Cerovec pod Bočem - Boč (senčna pot)

Access to starting point:
A) From the highway Ljubljana - Maribor, we take the exit Dravlje, and then we follow the signs for Šentjur and then Rogaška Slatina. When we get closer to Rogaška Slatina, we don't drive towards the settlement, but we continue in the direction of Rogatec. A little further, we get to the settlement Cerovec pod Bočem, where we park after the crossroad, where a road branches off to the left towards Sveti Florijan.
B) From the highway Maribor - Ljubljana, we take the exit Slovenska Bistrica south, and then we follow the signs for Rogaška Slatina. When we get closer to Rogaška Slatina, we don't drive towards the settlement, but we continue in the direction of Rogatec. A little further, we get to the settlement Cerovec pod Bočem, where we park after the crossroad, where a road branches off to the left towards Sveti Florijan.

Path description:
From the parking lot on the pedestrian crossing we carefully cross the main road, and then we head to the road towards Sveti Florijan, and soon along the path we notice red mountain signposts for Grilova kapela and Boč. At first we walk on a sidewalk, after a few minutes the path turns towards the east and a little further splits. Before the chapel we continue on the left road, along which the blazes continue. We continue between some houses of the settlement Cerovec pod Bočem, where we follow the blazes, and higher the asphalt path brings us into the gorge of the stream Tržiški potok. For some time we continue through the mentioned gorge, and then the road turns sharply left and gradually goes away from the stream.
A little higher, signs for Grilova kapela and Boč point us to the left on a side road (straight - ranch Stojnšek), on which we are still ascending.
Higher, we go once again left, and then past Grilov vodnjak we come out of the forest, where on the left, by the edge of the forest we notice Grilova kapela.
Here we go right in the direction of Boč and Ložno and we return into the forest. Further, we ascend on slopes of Grilov vrh (612 m), and higher we reach a larger clearing on the northern side of the mentioned summit.
Here from the southern part of the clearing a view opens up, which reaches all the way to Kamnik-Savinja Alps, and we go right, where on the right side we bypass an older wooden cottage. Follows only a shorter ascent on a cart track and we reach the forest road, where the marked path splits.
We continue straight in the direction of Boč (right - Rudijev dom and Ložno), where we steeply ascend on a marked path. The path ahead at first leads through a belt of bushes, from where some views open up, and then the path passes into the forest through which it is still quite steeply ascending. Higher, the path and the slope flatten out, and we follow the marked path to a marked junction, from which we continue straight to the nearby road (right - Donačka gora).
When we reach the road, we go left, and we also go left at the nearby crossroad (right - Makole). Next follows some descent on a macadam road, and when we leave the forest, past a religious symbol we arrive at a crossroad, from which we go straight (left leads the road into the valley in the direction of Rogaška Slatina) and on the left side we bypass homestead Gavez, and on the right the nearby hunting lodge Rogaška Slatina.
Behind the lodge we descend to another road and we follow it to the right. When the road starts ascending, a marked path branches off to the right, which leads towards Formila and Makole, and we continue on the asphalt road which starts ascending. After a short ascent the road splits, and we continue on a slightly left road which starts descending (slightly right road leads to a private house). Next follows a descent on a macadam road, which a little lower brings us to a crossroad, where we go right downwards in the direction of Boč. We are still descending further, and at the next crossroad, where we join the path from Makole, we go left. Only a little further we go right. From the last crossroad we walk on the road only a short time, and then we go left on a marked path, which on a cart track ascends to the spot where once stood a forestry cottage, now a new hut is being built (condition May 2022).
Here we again step on the road which we follow to the left (across the road leads an unmarked path to Boč, or we can join the road which leads towards Boč). Further, we walk on the road which towards the left crosses slopes of Boč, and on it we are at first still gently ascending, and later we also descend a little.
A few 10 steps before we reach the asphalt road, we go from the road right on the marked "senčna" path which leads towards Boč (if we continue on the road or parallel mountain path, we arrive at Dom na Boču in 5 minutes).
The path ahead leads us on a cart track, or on some parts parallel to it, and higher we leave the cart track and continue the ascent on an increasingly steep mountain path. For some time we ascend on a well-trodden marked path, and higher the marked path turns right and gives way to the trail which most hikers ascend, and we diagonally ascend to the right, where after a few minutes we reach the southeastern ridge of Boč, where from the right a worse unmarked path joins, which leads along the mentioned ridge (the start of the mentioned path is at the previously mentioned forestry cottage).
Here the marked path turns left, and we continue on the forested ridge. A little further from the left the previously mentioned better-trodden path also joins, and we continue straight and quickly arrive at the lookout tower on Boč.
Starting point - Grilova kapela 0:45, Grilova kapela - Boč 2:30.
Description and pictures refer to the condition in May 2022 and January 2023.

On the way: Gril's chapel on Boč (534m)