Nature and leisure in Hamrníky: the wetland, Lido, forests and cycle routes
In Hamrníky nature begins right behind the last house. On the edge of the district lies the Hamrnický mokřad nature reserve, 6.64 hectares in size; 786 metres from Rezidence Pelikán is Lido lake with a sandy beach 250 metres long and water free of blue-green algae; a cycle route runs straight through the district along mostly asphalt tracks; and the whole of Mariánské Lázně lies within CHKO Slavkovský les. This article sets out exactly what is here, how far away it is and what you can do with it.
A nature reserve right behind the district
Hamrnický mokřad is a designated nature reserve covering 6.64 hectares. It lies on the western edge of Hamrníky between Ohradský rybník and Malý ostrovní rybník, along the Panský potok stream. What is protected here is above all the botany: extensive wetland communities of meadows, reed beds and bankside vegetation, in which cranberry, marsh helleborine and early marsh orchid grow.
This is not a reserve you drive to. From the Hamrníky bus stop you only walk a few dozen metres downhill — and you are in it. The terrain is boggy in places and harder to get through, which is exactly why nature has survived here.
For someone choosing where to live, that means one practical thing: what starts behind the building is not another street, but water, reeds and forest.
Lido lake: 786 metres from the building
The Lido bathing area was created in 1932 by adapting a pond and is part of Hamrníky (Na Vyhlídce 56/10). The water covers roughly 8.4 hectares and lies at an altitude of 540 metres in the middle of forests.
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Distance from Rezidence Pelikán | 786 m |
| Water surface area | approx. 8.4 ha |
| Beach length | 250 m, grass and sand |
| Bottom | mostly sandy |
| Water quality | excellent, no blue-green algae |
| Visitor numbers | fewer than 500 people a day |
Source of the water data: the bathing water profile of the Czech Ministry of Agriculture. The site has pitches for footvolley and volleyball, beach volleyball courts, table tennis, badminton, a hire point for rowing boats and pedalos, sunloungers, showers and changing cubicles, a refreshment kiosk, a restaurant and cabins. Admission is roughly CZK 90, CZK 45 reduced, children under three free — check the price list before the season.
Fewer than 500 people a day is not many for a bathing area of eight hectares. In practice it means that in July you can lie down here without stepping over other people's blankets.
The forest and CHKO Slavkovský les
Mariánské Lázně lies at an altitude of 578 metres and is part of the Slavkovský les protected landscape area. That is a substantial difference from an ordinary town with a green belt on its edge: here the whole landscape around is protected, not just one park.
From Hamrníky you can get into the forest in two directions — downhill past the wetland and the ponds, or uphill through the town to the spa woods with their springs and pavilions. In practice that means a walk is within reach in both directions and you do not have to travel anywhere for it.
By bike: a cycle route straight through the district
Hamrníky is not a dead end for cyclists. Running straight through it is cycle route no. 2137 Mariánské Lázně – Tři Sekery – Nové Mohelno.
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Length | 23 km, up to 34 km with the side branches |
| Ascent | 494 m |
| Surface | made-up tracks, mostly asphalt |
| Difficulty | moderate |
| Suitable bike | cross, trekking |
| Start | the park by Ferdinandův pramen |
The route runs from Mariánské Lázně through Hamrníky and Drmoul and on to the south. The parameters come from the Karlovy Vary Region. The second local route, no. 2140, is 9 kilometres long (11 with the side branches), has 250 metres of ascent and a surface that is half asphalt and half gravel; it passes Palladio, the geopark, Kaplička lásky and the rope centre.
How to get anywhere from here
The bus stop is 152 metres from the entrance to Rezidence Pelikán. Hamrníky is served by two town bus lines: line 10 (Drmoul – Hamrníky – Vora – Kaufland – Lunapark – Hřbitov) and line 13 (Drmoul – Hamrníky – Vora – Centrum – Krakonoš – Zádub-Závišín). A single fare costs CZK 20, CZK 18 from an electronic wallet, and a thirty-day pass CZK 350.
The railway station is 1.1 km away, six minutes by bus. From there the train takes 19 to 25 minutes to Cheb and 2 hours 26 minutes to Prague on a direct service — more in the article on commuting around the Karlovy Vary Region.
What, on the other hand, you will not find here
To be straight about it. Hamrníky is not the spa centre — the colonnade is within walking distance, not around the corner. There is no large shopping centre in the district itself; Tesco is 1.8 km away and Kaufland is on line 10.
And the baroque manor house from 1706–1708 that stands in Hamrníky and looks tempting in old photographs is a ruin today: in the summer of 2008 the abandoned building burned down, the ceiling paintings are destroyed and it is not open to the public. We say so up front so that nobody arrives with the wrong expectations.
What is here: quiet, water, forest and a bus in front of the building. Anyone looking for nightlife will be disappointed. Anyone looking for a place where you can step out of the door after work and be by the water in ten minutes is at the right address — the details are set out on the Hamrníky neighbourhood page.