Gračnica - Sveti Jošt (below Lisca) (mimo Mlinariča)

Access to starting point:
Drive to Rimske Toplice, where we follow the signs for the railway station. From the railway station we drive along the road that leads further towards Gračnica and Jurkloštr and soon passes through the underpass to the eastern side of the railway line. At the confluence of Gračnica and Savinje we reach a crossroads where we notice the first hiking direction signs. We turn onto the right-hand road that continues along the railway and bears signs for Veliko Kozje, but some 100 m further we park on the lot in front of the nearby company Pohištvo Pristanc. The factory parking lot is intended for company use but is also fenced.

Route description:
From the parking lot, we continue along the asphalt road that heads south and bypasses the nearby factory on the left side. Here the road begins to visibly ascend and soon turns sharply left and climbs to a hamlet of a few houses, where it turns back to the right; from the nearby junction, we also go right (on some maps it is indicated that the marked path continues along the left road).
A traverse ascent to the right follows, where we temporarily get a nice view towards Kopitnik and Stražnik, a little further on the road forks.
We continue along the slightly left road, along which the markers continue (slightly right Zidani Most), the asphalt ends. Higher up, there are a few minor junctions, mainly turnoffs to farms, and we follow the otherwise sparse markers in this section.
We walk along the gravel road to an elevation of 600 m, or to a cross, where the markers direct us sharply right onto an initially gentle path that traverses the slopes to the right. Already about a minute further, we go left uphill from the mentioned path onto a steep trail, directed by the markers. A few minutes of steep ascent follow on a temporarily overgrown section of the path, and when we return to the road, we easily ascend along it to the Mlinarič farm.
A little above the farm, the road ends, and from the scenic section, a nice view of the Posavsko hribovje opens up for us; we continue the path along the lower marked cart track, which for a short time continues without major changes in elevation, then, as the forest begins to thin, we start ascending more steeply. At the fork of cart tracks, we choose the left one, which ascends quite steeply further on, and the path levels out only when we reach the indistinct ridge connecting Malo Kozje with Veliko Kozje.
A few minutes of moderate ascent through the forest follow, and we reach a marked junction, where we continue left downhill towards Lisce and sv. Lovrenc (right Veliko Kozje).
A fairly steep descent follows, where we lose about 100 gained elevation meters, and from the next junction, we continue following the signs to Lisce and sv. Lovrenc.
Further on, there are a few more junctions, where we stick to the markers and the ridge connecting Veliko Kozje with Lisce; the path gradually widens into a gravel road, along which we arrive at a viewpoint from which a view to the south opens up.
When we reach a junction a little further on a small pass, where there is also a small shrine, we leave the road and continue along the marked path leading over Kozlov hrib. The marked path does not go over the highest point of the mentioned hill but gradually begins to descend behind the summit and widens into a cart track, along which we continue to the junction in front of the Centrih farm.
We continue slightly right (slightly left Lokovec and possibility of return to our starting point), and we also bypass the farm on the right side.
A little further on, we arrive at a chapel, where paths from Radeč and Breg join from the right; we continue towards Lisce and ascend along the fenced area to the church of sv. Lovrenc, from which a nice view opens up.
We bypass the church on the right side and descend along the fenced path by the meadow to the gravel road, which we follow to the right; at the nearby junction, we go right again. Further on, we descend along the asphalt road; at the end of the meadow on the left side, we go left onto the marked path that continues along the right edge of the meadow; when the path enters the forest, we follow the markers. A few gentle to moderate ascents through the forest follow; when we leave the forest, a nice view opens up. Here a short steep descent follows, lower down the path forks.
We head left onto the longer path, along which the markers continue (the straight path leads across private land); we ascend along the cart track to the gravel road, which we follow to the right.
From the gravel road, we soon go right downhill onto the access path towards the nearby house; before approaching the house, we go straight onto the path that ascends along the western to southwestern grassy slopes of the Njivce hill. Higher up, the path enters the forest, where without major elevation changes we traverse the southern wooded slopes, then from the cart track we go right downhill onto a footpath that takes us lower to a meadow across which we descend transversely. When the path levels out, a crossing through a strip of forest follows, and we reach the asphalt road, which we follow right towards Lisce. Some walking along the asphalt road with occasional views follows; when we return to the forest, we go right from the road towards Lisce, a little further on we cross the asphalt road again. Walking through a strip of bushes and low forest follows, then we reach another asphalt road and continue the ascent along it. When the road continuing towards Lisce turns left, we head right onto the cart track, which immediately forks. We choose the left cart track, which leads us past a chapel from 1900 uphill along the slope; when higher up we reach the ridge connecting Zlaški hrib with Lisce, we go left (here the usual path from Breg to Lisce joins from the right), just one or two minutes further past another marked junction we arrive at the church of sv. Jošt.

Starting point - SE ridge of Velikega Kozja 1:55, SE ridge of Velikega Kozja - Gole junction 0:10, Gole junction - Centrih farm 0:45, Centrih farm - sv. Lovrenc 0:05, sv. Lovrenc - junction below sv. Jošt 1:10, junction below sv. Jošt - sv. Jošt 0:05.

The description and photos refer to the condition in March 2025, May 2025, and April 2026.

Along the route: Gračnica (238m), Križ (601m), Mlinarič (657m), Razpotje na JV grebenu V. Kozja (929m), Razpotje Gole (828m), Razgledišče nad Žirovnico (760m), Petelinji greben (746m), Kozlov hrib (752m), Centrih (697m), Kapelica na Lovrencu (691m), Sveti Lovrenc (above Okroglice) (722m), Lesa (684m), Rebeze (681m), Na vrhu (669m), Blatnik (725m), Kamrica (729m), Sele Imperl (655m), Most pod selami (655m), Razpotje pod sv. Joštom (768m)

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