Šmartno na Pohorju - Veliki vrh (on Pohorje)

Access to starting point:
We leave Štajerska highway at exit Slovenska Bistrica south or north (depending on which direction we come from), and then we drive into the center of Slovenska Bistrica, from where we go on the road in the direction of the settlement Šmartno na Pohorju. Next follows few kilometers of ascent, and we follow the road in the direction of the mentioned settlement. When we get to Šmartno na Pohorju, we park on a smaller settled parking lot at the cemetery and church of St. Martin.

Path description:
From the parking lot in few steps we walk to the main road which leads through the settlement, and we follow it to the right, where also the blazes point us to. For a short time, we walk through the center of the settlement, and then with nice views, we walk to a smaller crossroad, at a little bigger chapel.
Here we continue straight (right Ruška koča na Arehu - path over Frajhajm) and a few minutes further we arrive at the next marked crossroad, from which we continue left towards Sveti Trije kralji (straight Ruška koča na Arehu). Nearby houses we bypass on the left side, and then we continue by the pasture. Further, we lightly descend on a poorer road; when the road turns sharply left, we continue straight on the path that goes into the forest. The path ahead leads us past a trough with water, and then Knafelc blazes direct us to the left (straight guesthouse Dovnik). A little further, over a small bridge, we cross the stream Devina, and we follow the blazes. Next follows a short steep ascent, then the path flattens slightly and leads us out of the forest, where we cross a meadow diagonally towards the right. Higher up, at the edge of the forest, we reach a cart track that brings us to the lower pond Ribnik v Ošelju.
The mentioned pond we bypass on the right side, and on a poorer road, in two minutes, we also reach the upper pond Ribnik v Ošelju.
The upper pond we bypass on the left side, and just a little further, we reach an asphalt road, where we go right in the direction of Sveti Trije kralji and Oplotnica. We continue past a few more houses, then go left (straight and after a few meters right Areh), where we pass a farm onto a meadow. While walking through the meadow, a beautiful view opens up on Boč and Veliki vrh; when we reach the forest, we then quickly arrive at a pond.
The upper pond we bypass on the left side, and just a little further, we reach an asphalt road, where we go right in the direction of Sveti Trije kralji and Oplotnica. We continue past a few more houses, then go left (straight and after a few meters right Areh), where we pass a farm onto a meadow. While walking through the meadow, a beautiful view opens up on Boč and Veliki vrh; when we reach the forest, we then quickly arrive at a pond.
The mentioned pond we bypass on the left side, then continue on the path that, in a few minutes, brings us to a macadam road, which we follow to the left. The road quickly leads us out of the forest, and we descend along it to a marked crossroad by the bridge over the stream Bistrica.
A little before the bridge, an abandoned path branches off to the right, leading past the farm Jesenek towards Sveti Trije kralji; just before the bridge, a marked path through Bistriški Vintgar joins from the left, but we continue straight over the bridge to a smaller crossroad, where we go right towards Sveti Trije kralji (straight Sveti Urh).
Next follows an ascent towards the farm Močnik, but before the farm, we turn right onto a cart track that initially ascends gently through the forest. A little higher, we join another cart track, and at several crossings higher up, we follow the blazes. Further, we pass by a trough with water, then at a small crossroad we reach an asphalt road, which we only cross.
This time, we continue toward Sveti Trije kralji, and a little further, an abandoned path joins us quite unnoticeably from the right, leading past the homestead Jesenek. Some ascent follows through the forest, then we merge with the path that leads over Veliko Tinje.
We continue straight, where follows few minutes of a light to moderate ascent, and then we already get to Hotel Jakec, above which there is the Church of Holy Three Kings.
From Church of Holy Three Kings we continue in the direction of the lake Črno jezero and the path Urškina pot, where we quickly get by the edge of the nearby ski track of the ski slope RTC Jakec - Trije kralji. The path ahead at first leads by the edge of the forest, only few meters away from the ski slope, and higher we cross the ski slope towards the right (while the ski slope operates, we cross the ski slope above the ski lift). On the other side of the ski track, the path goes a little to the right and leads us below the artificial lake.
A little after the lake we get to the connecting ski track, on which we continue the ascent (while the ski slope operates, we walk by the far left edge of the ski slope), and when few minutes higher we reach another ski track, where the marked path towards the lake Črno jezero crosses a ski slope, we still continue by the left edge, where there are also signs for path Urškina pot. Next follows few minutes of a steeper ascent and with increasingly beautiful views we get to benches on Veliki vrh, from where a nice view opens up on Pohorje and valley.
From here we can continue few more 10 meters into the forest, where there is the highest point of the peak.
The starting point - ponds in Ošelj 0:35, ponds in Ošelj - pond west from Ošelj 0:10, pond west from Ošelj - Sveti Trije kralji 1:30, Sveti Trije kralji - Veliki vrh 0:30.
Description and pictures refer to the condition in January 2022 and May 2023.

On the way: Ribnika Devin v Ošelju (812m), Ribnik zahodno od Ošelja (824m), Sveti Trije kralji (1181m)