New Cycle Path on Former Railway Connects Loket and Horní Slavkov

Former railway transformed into a cycle path

The railway, originally opened in 1901, was closed in 1997. Its trackbed has now been redeveloped and, since September 2025, is open to the public as a walking and cycling path. Along the route, many features recalling its railway past have been preserved—platforms, mileposts, and even mock signal posts.

The trail also includes several original stone viaducts and four tunnels. For now, the surface is gravel, making it suitable for mountain or trekking bikes, though future plans include paving it with asphalt.

Useful inter-town connection, but no asphalt yet

The new path significantly improves the link between Loket and Horní Slavkov without using the main road, and thanks to its railway origins, it follows a gentle profile without steep climbs. This makes it suitable even for daily cycling commutes.

However, users should be aware that the path is not lit, and visibility in the tunnels may be reduced in bad weather. Still, the trail is fully walkable, and with its width and flat alignment, it offers safe travel away from road traffic.

“The cycle path connects the two towns more comfortably and, above all, more safely than the busy road, which is also used by heavy trucks from a nearby quarry,” the town of Loket stated in a press release.

The Railway Administration also emphasized that it preserved as many railway elements as possible along the route: “Tunnels, stone viaducts, historic signal posts, platforms, and mile markers—we kept them all so that the spirit of the line lives on, even without tracks.”

The entire railway-to-trail conversion project cost 50 million CZK.