Sazava River. 1-7 days. Class I+ to II. Czech Republic.

Sazava River, Czech Republic

This was a 3-day trip in the Czech Republic just south of Prague along the Sazava River from Ledecko to Pikovice.  64km.  This is a popular river but does not have the carnival atmosphere of the Vltava River.

Full blog with pictures:  https://northernwaters.shutterfly.com/sazava

Logistics

Getting there  We drove to Ledecko, but you can get a train there easily from Prague.  Go here: http://www.cd.cz, click for English in the top right, and then do a search.  The 'c' in Ledecko has a hook over it.

Camping  There are many boater campgrounds along this section of river.  When you rent your boats, you'll get a map that will show them.  All the signs on the water are in Czech.  The word for canoe camp is 'vodace taboriste' but usually the sign has a little tepi symbol.

Length and route We took 3 days to do the 63km lower section.  The full length is 128km and you could easily spend a week if you started at the top and did some sightseeing along the way.  Map

Food There are continual signs for beer (pivo!) and food along the route.  They are all in Czech but are unmistakable.  There are towns where you can get food at restaurants or markets.  The towns are small so the stores won't be open late or on Sunday.

Dogs Allowed.

Canoes and gear This company rents canoes and waterproof barrels: http://www.pujcovna-lodi.cz/  The website is only in Czech alas.  But with Google Translate you should be able to figure out what you need.   No doubt they can answer emails in English.  They will meet you at the take out and pick up the canoes for you.  I did not see any place to store stuff at the put-in, at least at our put-in which was a tiny village.  So, you'll have to inquiry with the company if you need to leave backpacks or something.  Might be best to plan to take all your stuff with you or store it in Prague (or whereever) during your trip.

Difficulty It wasn't harder than class II- when we did it.  The water was shallow and we mostly scraped our way down stuff.  However the river from Tynec to Pikovice (our day 3) is a white water destination and would be solid class II at higher water.   The Ledecko to Tynec section though is flatwater interspersed with weirs that can be portaged.  If you need to portage add time to your trip as there are 6-10 weirs a day.  The rapids below Tynec are continuous and cannot be portaged.  However at the water level we did it (low), it wasn't hard and the boats were rented were very stable.

Getting back  It's less than an hour by train from Pikovice back to Prague and about $5 a person (in 2013).

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