After exploring Bohnice area on foot during the winter, we decided to put together the loop which would cover most of this interesting area. In this report we included two parts that you may consider biking with great care and in parts only walk your bike. Especially on the busy weekend days…
We usually start in the Letná area, but you may join this ride in many places. We went through Stromovka, where we had to pass through the demonstration against the Russian dictator’s idiotic decision to invade the neighboring country of Ukraine. That was probably the most significant part of this day… Anyway, we continued the trip as we felt hopeless about the state of things in this broken world.
The first map shows the ride including the “adrenaline” pieces 25 to 26 and 34 to 39. There are also pieces where you should pay good attention to what you are doing 17 to 18, 20 to 21, 7 to 10, 11 to 12, but these are fine with a good mountain bike. So let’s mention the interesting parts of this loop. After passing through the new part of town Bohnice, you will be tested on the stretch from 7 to 10, which you can avoid by going to 10 on the paved road behind the buildings. Then you should stop at point 11 above a huge cliff with a nice view of Vltava and Prague. From that point, you should ride on the right side of the fence. If you would be walking, you may follow the left side of the fence and enjoy the views much longer. Do not worry, the fence ends and you will not have to climb it to get on the right side. Ride to 13 is reasonable, but tricky.
Then you can relax all the way to 17. Between 17 and 18 you will be crossing the stream in Drahanské údoli three times. For the first crossing, you should enter the stream as soon as you realize that the path on the right side is not rideable. You ride through the water for about 50 meters – scary, but not really difficult. The second crossing is the least problematic, but pay attention to the third one which has quite a steep entrance. Before the first crossing, you may notice the statue of the fallen angel across the stream on your left.
Another tricky riding is from 20 to 21, a very narrow and bumpy path. This alley is probably the most beautiful alley in Prague. However, it will be destroyed by building the highway circle around the town in the next couple of years. Pass through Čimice and enter the relaxing ride through Čimické údolí. When you reach point 25, you probably should walk your bike to 26. You will be able to enjoy the views at the edge of the cliff much better and be safer. The area around 26 is the place of the ancient settlement and you will easily understand why it was built right here. Nowadays, it is a hidden gem where you can enjoy a nice summer evening watching the sunset across the river.
From 26 you will follow the edge of Zámecká rokle, where the first dynamite factory in Czech lands was built in the 19th century. You can ride down to Zámecká rokle from the point of crossing Čimický potok, but it would require climbing over several fallen trees, so we do not recommend this path. (You can see pictures from there in our earlier blog.) If you follow our ride turning to the right at 28, you will see the carcass of the old Trabant and you can speculate how this car got there. And you will face a little unrideable, but easily walkable climb. You can avoid this by going to 24 and joint the map from there.
At point 31 you may follow the little path to the right to see another view of the river (if you didn’t have enough views at this point yet). The path from there down to the river is walkable, but not walkable with the bike. At point 33 you will be between two cemeteries – a pet cemetery on the left and an abandoned cemetery on the right. This cemetery is considered the scariest in Prague. There are stories about the weird ceremonies performed there at night…
The ride from 34 to 39 should be avoided during busy times and after the rain. It is a super-narrow-sloping steep path and can be super dangerous. You can avoid it by following the alternative map placed below this one. After 39 you will follow a very relaxing ride around the river back where you started.
https://en.mapy.cz/s/busajeruco 31 km, 436 m elevation gain. To see this ride in context, check our interactive maps.
The easier ride: https://en.mapy.cz/s/codasesoda 32.5 km
