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Czech Trail Marking System (2006)

68 points by PopeDotNinja 7y ago

PopeDotNinja 7y ago
I've been visiting various sites in the Czech Republic and have been seeing these markers on trees. At first I thought they were pointing the site I was visit, but then I realized they didn't always lead where I was trying to go. So I googled "czech marks painted trees" and came across this blog post. Enjoy :)
oftenwrong 7y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_Hiking_Markers_System https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_Hiking_Markers_System
Agoreddah 7y ago
Wow. To my surprise, I was thinking they are something like "standard" in western world. Here in Slovakia, you go to every forest and see it guiding your roads
daveslash 7y ago
The way they're on sign-posts and everything is great. Although, the notion of the colors painted on trees and what they mean (Red/Blue/Green/Yellow) is something that I've definitely come across in the US. Specifically, in areas near Boy Scout Reservations.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
cujo 7y ago
It sounds like they have a way of marking trails by difficulty only. That's a nice feature, but what happens when two trails of the same color cross? Are they still named? How does this get you from A to B without a map?
- bliker 7y ago
  I think red is generally used for long distance trails and other colours are used for auxiliary routes. Because of that, colour clashes are rare. Because all major intersections have arrows you just really need to remember your destination. Often you even have the information about public transport at the destination. Example of a map: https://mapy.hiking.sk/?zoom=11&lat=6261583.4553&lon=2274012.26832&layers=00B00FFFTTFTTTFFFFFFFFTTT https://mapy.hiking.sk/?zoom=11&lat=6261583.4553&lon=2274012...
  - cujo 7y ago
    I guess I don't see how this is such a remarkable system. Everywhere I've hiked there has been some sort of blaze system to keep you on the trail you want. This looks pretty much identical, only with the added bonus of ambiguity throughout the country. I just don't see the utility that makes this such a great idea.
    - dejv 7y ago
      Ambiguity is the key here. The system is set in a way that no matter where you are there are lines going just anywhere and once you are into it you will never miss any interesting spot. Also all the lines connect to each other, so I can start walking in one place and circle whole country. Bonus point: whole system depends on volunteers who keep markings on all lines.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- thih9 7y ago
  The color isn’t associsted with difficulty; it indicates length or significance. From the article: „Red – long distance and summit trails; you can pretty much walk through the whole country following the red markers Blue – significant trails Green – local trails Yellow – short or connecting trails, shortcuts”
  - cujo 7y ago
vanous 7y ago
What i consider a good thing is that distances are shown in kilometers, rather then hours. Mountain trails might sometimes be marked in hours, as the hilly terrain adds it's time toll significantly, but for the most part, it is kilometers, which means that can very easily estimate how long it will take you to your destination while walking/running/biking... But not all signage is great that in CZ. For example driving roads are mostly marked by "destination cities" at intersections rather then by road numbers (except of highway exits), so when planning a road trip, you must create an itinerary of towns to pass through, rather then simply following a map of roads.
- ghaff 7y ago
  In my experience, distance is the norm. I'm not sure I've ever seen a hiking/walking trail marked for difficulty/time rather than distance. (Of course a trail map/book/description may include more information including a range of time to complete.) Ski trails of course are usually just marked for difficulty level. (Which is mostly relative to other trails on the same mountain.)
  - improbable22 7y ago
    IIRC almost all the signs in the swiss alps are time, not distance. Which makes sense given how steep many of them are -- even if it's not your pace, it's a quick summary of distance + elevation. Perhaps this is less needed in Czech terrain. They are also coloured by difficulty, not length -- yellow will be a big wide road, red a mountain path, blue may expect you to have brought crampons.
  - jugjug 7y ago
    Trails in Slovakia are time-based. It is very useful in high mountains, when one kilometer in distance might take several hours to walk/climb.
    - ghaff 7y ago
      Interesting. "Book time" is a useful idea. The issue is that you need to have a good baseline for how you personally compare to the book time. It works well on an individual basis with a regional guidebook. I'm less sure what to make of it in a sign in an unfamiliar area. (I have seen it in Japan as well. I usually take it as something of an upper limit.)
megous 7y ago
This makes hiking in Czechia pretty painless and low tech. And it's all made by volunteers. I never thought there was any meaning to the colors though.
stefanu 7y ago
Formal specification (PDF, in Slovak) that contains drawings with dimensions, rules for stacking of multiple markers, shapes, etc.: http://www.jazdecka-turistika.sk/images/stories/dokumenty/KTS_norma_STN_01_8025.pdf http://www.jazdecka-turistika.sk/images/stories/dokumenty/KT... EDIT: Typo
RivieraKid 7y ago
The Czech map service Mapy.cz is also really good for hiking. For example, this is the same location compared with Google Maps (if you have a high density screen, I recommend setting zoom to 75% on mapy.cz): https://mapy.cz/turisticka?x=15.7287144&y=50.6908445&z=13 https://mapy.cz/turisticka?x=15.7287144&y=50.6908445&z=13 https://www.google.com/maps/@50.6967232,15.6888516,12.89z https://www.google.com/maps/@50.6967232,15.6888516,12.89z It's owned by the guy who made Windy.com.
- rurban 7y ago
  It's the very best hiking service in Germany also. Google maps is only usable for cars or bus/train. But for hiking or bycycling Mapy.cz with OSM are the best.
koksik202 7y ago
Poland also has this system
- nmstoker 7y ago
  And it's similar to the system in the Dolomites in Italy too
Tade0 7y ago
Nitpick: 1889 can't be the very first hiking trail, because two years earlier a polish artist and hiker named Walery Eljasz marked a trail from Zakopane to Morskie Oko using Mercury Sulfide (red). I believe there could have been similar attempts earlier elsewhere as well.

68 points by PopeDotNinja 7y ago

I've been visiting various sites in the Czech Republic and have been seeing these markers on trees. At first I thought they were pointing the site I was visit, but then I realized they didn't always lead where I was trying to go. So I googled "czech marks painted trees" and came across this blog post. Enjoy :)

oftenwrong 7y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_Hiking_Markers_System https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_Hiking_Markers_System

Agoreddah 7y ago

Wow. To my surprise, I was thinking they are something like "standard" in western world. Here in Slovakia, you go to every forest and see it guiding your roads

daveslash 7y ago

The way they're on sign-posts and everything is great. Although, the notion of the colors painted on trees and what they mean (Red/Blue/Green/Yellow) is something that I've definitely come across in the US. Specifically, in areas near Boy Scout Reservations.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

cujo 7y ago

It sounds like they have a way of marking trails by difficulty only. That's a nice feature, but what happens when two trails of the same color cross? Are they still named? How does this get you from A to B without a map?

bliker 7y ago
I think red is generally used for long distance trails and other colours are used for auxiliary routes. Because of that, colour clashes are rare. Because all major intersections have arrows you just really need to remember your destination. Often you even have the information about public transport at the destination. Example of a map: https://mapy.hiking.sk/?zoom=11&lat=6261583.4553&lon=2274012.26832&layers=00B00FFFTTFTTTFFFFFFFFTTT https://mapy.hiking.sk/?zoom=11&lat=6261583.4553&lon=2274012...
- cujo 7y ago
  I guess I don't see how this is such a remarkable system. Everywhere I've hiked there has been some sort of blaze system to keep you on the trail you want. This looks pretty much identical, only with the added bonus of ambiguity throughout the country. I just don't see the utility that makes this such a great idea.
  - dejv 7y ago
    Ambiguity is the key here. The system is set in a way that no matter where you are there are lines going just anywhere and once you are into it you will never miss any interesting spot. Also all the lines connect to each other, so I can start walking in one place and circle whole country. Bonus point: whole system depends on volunteers who keep markings on all lines.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
thih9 7y ago
The color isn’t associsted with difficulty; it indicates length or significance. From the article: „Red – long distance and summit trails; you can pretty much walk through the whole country following the red markers Blue – significant trails Green – local trails Yellow – short or connecting trails, shortcuts”
- cujo 7y ago

vanous 7y ago

What i consider a good thing is that distances are shown in kilometers, rather then hours. Mountain trails might sometimes be marked in hours, as the hilly terrain adds it's time toll significantly, but for the most part, it is kilometers, which means that can very easily estimate how long it will take you to your destination while walking/running/biking... But not all signage is great that in CZ. For example driving roads are mostly marked by "destination cities" at intersections rather then by road numbers (except of highway exits), so when planning a road trip, you must create an itinerary of towns to pass through, rather then simply following a map of roads.

ghaff 7y ago
In my experience, distance is the norm. I'm not sure I've ever seen a hiking/walking trail marked for difficulty/time rather than distance. (Of course a trail map/book/description may include more information including a range of time to complete.) Ski trails of course are usually just marked for difficulty level. (Which is mostly relative to other trails on the same mountain.)
- improbable22 7y ago
  IIRC almost all the signs in the swiss alps are time, not distance. Which makes sense given how steep many of them are -- even if it's not your pace, it's a quick summary of distance + elevation. Perhaps this is less needed in Czech terrain. They are also coloured by difficulty, not length -- yellow will be a big wide road, red a mountain path, blue may expect you to have brought crampons.
- jugjug 7y ago
  Trails in Slovakia are time-based. It is very useful in high mountains, when one kilometer in distance might take several hours to walk/climb.
  - ghaff 7y ago
    Interesting. "Book time" is a useful idea. The issue is that you need to have a good baseline for how you personally compare to the book time. It works well on an individual basis with a regional guidebook. I'm less sure what to make of it in a sign in an unfamiliar area. (I have seen it in Japan as well. I usually take it as something of an upper limit.)

megous 7y ago

This makes hiking in Czechia pretty painless and low tech. And it's all made by volunteers. I never thought there was any meaning to the colors though.

stefanu 7y ago

Formal specification (PDF, in Slovak) that contains drawings with dimensions, rules for stacking of multiple markers, shapes, etc.: http://www.jazdecka-turistika.sk/images/stories/dokumenty/KTS_norma_STN_01_8025.pdf http://www.jazdecka-turistika.sk/images/stories/dokumenty/KT... EDIT: Typo

RivieraKid 7y ago

The Czech map service Mapy.cz is also really good for hiking. For example, this is the same location compared with Google Maps (if you have a high density screen, I recommend setting zoom to 75% on mapy.cz): https://mapy.cz/turisticka?x=15.7287144&y=50.6908445&z=13 https://mapy.cz/turisticka?x=15.7287144&y=50.6908445&z=13 https://www.google.com/maps/@50.6967232,15.6888516,12.89z https://www.google.com/maps/@50.6967232,15.6888516,12.89z It's owned by the guy who made Windy.com.

rurban 7y ago
It's the very best hiking service in Germany also. Google maps is only usable for cars or bus/train. But for hiking or bycycling Mapy.cz with OSM are the best.

koksik202 7y ago

Poland also has this system

nmstoker 7y ago
And it's similar to the system in the Dolomites in Italy too

Tade0 7y ago

Nitpick: 1889 can't be the very first hiking trail, because two years earlier a polish artist and hiker named Walery Eljasz marked a trail from Zakopane to Morskie Oko using Mercury Sulfide (red). I believe there could have been similar attempts earlier elsewhere as well.