Elbe Cycle Route

connects the lowest points of Děčín district. The importance and fame of The Elbe Cycle Route can easily misguide the bikers to limit their staying in Decin to the Elbe canyon, perhaps also to the town itself. However, if we want to know the most interesting places at surroundings of the town of Děčín, we should also go high above The Elbe Cycle Route, up to the paths winding through rocky platforms, also we should not skip a unique network of lookout towers, which will guide us to another sets of beautiful places in the region over The Elbe Cycle Route.

Railways Decin-Kytlice-Krasna Lipa, Ploucnice Cycle Route

In Decin, The Elbe Cycle Route connects The Ploučnice Cycle Route. Cycleway Ploučnice together with a local railroad line Děčín - Kytlice - Krásná Lípa form a perfect infrastructure for cycling trips around the region - and, what is essential - thanks the railway, this mountainous region is easily accessible even for an occasional cyclists. Also, a dense network of field and forest roads allow safe trips at clean and quiet environment, off the main roads. Due to the nature of the landscape, cycling routes can be planned so that the most of the route runs along the flat or downhill - from the peaks of the mountains down to the Elbe river. To reach the starting points of the routes we should use a railroad, or one of Děčín cycle buses. The region is large and hilly, therefore let's not waste time by cycling from the Elbe banks up to the mountains.

Cross-border region

In the west, region is defined by the Tisá Sandstone Towers Labyrinth, accessible by cyclobus from Děčín. In the east, region is defined by castle Oybin reachable from Decin by a railway to Jedlova, then cycling along the relatively flat route among the peaks of the Lusatian Mountains. In the south, the region is defined by Merboltice - a rural protected zone very easily reachable via The Ploučnice Cycle Route. In the north, a region is less clearly defined - Krásná Lípa is the furthermost easily from Děčín accessible location, accessible by a very nice scenic local railway Děčín - Kytlice - Krásná Lípa. From Krásná Lípa we can return directly through the National Park Czech Switzerland, on via marked cycle paths heading through both Czech and German territory back to the Elbe river.

We may also use the newly opened railroad Děčín-Sebnitz-Rumburk, which accesses not only the western part of Šluknovský výběžek (Šluknov region) with very nice hilly landscape and several lookout towers, but accesses also the German half of Czech-Saxon Switzerland.

Downhill routes

Another major cycling area is a network of secondary roads and local roads along the river Bystrá, which leads from Kamenický Šenov down to Benešov nad Ploučnicí - 14km long, quiet and comfortable downhill route, convenient for fast return from the southern branch of the Lusatian Mountains back to the Elbe river.

A similar significance has a quiet downhill road from Nová Huť to Kytlice and Česká Kamenice, leading along the small river Kamenice. In Česká Kamenice, however, we should avoid the busy road no. 13, and get to the basin of the little river Bystrá via the yelllow marked trail leading by the local roads (= we get from a small river basin of Kamenice to a small river basin of Bystrá). Bystrá then leads us to The Ploucnice Cycle Route and down to the Elbe river.

Forgotten places

Cyclobuses of Děčín access another totally forgotten region around Verneřice and Rychnov, at an altitude of over 600 meters - from Rychnov we can ride downhill via one of the deserted local roads, which lead us to Ploucnice river or to the Elbe river. Or we can try to find 'new singletrack' among the deserted paths and forest roads at the Na Koruně mountain or Velký Chlum massif. An easy and very nice trail leads from Rychnov through a nice village of Merboltice down to the Ploučnice river, then via The Ploucnice Cycle Route back to the Elbe river - but first let's take a cyclobus to get up among the summits. There are several such forgotten areas in the region, including several vanished villages or ancient farm constructions arranged from stone blocks.

Folk and urban architecture

Noteworthy is the local country architecture coming from the time of Great colonization, with interiors influenced by biedermeyer, scattered throughout the region, from nice Merboltice to the villages in the heart of the National Park Czech Switzerland, or Obercunnersdorf just 10 km behind the border. In the towns of Děčín and Česká Kamenice, but also in many other places we encounter excellent examples of urban architecture from Gothic and Renaissance, Baroque, Empire and Biedermeyer to the respectable functionalist villas.

Glass tradition

In the eastern half of the region there is still alive a centuries-old glassmaking tradition, and we can not only visit the Glass Museum Kamenický Šenov and Nový Bor, but also contemporary glass companies in full operation, as well as small shops and stores.