Salföld double loop

Itinerary

• Start on the P trail, after 500 m run on an unmarked connecting section to the K trail, then turn right and stay on it for 2.4 km.
• Turn right from the K trail onto the KT trail.
• From the KT trail, turn onto the Z trail and run through Salföld.
• From the Z trail, on an unmarked section, head towards the P trail.
• After running 4 km on the P trail, return to the starting point.

Detailed route description

From the Folly Arboretum parking lot, start on the P trail, heading west on Kápolnavölgyi Road, then turn right onto Hegyalja Road uphill. At the Klastrom Street junction, turn left, leaving the P trail, and continue on an unmarked path for over a kilometer along Hegyalja Road. The first part of this section is still asphalt, and at one point, a fantastic view of Badacsony opens to the left, then the route follows a gravel dirt road. Soon you arrive at the K trail, where turning right brings you into the forest. First, the single-track trail is very steep, then gradually flattens as you arrive at a junction shared with the P trail; here turn left and continue on the K trail to start the upper Salföld loop. A charming pine forest section follows (watch out for pine cones), which after a relatively flat part starts descending steeply on a stony section, so proceed carefully. Lower down, the pines disappear, and you run through mixed deciduous woodland to the forest edge. You reach a meadow, crossing on its left to a smaller elder-acacia grove, running through it and arriving at large vineyards outside.

Continue on the K trail through comfortable dirt paths across the acacia in the middle, then turn right to circle it, and at a junction turn right leaving the K trail. You run comfortably on sandy paths toward the stone cross. After the cross, run along an electric fence of a horse paddock, then join the KT trail and arrive in Salföld. Here you immediately find a blue pressing well to refresh yourself.

From the left, the Z trail joins here; following that and Temple Street, run left before the Salföld Major entrance, then at the church and another blue pressing well, stay on the Z trail, turning right onto Kossuth Street. Run south through the village, which is also the lowest point of the run, passing three more pressing wells. At the small park at the village end, leave the Z trail turning right toward Pajta Gallery onto Petőfi Street, from there onto Rákóczi Street, and leave the settlement on now unmarked paths. Comfortable two-track, sandy dirt roads follow. Run past the Salföld cemetery, then at the upper end of the large meadow on the right, turn right and run along the upper part of the meadow toward the forest, ascending. At the forest edge, but already in shade, run alongside the meadow, then enter the forest and join the P trail, which you follow for about 4 km to the finish. After a right turn, soon arrive at the ruins of the Salföld Pauline monastery and a forest resting spot (also with a rain shelter). From here, the P trail continues as a single-track path. A prolonged, strong, dynamic climb follows on comfortable ground, at the top of which you arrive at the junction already touched upon with the K trail: here you close the upper Salföld loop.

Turning left on the P trail, a relatively straight, stonier section follows, ending with a left turn descent as you begin to circle the hill toward the Folly Arboretum. The ground remains stony; at the end of the semicircle run past the romantic ruins of former wine cellars, where fallen trees slow you down. You arrive at the fence of the Folly Arboretum; to the left the landscape opens up, and you get a beautiful Mediterranean atmosphere panorama of Lake Balaton thanks to the vegetation. At the top of Klastrom Street, return to asphalt, descend steeply to Hegyalja Road, and turn left to return to the parking lot.