Lysá hora in Czechia - Malenovice loop via the Satina waterfalls

Mountain huts on Lysá hora

There are two mountain huts on Lysá hora with restaurants and overnight accommodation. The most atmospheric is Bezručova chata, owned by the Czech Tourist Club (KČT). The original hut burned down on 11 March 1978, and the new one opened on 25 November 2015. Volunteers and fundraising helped rebuild it. Today's building is an almost exact replica of the old hut. In good weather, take a seat on the terrace for views of the Fatra mountains and the Tatras.

The hut has 5 double rooms with private bathrooms. A room costs 1,500 Kč per night, without breakfast. Bookings are by email only, and the kitchen serves meals until 19:30. Opening hours and current information are on the official website: Bezručova chata

The second hut is Chata Emil Zátopek – Maraton, named after the legendary Czech runner. It also offers accommodation and a restaurant. Outside, wooden tables overlook the distant peaks, with a deer statue nearby. Next door is the smaller Chata Emil Zátopka – Desítka, which provides more overnight accommodation. Details are on the website: Chata Emil Zátopek – Maraton

Sleeping in a tent

You can spend the night in a tent on Lysá hora. The hut and the Beskydy Protected Landscape Area administration jointly run a designated emergency overnight area. This is not a regular campsite. It occupies a strip of grass below Bezručova chata, marked in a photo on the hut's website. It can get busy in summer, as many people come to watch the sunset and then the sunrise. For details, contact the hut by email: Bezručova chata

Bear in mind that this is one of only a few such places in the Czech Beskids. Pitching a tent anywhere else in CHKO Beskydy is prohibited, and nature wardens can issue fines of several thousand Czech crowns. Similar overnight areas are available by the Skalka hut and at Pustevny.

Parking

The best place to leave your car is the car park beside the abandoned Petr Bezruč hotel in Malenovice, right at the start of our loop. All-day parking costs 100 Kč. There are plenty of spaces, but they fill quickly at weekends, so arrive early in the morning. Car park coordinates: 49.566962, 18.425354

Trail description

From the car park, we head straight into the forest on the green trail. We follow a woodland path for a while until the first junction. Here you can stay on the gentler green-marked route or take the worn shortcut we have marked on the map. The shortcut is much steeper. You will see more paths branching off later, but those sections are inside a nature reserve, where leaving the marked trail and taking shortcuts is prohibited.

the start of the green trail

the shortcut described above

After a solid climb on a narrow, rocky path through dense forest, we join the blue trail. For a short stretch the track is wider and gentler, before turning back into the woods onto a narrower path. We keep climbing until the next junction, where we continue following the blue markers. The forest gradually thins and more sunlight reaches us between the trees.

After another 4 km, we reach the junction at Malchor, where we get our first glimpse of the broadcasting mast on Lysá hora's summit. A few metres further on, the trail splits again. You can choose the shorter, steeper yellow trail or the longer, gentler blue trail. We take the quicker option. The yellow trail zigzags up the slope and soon emerges from the forest, revealing the towns in the valley below.

About 15 minutes later, we reach the broadcasting mast and head towards the official summit marker. Then we walk down to the hut, as this side of the summit has the best panorama. You can see the nearby Beskid peaks and, in good weather, the Tatras, Malá Fatra and Veľká Fatra. There are tables where you can have a mid-morning snack, or you can eat at the hut's restaurant.

After a short break, we head down on the red trail before switching to the yellow trail. It is a lovely stretch through tall woodland. Beyond the junction, there are fewer people around.

At Pod Lukšincem, we continue straight past the information board, following the yellow markers. We pass the U Veličků hut with its little shop, then stop briefly beside some large blackberry bushes. Beyond the hut, the trail follows an asphalt road.

At the Satina junction, we turn off towards the Satina waterfall. It is a short detour and well worth making, so do not miss it. We join the green trail and reach another junction. A short, steep climb on a rocky path follows. Watch the route carefully on the final stretch: at one point the green trail turns onto a rather overgrown, poorly marked path. This leads straight back to the Petr Bezruč hotel and the car park where we left our car.

Satina waterfalls

The Satina waterfalls (Satinské vodopády in Czech) are one of the best-known spots at the foot of Lysá hora. The Satina stream rises on the mountain's northern slope, at about 900 m above sea level, in the Lukšinec forest near the Malchor junction. The waterfalls lie above the Rajská bouda hotel in Malenovice and were already a popular destination in the 19th century.

Since 2006, the waterfalls have been protected as the Vodopády Satiny natural monument. It covers about a kilometre of the stream, which cuts through a rocky gorge up to 15 metres deep, with several waterfalls, steps and rapids. Geologists consider the rocky streambed one of the finest examples of its kind in the Czech Carpathians. Look for potholes: round hollows in the rock carved by swirling water and the stones it carries. The Lysá hora educational trail has led to the waterfalls since 2011, and paths and footbridges run through the gorge.

Do not expect huge cascades here. The Satina waterfalls are fairly low, and their popularity owes much to how easy they are to reach. You need to descend a little from the road to the stream and climb back afterwards, but the detour is worthwhile, especially on hot days when the shaded gorge stays pleasantly cool.

How our hike went

Our recorded loop came to 12.6 km with a total elevation gain of 941 m. We walked it in around 4.5 hours, excluding our breakfast stop on the summit.

We visited Lysá hora on the last warm weekend of the summer holidays, so there were plenty of hikers on the trails. The summit was crowded, with people arriving from every direction on foot and, in many cases, by bike. The descent was much quieter as everyone split off onto different routes. If you prefer peace and quiet, go on a weekday or start early in the morning. The views made the busy stretches worth it for us.

We liked how much variety this loop offered: climbs through the forest, views from the yellow trail on the open slope, a summit panorama reaching the Tatras, then a quiet valley and the Satina waterfall. At the end of the summer holidays, the trail was also full of wild berries, especially blackberries and bilberries.