Mače - Dom na Kališču (via Sveti Miklavž)

Access to starting point:
A) From the highway Ljubljana - Jesenice, take the exit Kranj - east, then continue driving in the direction of Jezersko. When you arrive in Preddvor, leave the main road and continue driving left towards the center of the mentioned settlement; from there, follow the signs for Mače. When you arrive in Mače, at the marked junction continue right (left Bašelj, straight church of St. Miklavž (the church is not accessible by car)) and drive up the narrow road above the village, where there is a larger marked parking lot.
B) From the highway Jesenice - Ljubljana, take the exit Kranj - west and at the first junction continue left. Then drive through the underpass under the highway and arrive at a roundabout, from which continue driving in the direction of Golnik. The route leads through the settlement Mlaka pri Kranju; at the end of the settlement, continue right in the direction of the settlement Srakovlje. This is followed by driving through Srakovlje, Spodnja Bela, Srednja Bela to Zgornja Bela, where you continue right towards Preddvor. In Preddvor, notice the signs for Mače, which direct you left past the primary school onto the road that ascends to Mače. When you arrive in Mače, at the marked junction continue right (left Bašelj, straight church of St. Miklavž (the church is not accessible by car)) and drive up the narrow road above the village, where there is a larger marked parking lot.

Path description:
From the parking lot above Mače, return on the asphalt road back to the village center, from there continue in the direction of St. Miklavž (the road turn-off in the village center towards St. Miklavž is well marked). From the village center, continue on the dead-end street and begin to ascend moderately along it. The road soon flattens and brings us to the spot where we notice the next sign for St. Miklavž, which this time directs us left onto the road that leads past a few yards to the nearby stream. Still before descending to the stream, the next sign directs us right, where we continue past the garage and along the concrete retaining wall. When the already worsening road descends completely to the Suha stream, we cross it over a small wooden bridge. On the other side of the bridge, ascend to the edge of the yard of the nearby residential house, then continue right, where we begin to ascend along the mesh fence. After a short ascent, step onto the edge of a larger hay meadow, from where a nice view opens onto Tolsti vrh and Storžič. Continue along the edge of the forest or completely along the right side of the meadow to the spot where the path returns to the forest. When entering the forest, the path widens into a cart track; continue along it for only about 10 steps, then go right onto the well-trodden path. A little further on, reach the next cart track, which is crossed obliquely to the left.
From the cart track onwards, ascend along a moderately steep path that quickly takes us out of the forest onto a larger meadow below the church of St. Miklavž. From there, only a short ascent remains, and we are already at the little church, from which a nice view opens onto Gorenjska settlements, Polhograjsko and Škofjeloško hribovje, and with good visibility also onto Triglav.
The continuation of the path is noticed on the eastern side of the church, where we ascend through a short stretch of forest to a pleasant bench and a nice viewpoint. Continue along the right side of the bench on the path that gently ascends, crossing the slopes to the right. After a few minutes, reach a cart track, which we merely cross, and continue the ascent on the well-trodden and still unmarked path that ascends somewhat more steeply. When the path flattens, reach a kind of ridge where we step onto another, relatively new cart track, along which we ascend towards the north. With occasional nice views of Triglav, Mali Grintovec and elsewhere, ascend along the indistinct forest edge, where we leave the cart track and continue slightly right onto a nicely traceable little path (since the cart track is relatively new (April 2014), the start of the path is somewhat less noticeable), which gradually enters the forest and a little further joins the usual marked path from Mače to Kališče.
The marked path soon brings us to the next cart track, along which we walk to the spot where the marks lead right upwards onto a steeper path, along which in a few minutes we ascend to a nicely arranged viewpoint with a bench. Behind the viewpoint, return to the forest, where we ascend only gently. A little further, reach one of the numerous cart tracks in this area; the marked path continues parallel to it for a while, and when the dense forest belt ends, it returns to it. With a view of Tolsti vrh and Storžič, then in one minute of further walking, reach the junction north of Gora, the peak which we have bypassed on the left side.
From the junction, continue along the marked path in the direction of Kališče. Ascend for a few minutes through dense spruce forest, then join a poorer road, along which we continue the ascent for a few minutes. Leave the road when noticing the continuation of the mountain path on the right side (the turn-off is well marked). The path ahead moves onto a steeper slope and ascends relatively steeply in numerous switchbacks. Higher up, the forest temporarily thins, opening a nice view to the south. On the section of sparse forest, a wooden bench provides a pleasant rest; a little further, a still-working clock on a tree "surprises" us. Continuing, we cross somewhat more to the right for a while, reaching the forested southern ridge of Kališče. On this ridge, the path turns sharply left, then ascends in a few switchbacks to Spodnje Kališče, from where a nice view opens onto Storžič.
When above Spodnje Kališče the path returns to the forest, the path from Laškega (also the path from Bašelj past the Košuta hospital) joins us from the left. A few more minutes of walking through the forest follow, and we arrive at a nice viewpoint from which a nice view opens towards the nearby Dom na Kališču, Mali Grintavec, the Lanež ridge, Krvavec... From the viewpoint, only a short ascent remains, and we are already at the Dom na Kališču.

On the way: Sv. Miklavž nad Mačami (651m), Planina Kališče (1450m)

Trip can be extended to: Bašeljski vrh , Mali Grintovec , Storžič (1 h 15 min)