On Špičák, a lookout tower has opened, along with newly modified trails to the lakes

Author of the lookout tower: PROJEKT 99 s.r.o.

Železná Ruda - Špičák (Klatovy) - Today, hundreds of people participated in the ceremonial opening of a new lookout tower in Špičák near Železná Ruda. Locals have been advocating for the construction of this observation tower for years; this year, thanks to an EU subsidy, a 26.5-meter high structure was successfully built. The tower has been open to the public since the beginning of July, and since then, thousands of people have climbed the 135 steps leading to the upper platform, said Michal Linhart from TJ Sportovní areál Špičák, the investor of the construction, to ČTK today. The total cost was 7.1 million crowns.
    "We received the occupancy permit for the lookout tower on July 1, and by yesterday, according to what we can count at the cable car, 7,900 people have visited the tower. We cannot count the hikers coming from Černé or Čertovo lakes. I estimate another thousand," said Vladimír Kasík from the Ski&Bike Špičák sports area, which operates the lookout tower, to ČTK. Kasík assumes that the 7,900 hiking tourists who purchased a ticket for the cable car in July also climbed the lookout tower, which stands 50 meters from the cable car's terminal station. The fact that the lookout tower is a magnet for visitors is evidenced by the fact that the number of hiking tourists using the cable car has increased by up to 150 percent compared to last year, Kasík said.
    The steel tower clad in wood has a square plan. The upper platform is 2.5 meters above the tops of the highest surrounding trees and can accommodate 60 people. In good visibility, it offers a view as far as the Dachstein Alps. In the immediate vicinity, visitors can see Čertovo Lake, Javor in Germany, Mount Pancíř, or the more distant Poledník or Čerchov. The Úhlava Valley allows visibility to Plzeň and in the direction of Sušice up to Boubín. Visitors can reach the lookout tower on foot or take the cable car from the Ski&Bike Špičák sports area. The opening hours correspond to the summer operation of the cable car. There is no entrance fee for the tower.
    In addition to the lookout tower, tourists around Špičák have benefited from further improvements to the tourist infrastructure. Lesy ČR has renovated three sections of paths leading to some of the most attractive places in Šumava - Černé and Čertovo lakes. The reservation was declared around the unique glacial lakes back in 1911.
    Thanks to renovations costing nearly 4.17 million crowns, the area is now accessible to wheelchair users, families with strollers, and small children who could not previously undertake such trips, said Zbyněk Boublík, spokesperson for Lesy ČR, to ČTK. The state enterprise renovated 1.39 kilometers of Jezerní Road, 440 meters of Jezerní Connector, and 950 meters of the Rozvodí - Čertovo lake hiking trail. Among other improvements, the paths received new surfaces. In addition to providing more comfortable movement for tourists, the repairs have also stopped erosion and the wear of the original paths.