking trails in the area, is the most famous excursion spot around Keszthely. Thanks to the relatively large grassy area and good infrastructure (WC, electricity, rain shelter, fireplaces), several community programs are organized here, such as the springtime family event called "Budburst." Behind the rain shelter building, we head east on the K trail, which goes along the forest gym path and leads to a steep, wide dirt road. Turning right here, we follow the S trail, passing by a patchy black pine stand.

The black pine

This species is native to Southern Europe and Asia Minor. In the Keszthely Mountains, it was planted from the 1860s-70s by the Festetics estate’s vineyard workers to keep them employed during winter. The aim of experts at the time was also to use the soil-improving effect of the black pine’s rich needle litter to establish forests consisting of more valuable tree species after a short cutting cycle pine stand phase.

Seedlings were carried in baskets into planting holes measuring 80×40×20 cm, carrying soil intended to speed up root regeneration. Two seedlings with bent roots were planted in each hole, where the more vital usually outcompeted the weaker one. Since these initial plantations succeeded, industrial timber plantations soon followed. One major wave started in the mountains in 1953, when native downy oak and flowering ash stands were converted into black pine forests. These stands are uneven-aged, even-aged, and have a closed canopy layer, as well as a thick, slowly decomposing needle carpet. These factors jointly strongly reduce the biological diversity of such areas. Another negative impact is that their fire risk is several times higher compared to deciduous forests. Scientific studies did not confirm early assumptions that the soil humus content significantly increases compared to karst scrub forests. However, thanks to these large plantations, the crested tit appeared in the Keszthely Mountains in 1950.

Due to the extremely dry weather in 2011-2012, weakened trees were attacked primarily by fungi coming from the Mediterranean, causing 70% of the black pine stands in the range to die over about 4500 hectares. The drastic logging carried out until summer 2016 aimed to reduce further infections and fire danger, salvage the timber, and promote the transformation of stands into more natural forests. The harvested stands, as visible along the trail, now show good regeneration with flowering ash and downy oak, species characteristic of native karst scrub associations. Further up on the ascent, we can rest on a bench, not far from the top of the slope.

Up to the Berzsenyi Lookout

At the head of Hosszú Valley, a forest rest area awaits us. Continuing on our trail and then turning left at the S▲ trail, it is only 200 m to the Berzsenyi Lookout rebuilt in 2002 (Attention! The lookout was indefinitely closed in 2023). A watchtower stood here as early as 1951. Climbing the stairs, we can catch a glimpse of the houses of Keszthely and the Festetics Lookout on Varsás Hill in front. To the north lies Cserszegtomaj, backed by the Zala Hills and the TV towers of Újudvar and Zalaegerszeg. North of it stretches Cserszegtomaj again, with dolomite quarries whitening beyond the Vár Valley. Further north come the Rezi Peak and Meleg Hill massifs, which from the northern side hide the ruins of Rezi Castle rising above the Szántói and Zsidi basins. On the northern side of the Szántói basin is the basalt field of Kovácsi Hill, then behind the dolomite ridge of the range rises the Tátika Hill with its castle ruins on top. Just northeast of it is Farkas Hill, followed by the massifs of Szebike and Láz Hill. In the foreground are the Square-shaped, Big and Small Messzelátó Hills, Szék Hill, and Old Szék Hill, behind which rises the red-and-white tower of the former military radio station on Görbe Hill. Continuing eastward, the wooden structure of the Padkű Lookout appears, and at the southern end of the Ederics Plateau, the southern edge of the basalt cap of Badacsony can be seen above the terrace of the range. Facing south are the Vonyarc valleys stretching almost to Lake Balaton and Saint Michael Hill. On clear days the distant Mecsek appears clearly divided into its eastern and western parts above the Somogy Hills. The view concludes with the Zala estuary with the Pogányvár hills and Keszthely.

Gentle climb to the Padkű Lookout

From the lookout, we return to the S trail. On the eastern side of Pető Hill, for nearly 1 km along the level path, we can observe the forest regeneration after the black pine dieback. From the head of Nyulas Valley, we hike slowly uphill in a karst scrub forest with flowering ash towards the Büdöskúti road. Stepping onto the wide gravel road, we head north, then after Gúla Peak, at a Y-junction, we continue on the right branch on the Z+ trail; after 300 m, we turn left onto the Z▲ trail leading to the Padkű Lookout.

At the rest area in front of the lookout stand three carved wooden memorial poles set up in 2002 to honor Dr. Rudolf Jakabfi, former president of the Zala County Nature Lovers Association, and nature lovers of Zala County. Benches in front of them make resting more comfortable.

The Pad-kő Lookout, 408 meters high, was inaugurated in summer 2015 and is 19 m tall, designed by architect Attila Bakonyi. From this minimally swaying tower, we can look back from another perspective at what was seen from the previous tower, but the panorama is complemented by the Batsányi Lookout and, next to the Újudvar TV tower above the Berzsenyi Lookout, Ivanec Mountains visible on clear days. Badacsony, however, is blocked by the Márványkőfejtő Hill, and Tátika by the Láz-tető ridge.

Büdöskút

Continuing on our trail from the lookout, we pass by the Büdöskúti arboretum, whose planting was started in 1937 by forest engineer Károly Horváth. We turn right onto the connecting Z trail. Soon we arrive at the Büdöskúti resting place, where a rain shelter, fireplace, benches, and tables await; at the far end of the clearing stands the statue of Saint Hubertus.

From here, turning left on the P trail, we reach the Büdöskúti hunting lodge, the area of which was inhabited as early as the Bronze Age. The former Festetics estate had forest and dog paths as well as wild boar enclosures. This is explained by the estate keeping a tamed wild boar herd here. From the collection of Aurél Vajkai we know that "There was a large stone enclosure in Büdöskút, where half-wild, half-tamed black pigs were kept. They were fed acorns in the forest; before major holidays, the lords would come hunting and shoot off 40 to 45 of them. The pigs’ livers and lungs were left for the keepers, gamekeepers, and foresters, while their meat and skins were sent to Keszthely. There, blacksmiths grilled the bristles because they were so hard..." In the nearby Sarvaly forests, acorn feeding continued until the early 1940s. The Veszprém bishopric brought animals from Baranya around 1880 that were kept semi-wild. English traveler Richard Bright wrote about them in 1816: "These animals lost little of their natural wildness, as they got used to coming to one place every evening to be fed, and their piglets remained under supervision there. Two men were always with them wherever they wandered in the forest. If a stranger approached, they would jump away. In form, color, and lifestyle, they fully retained the wild boar character, since they are directly descended from wild boars without any crossings. Their meat has the special taste of those living completely wild."

Later, a foal breeding station operated at Büdöskútpuszta. Former forest roads were unified and now function as tidy hunting lodge roads, introducing the water from the Büdös spring, flowing under the southern edge of the meadow. The spring’s yield has greatly decreased due to bauxite mining at Nyirád – similarly to other springs in the range and to Lake Hévíz.

Back to Nagy-mező

From the lodge, we continue past the former stable building, then turn left at a large beech tree to enter the Vadvíz ditch. The name of this now dry-bed, short valley comes from times when the discharge of the Büdöskúti spring was several times higher than today’s. Imagining a major summer thunderstorm or strong snowmelt in the steep valley with a rapidly flowing bed, we can see that truly wild water conditions could have existed. Deeper inside, the steep valley sides, fallen trees, and large stones transported by the former watercourse create a wild atmosphere in this short section. From here, climbing up from the bed, we continue on the Meszeltfák path to Büdöskúti Valley. Here, we turn left on the K trail. Soon we reach a small rest area, and not far from it, among the trees, lies the Csider well, a cistern made of stones in the shape of a well. About 900 m from here, we arrive at the Hatláb Barn, renovated in 2005. This originally reed-roofed building became a popular resting place for forest workers and later tourists. Next to it stood a beech known as the Franz Joseph tree, struck by lightning in 1996 and unfortunately completely dried out in 2013 at nearly 270 years old. Its trunk diameter was 675 cm, and its crown diameter about 50 m. Local tradition says that once during a hunt, the ruler himself dined under it, but other elite guests of the Festetics family also hunted in this area (the family’s largest), such as King Edward VIII of Britain.

We walk long on the wide road heading south, then after the S trail joins, at the next right turn, switching to an unmarked path, we return to Nagy-mező.