Suitable for: adults
Length: 13 km
Duration: 60 minutes
Difficulty: mild to moderate
Surface: paved road
How to get there: Get to České Budějovice by public transport or by car (Antonín Barcal car park)
Refreshment points: Near the start there are 3 supermarkets (Norma, Penny, Albert); Kněžínek restaurant and microbrewery; aft er 9.5 km there is a restaurant area (Bergamo, fast&food, Géčko shopping center).
The trail takes us from a regional capital to a full–fledged countryside. The recommended cross-country trail begins at Máj – Antonín Barcal bus stop, where we follow the blue trail. We run through the Branišov forest where the road turns right between the fields towards the Novohaklovský pond. Beyond the pond we cross the asphalt road to the left (still blue). After 200 m, we turn right when we make sure to follow the blue trail and join cycle path 1108 and 1109. Gradually we leave a short built–up area and again we fi nd ourselves in the vicinity of the ponds. On the left side we have Starohaklovský pond leading us to the crossroads (when turning to the left you can see the local microbrewery). We keep following the blue trail that will take us to the protected area of Vrbenské rybníky. We leave the blue trail and cycle path, turn left and join the nature trail along the ponds’ dam called “Po hrázi Vrbenských rybníků”. We run between the ponds, then follow cycle path No. 1109 for about 300 m, afterwards we turn right (on the right side we have a new pond called Nový vrbenský rybník) and go through the cottage resort. We head to the Arpida center where we keep running for about 100 m along the cycle path and the nature trail and continue to the left through the forest and on the ponds’ dam up to the road. We run across it, turn right, then turn left into U Rozvodny street which leads us through the built–up area to cycle trail G that brings us to the starting point of our cross-country trail.
1. Forest called Branišovský les
2. Kněžínek microbrewery
3. Oak tree at Starohaklovský pond
4. Nature Reserve of Vrbenské rybníky