The primary reason we decided to visit Karlovy Vary with kids wasn’t its famous colonnades or hot springs, it was to do the hike from Karlovy Vary to Loket. An easy, kid-friendly riverside hike between two of the most beautiful towns in the Czech Republic? Yes, please!”
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Karlovy Vary to Loket Hike Highlights
The hike between Karlovy Vary and Loket was longer than we had planned, but it was awesome. Most of the route follows a very level path parallel to the Ohře River. It might be the flattest hike we have ever done. Ok, ok… we live in the Canadian Rocky Mountains where nothing is flat, but this was a really easy riverside walk.
The trail runs through a lush, beautiful, mossy forest, with birds singing and the odd sound of a woodpecker in the distance.
Departing Karlovy Vary
From Karlovy Vary you start on a smooth paved multi-use path that follows the river to the Svatoš Rocks area and two riverside restaurants. Here you cross a narrow suspension ‘swing bridge’ and the route continues as a packed-dirt forest trail.
We started our hike at 8am on a Sunday and pretty much had the trail to ourselves for the first few hours, but it started to get busier as we approached Loket.
Arriving at Loket
To be honest, Loket itself was a little disappointing. We were there on Sunday, so almost everything was closed. It’s a pretty little town with many colorful buildings.
As you enter the town, the first part is pedestrian only, which is always nice, but once you reach the town square, it turns into a parking lot – literally! The town square, which would otherwise be quite charming, is a huge parking lot. Maybe this won’t bug everyone, but it kinda ruined the charm of the place for us.
Loket Castle
The main attraction in town is the Loket Castle, and thankfully it was open. Loket Castle is a 13th-century Romanesque castle with a massive square tower you can climb for views, museum rooms with weapons and local history, and chilly underground dungeons with a torture exhibition that older kids may find fascinating.
Our kids (aged 2 & 4) especially enjoyed climbing the tower, which offered some nice views of the town and river valley below.
Despite being a little disappointed in Loket, we still loved this beautiful Czech Republic hike and would recommend doing even a portion of it. All told, we hiked 15 miles (24 km) – a new family record! It feels great when you can accomplish things together as a family which are better than what you did pre-kids!
If you’d prefer to hike one way only, you can easily return to Karlovy Vary by public transport. Regional buses run between Loket and Karlovy Vary’s main terminal, and local Czech Rail trains link Loket with Karlovy Vary via Chodov.
Karlovy Vary to Loket Trail Map
At the time we did the hike from Karlovy Vary to Loket, we hadn’t yet discovered the AllTrails app. This made it very difficult to find the trailhead for the hike.
Now that we use AllTrails extensively for our family hikes around the world, I recommend you use it for the hike between Karlovy Vary and Loket. You can find the trailhead for the hike and download the hiking map for Karlovy Vary and Loket on AllTrails.
AllTrails Map
We recommend AllTrails to navigate the Karlovy Vary to Loket Hike.
Before you head out, read our best tips for hiking with kids and see what we actually pack in our guide to hiking gear for kids.
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