Gornji Grad - Vivodnik (past Strmčnik and cave Jespa)

Access to starting point:
From the Savinja Valley or from Kamnik via the Črnivec Pass, we drive to Gornji Grad, where we park on the well-maintained parking lot by the main bus station.

Path description:
Signs for Menina planina, the path past Strmčnik directs us from the parking lot along the main road towards the Črnivec Pass, but soon we turn left, carefully crossing the main road into Podsmrečje Street. Here on the left side we bypass the nearby company, and the road gradually turns right, where it initially continues without major changes in elevation. When the road enters the forest it begins to ascend more noticeably; when it turns sharply left, we go right onto a side road with signs for Dom na Menini planini. Again some traversing follows, after a few minutes the road ends, and we continue in the same direction along a cart track that begins to ascend and crosses a torrent. A steeper ascent follows, where at several junctions we follow older blazes. Higher we cross a macadam road and continue the ascent on a wider cart track that soon splits. We choose the left cart track along which the blazes continue, but soon from it we go right onto a footpath overgrown with wild garlic in spring months. Higher we also follow older blazes, and the path partly still leads along the cart track, partly along a parallel mountain path. Higher the cart track ends, the path becomes somewhat steeper, and for a while it continues through the valley between Prag (1109 m) on the left and Greben (1145 m) on the right. The valley, overgrown with wild garlic in spring months, we leave higher with a traversing ascent to the left, where from the area where the forest is sparser a beautiful view opens towards the highest mountains in the Kamnik Savinja Alps.
A crossing of a wider macadam road follows, then on numerous new forest tracks we carefully follow the blazes. Next two successive crossings of a forest road follow; from the cart track along which we continue we go left onto a footpath along which we proceed to a marked junction where paths via Borovnica and past Semprimožnik join us from the left.
We continue in the direction of Dom na Menini planini past Jespa; we ascend through the forest to a pasture fence where we leave the forest. Here on the left we notice a hunting hut, but we continue straight uphill where we follow the blazes and a fainter path. Here during the ascent a beautiful view opens upon looking back, and higher the path enters a strip of forest where we continue to carefully follow the blazes. When we leave the forest again the path flattens, then we gently descend to the macadam road leading towards Dom na Menini planini, which we just cross and ascend along the marked path. Walking across the Menina planina plateau follows, where we continue to follow the blazes; the fairly level path brings us to the junction of the path to Jespa Cave.
Here we continue straight (left downhill a short secured path leads to the cave and Jespa sinkhole) and a little further we join a cart track which we follow left.
The path further leads us past a concrete trough, behind it we quickly arrive at a marked junction where we join the path from the Črnivec Pass.
We continue left, first through a strip of forest; when the forest ends the path turns slightly right and ascends somewhat more steeply, bypassing the Gospodinja hut on the left side. Here we first walk to the parking lot, from there to the nearby mountain hut.
From the hut we continue along the marked path in the direction of Vivodnik. After some 10 steps of easy walking, the path steeply ascends for a short time, then flattens and brings us to a larger grassy slope where we encounter a direction sign with the inscription "Vivodnik - krožna pot". We continue slightly left (along the right path we can return) along a relatively level path that quickly brings us into a short forest strip. Here the path ascends again for a short time, then brings us out of the forest where ahead of us we already see the lookout tower on Vivodnik, which we reach after a few steps of further walking.
Gornji Grad - Jespa Cave 2:55, Jespa Cave - Dom na Menini planini 0:20, Dom na Menini planini - Vivodnik 0:15.
The description refers to the state in April 2024, and the pictures are from various periods.

On the way: Jama Jespa (1413m), Dom na Menini planini (1453m)