Crossing the Jizera Mountains
Location
Address:– not available –Contact
Web:www.mapy.cz/s/pogukesubaRoute length:
33 km, https://mapy.cz/s/pogukesuba
Difficulty: *****
Bike ride route:
Liberec - Jakuszyce - Orle - Jizerka - Smědava - Kneipa - Kristiánov - Nová Louka - Bedřichov - Maliník - Česká chalupa - Liberec
Take the train from Liberec towards the Polish town of Szklarska Poręba, but get off in Jakuszyce. Head a short way back from the train stop to the cross-country skiing resort. This is the start of Euroregional Route ER-2; follow this as far as Orle, which is the ideal place for your first stop for some refreshments. From Orle continue along the bike trail, but at the first opportunity take a left turn onto the track that leads to the Karlovský bridge. This is also the border crossing between Poland and the Czech Republic.From there, follow the yellow markers as far as the Jizerka settlement. It’s quite a long and difficult ascent, but this glassmaking settlement is one of the most beautiful places in the Jizera Mountains and the view is definitely worth the effort. Also, not only are there several restaurants and guesthouses, but you’ll also find the Museum of the Jizera Mountains, which is certainly worth a visit while you’re there. Continue along Hřebenovka route no. 22 past the Rašeliniště Jizerky National Nature Reserve, and if you really pedal hard, you can reach Smědava in less than half an hour.
The local tourist chalet offers hot meals and is hugely popular all year round. Its blueberry dumplings are well worth the wait in the queue that can sometimes form when it gets really busy. The next destination is the crossroads at Na Kneipě, where you follow the red markers up a fairly long ascent. Don’t worry though, this is the last hard bit of pedalling on today’s trip. From Kneipa continue along bike trail no. 3022, which follows the blue markers to Rozmezí. From there it’s an easy downhill ride to Kristiánov, where you can take a short break to visit the “Liščí bouda”, which in the summer has an exhibition on the “The Kristiánov Glassmaking Settlement” of the Jablonec Glass And Jewellery Museum. Glassmaking has a long tradition in our Crystal Valley and it would be a real pity not to find out something about it when on a trip through the Jizera Mountains.
From Kristiánov ride past the Blatný pond to Nová Louka, where you can top up your fluids in the local Šámalova chata restaurant, and then join bike trail no. 3023 to Bedřichov. Although there are about as many inhabitants here as there are days in the year, during the summer and winter this little village is a very busy place, as it’s the main starting point for trips all over the Jizera Mountains region. It’s now time to ride up to Maliník and then freewheel down to Česká chalupa. There, you have to finally decide which way to get back to Liberec. If you prefer a hard surface, continue left down the road that winds back into town. If you fancy taking more natural routes away from the traffic, the best option is to follow the red tourist markers, which will take you on tracks through the woods to Lidové sady.