Križe - Koča na Kriški gori (easier path)

Access to starting point:
a) From the Ljubljana-Jesenice motorway, take the Naklo exit, then continue driving towards the villages of Žeje, Spodnje and Zgornje Duplje to the village of Retnje, where we turn right towards the settlement of Križe. We then drive past the NOB monument, the Križe sports field to the parking lot next to the cemetery and the parish church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
b) From the Jesenice-Ljubljana motorway, take the Podbrezje exit, then continue driving towards Ljubelj and Tržič. Before the Petrol petrol station in Bistrica pri Tržiču, turn right and then drive into Tržič. When the road descends into the valley, continue sharply right towards Pristava and Križe, then drive along the main road leading towards Zgornje and Spodnje Duplje, leave the mentioned main road at the settlement of Retnje, where we continue left towards the settlements of Križe and Golnik. We then drive past the NOB monument, the Križe sports field to the parking lot next to the cemetery and the parish church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

Route description:
From the parking lot, we continue along the road to the east, where the path first leads past the church, then past the post office, the inn pri Benk and the bakery to the junction at the chapel, where we continue left towards Pristava. The road then leads past the Tušek market Markič store, after which we notice the first hiking signs for Gozd, Kriška gora and Storžič, which lead us right onto Planinska pot street. At the junctions through the settlement, we follow the markers, then the road loses its asphalt surface and enters the forest. A few minutes higher, at the junction of gravel roads, we continue right, then gradually emerge from the forest, from where we get a nice view towards Gorenjska. After the scenic section, the road becomes asphalted and brings us to the point where we join the road leading towards Gozd. We follow the road left, but walk along it only briefly, as the markers lead us right onto a cart track.
We leave the road at a small information board informing about the opening hours of the Zavetišče v Gozdu shelter. From the cart track, we immediately turn left twice, so that we continue the ascent along a forest path, which soon joins another cart track, along which we return to the asphalt road in a few minutes. We walk a few steps along the road, then a path from Tržič joins from the left, and to the right the footpath or cart track continues towards Zavetišče v Gozdu (straight along the road Koča na Kriški gori - steep path).
We continue along the right path (cart track), which initially runs parallel to the road and then leads past a water trough. A little further, we leave the cart track, as the markers lead left onto a somewhat steeper transitional path, which soon returns to the cart track, and this to the asphalt road. We follow the road right, walking along it for a few more minutes, or until we notice a large parking lot on the right side and next to it the Zavetišče v Gozdu.
From the shelter, we walk to the nearby church, then reach a marked junction where a path from Golnik joins from the right. We continue left uphill along the increasingly poor road, which brings us to a junction in a few minutes. Here we take the left path (right to Tolsti vrh, Mala and Velika Poljana and Storžič), which passes a water intake and continues along a cart track. The cart track quickly enters the forest and brings us in a moderate ascent to a small junction, where we continue right towards Kriška gora (straight unmarked path to Koča na Kriški gori) onto a somewhat rougher cart track, which higher up turns into a relatively steep trail. Further, we ascend along a well-maintained path, along which we notice numerous benches and the names of the benches beside them. Higher up, the path leads to a pasture fence and a little higher turns left, where it then ascends transversely. After a few minutes of traverse ascent, we step out of the forest, where we already see the Koča na Kriški gori ahead of us, which is only a few dozen easy steps away.

Starting point - junction before Gozd 0:55, junction before Gozd - Zavetišče v Gozdu 0:20, Zavetišče v Gozdu - sv. Miklavž 0:05, sv. Miklavž - junction above Gozd 0:10, junction above Gozd - Ovčja pot junction 0:10, Ovčja pot junction - Koča na Kriški gori 1:05.

Along the route: Zavetišče v Gozdu mountain hut (703m), Razpotje pred Gozdom (782m), Zavetišče v Gozdu (891m), Sveti Miklavž (Gozd) (890m), Gozd (890m), Razpotje nad Gozdom (950m), Odcep Ovčje poti (1008m)

The trip can be extended to the following destinations: Vrata, Tolsti vrh

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