Dravograd - Huhnerkogel/Košenjak (via Ojstrica)

Access to starting point:
From the Ljubljana–Maribor highway, take the Žalec exit, then continue driving in the direction of Velenje, Mislinje, Slovenj Gradec and Dravograd. When in Dravograd we cross the bridge over the Drava River, we turn left and then park on one of the marked parking lots in the center of Dravograd.
From Maribor, we can also get to Dravograd on the road which winds through the valley of the Drava River.

Route description:
From the center of Dravograd we continue on the main road towards Austria, and after a few tens of meters we notice signs for Ojstrica, which point us sharply right on an ascending and still asphalted road. Only a little further, the marked path splits into two parts. We continue on the right path (left leads to Košenjak over Goriški Vrh), which still continues on the road, and it leads past numerous houses. A few minutes higher we come to a smaller crossroad, where another path to Goriški Vrh branches off to the left (both soon join), and we again continue on the right path. For some time we still continue on the ascending road, then only a few tens of meters after the road makes a sharp right turn, we notice a mountain signpost for Košenjak, which points us left on a steep and at first also quite rough cart track. Further, we ascend for quite some time on the mentioned cart track, and then it changes into a short overgrown footpath, on which we quickly step out of the forest on a panoramic meadow. Through the meadow past the hunting observatory we return into the forest, where we again cross a short overgrown part, and then on a wider cart track we walk to the nearby road. On the macadam road, we continue to a smaller crossroad, or to the edge of the forest, where blazes point us to the left on a poorly visible path which continues by the fenced pasture. By the edge of the pasture we ascend to the main road which leads to the church of St. John the Baptist on Ojstrica, and we follow it to the left, where it leads over a panoramic slope (nice view towards Peca). For some time we continue on the road, and then blazes point us to the right on a cart track, on which in a few tens of strides we come out of the forest on a panoramic slope. When we step out of the forest we continue left on the marked path, which immediately returns into a strip of forest through which we ascend to the next pastures. Here we continue left and in a few minutes we ascend to the church of St. John the Baptist on Ojstrica.
From the church, we continue on the asphalt road in the direction towards Košenjak. On the other side of panoramic pastures, we arrive at the next crossroad, where we continue straight (right St. Urban) on the road which loses the asphalt covering. Then for quite some time we continue the ascent on a gently sloping road which partly runs through the forest, and partly over panoramic grassy slopes. After approximately 40 minutes of walking from the church of St. John the Baptist, we will on the right side notice the mountain hut on Košenjak, to which only a short ascent over the grassy slope remains.
From the mountain hut, we walk to the information board on which there is a logbook box and signpost for Košenjak. We continue the ascent in the direction of Košenjak on the path which already after a few further strides goes into the forest. The path ahead ascends moderately to steeply through mostly dense forest, and higher it brings us to the spot where a wider cart track (almost a road) joins.
The mentioned cart track we only cross (left Košenjak gentle path) because blazes point us on a wide path which starts ascending transversely through the spruce forest. Higher, the path passes out of the forest on a more extensive clearing at the end of which from the right joins the path from the church of St. Urban and only a little further also the path from Austria. We continue left and follow the gentle path, which ahead runs along the border strip all the way to the top of Košenjak, which we reach after a few further strides.

Along the route: Sveti Janez Krstnik na Ojstrici (982m), Dom na Košenjaku mountain hut (1169m)

We recommend: trips from the same starting point, similar trips, panorama, summit register