Plateau running among mountain lakes

Itinerary

• From the starting point, leaving down Petőfi street, we turn immediately left onto the narrow Háskó lane, at the end of which we turn right onto Dózsa György street and run down to the main road. Here, turning left, we join the K trail mark, which we follow for 4 km: ascending through the vineyards of Öreg Hill to the Eötvös Károly lookout, then continuing on this mark along the swamp plateau for a while.
• At a fork, we leave the K mark turning towards Balatonhenye and switch to the KT mark.
• At the fork after Monostori lake, we switch to the S▲ mark.
• At the fork by Cserkás lake, we run on an unmarked left path until the joining of the PT mark, then continue straight on this mark.
• At the next fork, we turn right on the S▲ mark and run back to the settlement, where at the end of a small unmarked stretch above the church, we turn towards the Velétei palace ruin and rejoin the K mark.
• Arriving at Rákóczi street, we leave the K mark and run left down the street, touching Kossuth and Zrínyi streets, arriving back at the start.

Detailed route description

We leave the starting point, i.e., the intersection of Zrínyi and Petőfi streets, going down Petőfi street, then immediately turn left onto the narrow Háskó lane. At the end, we turn right onto Dózsa György street and run down to the main road. Here, turning left, we join the K trail mark, which we follow for 4 km, up to the fork after the Eötvös Károly lookout. At the big right curve near the tension, we continue straight on a narrower asphalt road to its top, where we turn left at the orchard opposite, still on asphalt. (A short detour from here on the KL mark leads to the Töttőskál church ruin.) Our path turns to a rocky dirt road and begins to ascend gently. After about 300 m, turning right on the K mark, now supplemented by the S▲ mark, we run toward the vineyards on Öreg Hill. The path rises continuously but moderately.

At the top of the vineyards, we reach a white cross, where we enter a shrub area on a single-track path. Some parts are very rocky, so run carefully. At the top of the bushy winding, we cross a stream, then turn left along the stream to the Öreg Hill well, where we turn left onto an asphalt road. We continue here until it starts to slope gently downhill, then turn sharply right onto a gravel road leading into the forest. This road further up becomes asphalted, and after a right turn, it becomes the highest road under the forest. On the right, there is a beautiful view of our path so far, Szentbékálla, further away Badacsony, and the witness hills. We continuously circle around the hill; the asphalt turns into a dirt road, and the lake Balaton becomes visible in our view. The path ends in the forest, where we turn left at the last house and start to climb steeply upward. The path becomes single-track, later a widening rut, and soon we reach the Eötvös Károly lookout. The tower is named after the 19th-century politician, lawyer, and writer of the work Travel Around Balaton. Our well-deserved panoramic view reveals almost all corners of the Balaton Uplands: to the east Tihany, Hegyestű, Köveskál, in front towards Lake Balaton Kővágóörs, below Szentbékálla, across the lake the hill of Fonyód, and westward all the witness hills up to Tapolca can be identified.

From the lookout, we continue on the K mark on ridge and edge paths with beautiful views of Lake Balaton in places, but also with rocky and exposed sections, so run carefully. We arrive at a T-junction, where we turn left and run on a pleasant, grassy, soft path, beginning our loop on the swamp plateau. Soon we reach Bika lake, then run further through very charming, sparsely bushy hills. At a ditch, we say goodbye to the K mark going right towards Balatonhenye, and from here on, we follow the KT mark. We cross a two-track forest road through an oak grove, then turn left at the end of a long meadow to arrive at Monostori lake, which we bypass on the right side.

After Monostori lake, the KT mark branches right, and we continue on the S▲ mark. Next comes Cserkás lake, then the S▲ mark also turns right, but we sharply turn left onto an unmarked two-track forest road. We run about 1 km here, and almost precisely at the highest point of the route (394 m), the PT mark joins from the right, this being the Fire Road educational trail, so from here on for 2 km we follow this mark. The path descends continuously, first gently, then more steeply after a sharp right corner, winding down a small valley. We arrive at another fork, where the PT turns left uphill, but we continue straight, turning right, still on the S▲ mark. Soon we see the first houses through the trees, then after a barrier, we reach an asphalt road, and after 1 km we arrive at the Gyümölcsoltó Boldogasszony Church of Szentbékálla.

In front of the church, we turn right towards the Velétei palace ruin indicated on the sign. Next to the cemetery, the path becomes single-track and the K mark joins from the left, and we reach the ruins of the former Gothic style episcopal residential tower. Continuing, after a sudden descent, we come to a dirt road, where we turn left towards the village. Soon it becomes asphalt and Rákóczi street, where leaving the K mark turning right, we run left along it, then at the bottom first left onto Kossuth street, then right onto Zrínyi street, returning to the start of our run.