Velký Bítov: a compact Czech P100 above Struhadlo

Velký Bítov was the second summit in my eight-peak day, and it was a good reminder that a peakbagging objective does not need big altitude to be worth the stop. At 713 m, this is not a giant hill by Czech standards, but its 117 m of prominence give it just enough independence to matter as a tidy little collecting peak. It is also the kind of summit where identity matters more than scenery. The obvious top-like place is not quite the real one, and that alone made the hill more interesting than the numbers first suggest.

I parked in the center of Struhadlo at roughly 49.389889, 13.178863, beside the bins and the village monument, then walked straight through the settlement to start the climb. The village section was short and ordinary, except for the usual chorus of dogs announcing my arrival from behind fences. One house had a line of old mugs perched along the fence, a small and slightly absurd detail that gave the start more character than most trailheads manage. Once past the last houses, the route settled into exactly the kind of terrain this hill promised: a winding forest road, steady but never serious climbing, and enough logging and fenced regrowth to keep the ascent from feeling like an untouched woodland walk. It was a compact outing from the start. I was not here for a long mountain day on one summit, just for a clean ascent that fit neatly into a larger sequence.

The climb reached a first convincing top at the lower south point, marked in my GPX as 693 m. On the ground, this is the place that tries hardest to pass as the summit. There is a cross, an antenna, a picnic table, and the kind of setup that would send a less stubborn peakbagger back downhill with false confidence. It is the obvious stopping point, and if I had been here only for a village walk with a viewpoint and a symbol, it would have done the job.

Velký Bítov, however, keeps its actual top a little farther on. From the cross I continued north through the trees toward the true high point at about 49.399784, 13.178474. That short continuation is the whole point of doing the hill properly. The summit area is broad, wooded, and not especially dramatic, with birch, pine, oak, and patches where the forest has been cut back or is growing again. It does not hand you a single unmistakable apex the moment you arrive. Instead, the top is something you confirm by paying attention.

At the true high point, the best marker was not a grand summit feature but a collapsed rock pile with an old rusty triangulation post set into it. That fit the hill perfectly. Velký Bítov is not a summit that sells itself through exposure or huge views. Its appeal is quieter than that. The satisfaction came from reaching the right spot, not just any spot that happened to look summit-like. My track’s highest recorded GPS point was 715.7 m a few metres away at 49.399787, 13.178527, which was close enough to confirm I was where I meant to be. There was also a summit register box nearby on a tree, though I passed by without signing it.

Because the summit itself is wooded, the better visual reward came on the route rather than at the very top. Openings in the forest and cut areas on the descent gave wider looks over the surrounding fields, villages, and low ridges of the region. There was nothing alpine about it, but the hill had enough local dominance to make the views feel earned. On a short peak like this, even one or two decent openings are enough to give the ascent a clear sense of place.

I descended by completing the loop on broader forest and logging roads east of the summit ridge. That side of the route was easy to follow and faster underfoot than the upper crest, and it turned the outing into a satisfying little circuit rather than a simple out-and-back. The full loop came to about 3.62 km and took 47 minutes car to car, with about 26 minutes up to the true high point and 21 minutes back down. For such a small objective, it delivered several things peakbaggers actually care about: a defined summit, a small but real prominence value, a practical village start, and just enough summit ambiguity to reward accuracy. More than anything, Velký Bítov worked well as peak 2 of 8. It was quick, clean, and distinct enough to remember on its own, which is more than can be said for plenty of higher hills.

Range: Europe / Eastern Europe Ranges / Bohemian Ranges / Böhmerwald Administrative regions: Czech Republic, Plzeň Region; Struhadlo, Bezděkov municipality List / category: Prague P100 (Peakbagger rank #283) Ascent / descent: approx. 150 m / 151 m from smoothed GPX; raw GPX gain/loss 266 m / 311 m Approx. timing: 13:15 start / 13:30 lower south point / 13:41 true high point / 14:02 finish Trailhead / parking: Struhadlo village center by the monument and bins – 49.389889, 13.178863 Summit coordinates: approx. 49.399784, 13.178474 Lower south point: approx. 49.394012, 13.176232 – 693 m Highest recorded GPS point: 715.7 m at 49.399787, 13.178527 Terrain: village lane, forest road, short summit path, leaf litter, logged clearings, and broad logging road on descent Sections: Struhadlo to lower south point about 0:15; lower south point to true high point about 0:11; descent loop to the village about 0:21 Difficulty: easy Useful to know: The cross and antenna mark the lower south point, not the true summit. Continue past them to the old triangulation remains farther north.