New Year's Dog Trekking

No fireworks, no crowds, no stressed dogs. Just us, snow, and the Golden Mountains.

Why the mountains?

We decided to spend New Year's Eve in the mountains. No fireworks, no crowds, no stressed dogs. We chose Lądek Zdrój – an area we've loved for years. Quiet, intimate, with plenty of dog-friendly places and trails perfect for short, scenic hikes.

For accommodation, we picked Geovita – it's dog-friendly, promised a quiet New Year's Eve without fireworks, and sits right on the trail we chose for our New Year's walk. No searching for directions, no overthinking. Boots on, dogs in harnesses, and off we go. A simple plan is a good plan.

Golden Mountains

The Golden Mountains – despite the rich-sounding name – are a modest, peaceful range on the Polish-Czech border. Their highest peak, Smrek, barely reaches over 1100 m above sea level. It's this very intimacy that makes them perfect for hiking with dogs. Few people, plenty of forest, great atmosphere.

Walk at noon

We got lucky with the weather – frosty but sunny. Snow crunching under our boots. We set off just before eleven. On this quiet morning, we took to the snowy trail with Moli – our Chongqing Dog bitch, and Milka – an Australian Shepherd.

The route initially followed the red trail through Lutynia. Past the village, we walked by a pasture with cows. A few hundred meters further, near Skalny Wąwóz (Rocky Gorge), stands a monument dedicated to the Brave, Faithful Hunting Dogs.

For us, this is a mandatory stop. In a way, it's a monument to Moli's ancestors. Chongqing dogs were once hunting dogs too – in the mountainous regions of Sichuan, hundreds of years ago. Today they're no longer working hunting dogs, but the instinct remains strong. Nature doesn't forget.

Towards Borówkowa

After a short break, we continued along the forest road towards Wrzosówka. At the crossroads by the church, we turned right – onto the yellow trail. From there, straight to the summit of Borówkowa Góra.

The trail isn't particularly difficult, though the last 300 meters with a 16% incline might give some people a workout.

The way up was about 5 km with roughly 420 meters of elevation gain. The trail is beginner-friendly, requiring no major effort.

At the summit

On top of Borówkowa Góra, there's a lookout tower – we climbed it, took some photos, though the weather didn't allow for distant views. There's also a shelter where you can sit down, eat something from your backpack, and rest for a while. The Czech bar was under renovation.

The way back

We took the red trail towards Wrzosówka. A short distance before the village, we turned onto a forest path – it let us bypass the buildings and led us exactly to the crossroads by the church where we'd earlier turned onto the yellow trail. From there, straight back to the hotel – the same route we came up on.

We were back at the parking lot less than 4 hours after starting. The total on the app was just over 12 kilometers – though according to the map, the route was barely over 10 km. I don't know which app to trust more. But after all, that's not why you go to places like this.