Tok
19 km · 5 h 30 min
The highest summit of the Brdy hills (865 m) with the unusual landscape of former military impact areas. A trip for fitter hikers.
Trip at a glance
- Start and finish
- Orlov, car park at the bus turning loop (circular route)
- Distance
- 11.5 km
- Time
- 3 h 25 min
- Ascent
- 150 m
- Difficulty
- moderate
- Surface
- asphalt and forest roads
- Suitable for
- children, bikes
The Pilská reservoir lies about three kilometres west of Orlov. You can get there on foot or by bike, and you can combine the trip with a longer loop along the forest roads of the Brdy hills.
The route
The shortest way leads from Orlov past the Hájenka U Slaniny forester's lodge to the dam. It is about 3 km long and almost flat, and you return the same way.
If you want more, take the 11.5 km loop. From Orlov it runs below Třemošná and past the Ohrádka hills to the Obecnice saddle, then along the quiet Káňská forest road at about 800 metres and down past the Pilská spring to the dam. From there it is flat all the way back to Orlov. At the U Čtvrté crossroads you can also make a detour to Tok, the highest peak of the Brdy hills.
A bit of history
The reservoir was built in 1853 to supply water to the silver mines and smelters of Příbram. Just a year after completion heavy rain damaged it and the dam had to be repaired. After the Second World War it became a source of drinking water for Příbram, which it still is today. The dam is 380 metres long and 19 metres high.
In the 1930s scouts used to camp here, and in 1937 they were visited by A. B. Svojsík, the founder of Czech scouting.
Good to know
The Pilská reservoir is a source of drinking water, so swimming is not allowed. Please be considerate when visiting.
A description of the loop with a map is available in Czech on ObjevBrdy.cz.
