Lovrenc na Pohorju (pokopališče) - Ribniška koča

Access to starting point:
A) From the road Maribor - Dravograd, between HE Fala and HE Ožbalt we turn left towards Lovrenc na Pohorju (from the direction Dravograd we turn right). On the other side of Drava we start ascending along Radoljna, and at the marked intersection, we go slightly right on the main road towards Lovrenc na Pohorju. When we get to the settlement Lovrenc na Pohorju we follow the main road, and we park a little further from the parish church of St. Lovrenc, on a marked parking lot at the cemetery.
B) We drive into Ruše, and then we follow the road towards Lovrenc na Pohorju. In the settlement Činžat we get to a saddle, where the road starts descending, and lower we go left towards Lovrenc na Pohorju. When we get to the settlement Lovrenc na Pohorju we follow the main road, and we park a little further from the parish church of St. Lovrenc, on a marked parking lot at the cemetery.

Route description:
From the parking lot, we continue on the main road through the upper part of the settlement, so that we bypass the cemetery on the right side. We at first walk on a sidewalk, and soon after the road sign which marks the end of the settlement Lovrenc na Pohorju we quickly get to the Hojnikova chapel, where the sidewalk ends, and we continue straight in the direction of Lovrenška lakes and Ribniška koča (right - Kogelnikov vrh). On the asphalt road, we then go past a few more houses, and at the right turn we leave it and continue on a footpath which ascends above the road, and still before we step into the forest we return to it. When we reach the road, the asphalt ends, and we continue on the road through the forest, and it quickly brings us to the spot, where signs for Lovrenška lakes point us to the right on a marked cart track. Next follows an ascent on a cart track through at first partly chestnut forest, and higher we on the right side bypass a hunting observation post and a little above it we cross an asphalt road. Even a little further, we cross also a macadam road, and when a little ahead we reach another macadam road, we follow it to the left. Blazes a little further point us to the right into the forest, where the path passes on the ridge Kasjakov breg. Next follows an ascent on and by the forested ridge and at a few smaller junctions we follow the blazes. Higher, we cross another road, and then we are mostly moderately ascending to the clearing Vrelenk, where there is Urbančeva hunting hut.
Above the hut the path returns into the forest, and we are moderately to steeply ascending on a cart track. Higher, blazes from the cart track point us slightly right on for a short time a little overgrown path, and then we cross the forest road. Next follows an ascent through the forest, where we follow the signs for Lovrenška lakes, and when we get closer to the plateau, where there are Lovrenška lakes, the path flattens and turns a little to the right. Next follows a few minutes of crossing, and then we lightly descend to a marked junction, where we reach the path Rogla - Ribniška koča.
We continue right in the direction of Ribniška koča (left - Lovrenška lakes, Koča na Pesku and Rogla), and the path leads us with nice views on Pohorje and Kamnik-Savinja Alps and Karawanks in the distance, and towards the right a nice view opens up also towards Golica / Koralpe. Next follows a few minutes of descent on the ample meadow of Planinka, and then the path passes into the forest and descends a little steeper. Lower, we also go past an arranged spring, and behind it we reach the saddle Šiklarica, which is situated at 1300 meters of altitude.
From the saddle, we gradually start ascending, and at the junctions we follow the blazes. A little higher a short path branches off to the right (2 minutes) to a memorial to the deceased pilots. Further, we are still ascending through the forest, and higher the forest starts to get thinner and we get to the next junction, which is situated a few minutes below Jezerski vrh.
Here we go straight (right - Ribniško jezero 3 minutes) and we ascend to the nearby Jezerski vrh, from which a nice view opens up.
From Jezerski vrh we continue in the direction of Ribniška koča and we start descending on a well-beaten path, from which beautiful views open up. Lower, we step on a macadam road which we reach on the saddle between Mali Črni vrh and Jezerski vrh, and we continue on the road which continues towards the northwest and slowly ascends. We follow this road to the Ribniška koča a few minutes away.
Lovrenc na Pohorju - Vrelenk 2:00, Vrelenk - Jezerski vrh 2:20, Jezerski vrh - Ribniška koča 0:15.
Description and pictures refer to the condition in October 2022.

Along the route: Vrelenk (1170m), Planinka (1391m), Črna mlaka (1418m), Preval Šiklarica (1300m), Jezerski vrh (1537m)

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