Oplotnica - Črno jezero on Pohorje (via Kos)

Access to the starting point:
a) From the motorway Ljubljana - Maribor take the exit Slovenske Konjice, then follow the signs for Slovenske Konjice. From the roundabout after the OMV petrol station, take the first exit to the right towards Slovenska Bistrica, and from Slovenska Bistrica take the road to the left to Oplotnica and Osankarici. Turn towards Oplotnica and follow the road to the centre of the town, where you can park in one of the several car parks in the settlement.
b) From the motorway Maribor - Ljubljana, take the exit Slovenska Bistrica - South, then follow the signs for Slovenske Konjice. Shortly after Slovenska Bistrica, turn right towards Oplotnica, then drive to the centre of Oplotnica, where you can park in one of several car parks in the village.

Path description:
From the centre of the village, follow the path towards Osankarice, Černý jezero and Treh Kraljev, first walking along the pavement past the Mercator shop, the Pohorski Bataljona Oplotnica primary school to the Salama pizzeria, where you turn left and then immediately right, passing the pizzeria on your right.
The way forward begins to climb visibly on a narrower asphalt road, which leads us past occasional houses, and when we arrive in the Lačna Gora settlement, we also have a beautiful view of Oplotnica and the surrounding hills.
Higher up, at the cross, the signs for the Black Lake direct us to the right, where we pass the last house, after which we continue our ascent on the dirt road, soon turning left into the woods on a marked footpath. Climb steeply through the woods, cross the dirt road you have recently left, and then climb moderately to reach the Church of Sts.
At the church, return to the road and continue north. The road quickly turns into the cart track, which leads you first through the forest and then across a grassy viewpoint, where you descend a little.
When you reach the asphalt road in the village Kebelj, cross it crosswise to the right, then go left towards the Black Lake, passing the nearby house on your right. After a few minutes of a scenic climb over a grassy slope, when you reach the end of the asphalt road, there is a trail on your right, starting at the cemetery in the village of Kebelj.
Continue straight ahead on the marked cart track, which turns right before entering the forest and continues along the edge of the forest, and from the above-mentioned cart track, signs direct you to the left onto the narrower cart track, which continues through the forest. Follow the markings through the forest, and when the path turns slightly to the right, after a short crossing, another path from the village of Kebelj joins us from the right.
Go left here and you will quickly reach the ruins of Kebelj Castle.
Go around the ruins on the left and follow the signs to the nearby asphalt road, where you go straight up. Just a little further on, the asphalt road turns right, and the path to Osankarica (the Kebelj Transversal Route) branches off to the left. Leave the asphalt road just a little further on, where the signs for the Black Lake direct you to the left into the forest. There is a short climb through the forest, and then past numerous rubbish bins we reach a nearby homestead (there is also a warning for a vicious dog from the opposite direction). At the homestead, the road becomes asphalt and we quickly return to the slightly wider asphalt road, which we continue to climb. After a few minutes, the signs direct us left onto the grassy cart track, which we climb along the edge of the forest, and higher up, we pass a house and rejoin the asphalt road, which leads us to the next marked crossroads.
Continue left on the macadam road in the direction of the Black Lake (right on the asphalt road St. Three Kings and Black Lake past St. Three Kings). Walk along the macadam road for a few minutes and then turn right in the direction of the Black Lake. The way forward initially follows cart track, and a little higher up you climb over a clearing. After the clearing, we return to the forest and quickly climb up to the road near the Kos homestead, where we go a few steps to the right and then left on the marked cart track. We then climb through the forest, where we follow the markings, and the path leads us past a lookout point, from which we have a beautiful view. We continue to follow the markings, and the path soon leads us to a wider macadam road, which we just cross (Osankarica on the left, St. Trije kralji on the right).
A few minutes of climbing follow, and near the undistinguished Adam's Peak, the path is laid and then begins to gradually descend. A few more switchbacks follow, and the path gradually turns into an increasingly marshy world, where the path begins to lose its way. Follow the markings carefully here, taking care not to get boggy. Follow this path to the nearby Black Lake.
Oplotnica - St. Mohor 0:45, St. Mohor - Hare's Castle 0:40, Hare's Castle - Black Lake 2:05.
Description and pictures refer to the situation in April 2022.

On the way: Lačna Gora (516m), Sveti Mohor (Lačna Gora) (602m), Kebelj castle (Castle Zajec) (813m), Nadgrad (851m)

We recommend: trips from the same starting point, similar trips, panorama, Inscription book