Borderless Trails in the Bohemian Forest: Work is now underway on the German side!

The sun is still low over the wooded hills of Saxon-Bohemian Switzerland as Kurt Ender lifts his mountain bike out of the car. We meet at the SoliVital Sports and Leisure Centre at the entrance to Sebnitz – the spot where one of the main access points to the Borderless Trails will be located in future. “It’s going to be perfect today,” says Kurt with a grin. His wife Vendula nods. We met a few weeks ago. That was at the official partial opening of the new trail park, attended by Saxony’s Minister Barbara Klepsch, mayors from Neustadt, Dolní Poustevna, Sebnitz and the Sachsenforst, as well as project planners. An important day for the region – which literally fell through. Constant rain had softened the newly built trails. On this very day, of all days, when mountain biking was supposed to take centre stage, the new trails were barely rideable.

Germany’s first cross-border trail park

Today we’re making up for lost time and setting off from the car park along the newly created border trail towards the Czech Republic. The climb takes us up to the Gerstenberg, where the first trails – which have already been opened – begin. On the way, I learn that Kurt and Vendula got married just a few weeks ago. Together, they’ve bought a house in Saxon Switzerland. A couple who live across the border every day. He’s from Sebnitz. She’s from Liberec in the Czech Republic. The two met through sport. Vendula studied physical chemistry and enjoys spending her free time on enduro tours. Kurt works as an electrical engineer, is involved with the Sebnitz Cycling Club and has known the woods around his home town since childhood. I could hardly have found better companions for this feature. A German-Czech couple on their way through Germany’s first cross-border trail park – there’s hardly a more fitting way to illustrate the idea behind the Borderless Trails.

Today, the border area looks very different from how it did just a few weeks ago at the opening. Sunbeams filter through the tall beech and spruce trees. The ground is dusty and the air smells of resin as we climb the 160 metres in altitude to the 532-metre-high Gerstenberg. At the top, the entry points to the first completed trails await us. We set off on the ‘Czech Yourself’ first – a blue trail that winds its way down the slope in wide sweeping bends. After just the first few bends, it becomes clear what philosophy lies behind this network of trails: wide banked turns, gentle undulations and a fluid rhythm define the riding experience. Technically, the trail has been deliberately kept simple, but that is precisely what makes it so appealing. Every pump builds speed; every bend flows almost seamlessly into the next. At times the line takes you through dense spruce forest, at others beneath old beech trees, then across small clearings where sunlight reaches the forest floor. The trail flows, leaving you eager for the next descent.

If you wanted to be part of it, you had to know someone

Once he’s reached the bottom, Kurt gets off his bike. “They’re doing a pretty neat job of it,” he says, looking back up the slope. “I’ve been popping by every now and then over the last few months to see how far they’ve got.” He’s known these slopes for a long time, long before the diggers arrived. Back then, there were only narrow, unofficial paths winding through the trees. “I wonder how they came about?” he asks with a wink. Ten years ago, the local scene knew exactly where these hidden trails were. Word of new routes was passed on by word of mouth before specialist apps took over. From rider to rider. If you wanted to be part of it, you had to know someone. Today, there are signposts, difficulty ratings and overview maps at the trailheads. What once developed in secret is, step by step, becoming an official mountain-biking destination.

On the trails, we’re already coming across the first early-bird mountain bikers. The typical conversation among bikers starts straight away: Where are you from? How’s the trail? “Once everything’s finished, we’ll be coming here much more often,” says one of them. Another laughs. “From where we’re coming from, we’re almost quicker getting here than to Trutnov,” he says, referring to a bike park whose creators are also building the trails on the Czech side here. Comments like these are likely to please the project managers more than any ceremonial speech. Because although only a few kilometres have been opened so far and, particularly on the German side, the diggers are still hard at work amongst the trees, the idea already seems to be paying off.

Yet ten years ago, hardly anyone would have believed that Germany’s first cross-border trail park would one day be created between Sebnitz and Dolní Poustevna. It has been that long since members of the Sebnitz Cycling Club first dreamt of an official trail network here. They had been organising mountain bike races for years, and illegal trails had long been in existence. What was missing was a legal framework. The decisive stroke of luck: the then mayor of Sebnitz, Mike Ruck, was himself a member of the cycling club. He knew the scene, was aware of their wishes – and recognised the tourism potential of a mountain biking offering for the region.

In 2016, the town commissioned a comprehensive feasibility study in collaboration with Neustadt. The study was actually intended to clarify how the region could develop further as a centre for competitive sport. Amidst handball halls, running events and sports facilities, a topic suddenly emerged that had previously only been discussed over a drink at the local pub: mountain bike trails. The experts saw the landscape around Sebnitz as offering ideal conditions, but at the same time pointed out that there needed to be a legally authorised network of singletrack trails.

160 kilometres – the vision for 2017 was much grander

Ronald Kretzschmar, who was already closely involved in the development at the time and later succeeded Mike Ruck as Lord Mayor, still remembers the first site inspections well. Together with the district forester, Sachsenforst and the planners, they ventured out into the forest for the first time in 2017. Maps were unrolled, contour lines discussed and possible routes walked out. The vision was significantly larger than what is being created today. At times, there was talk of a trail network stretching more than 160 kilometres between Sebnitz, Neustadt and the Czech side.

That was exactly where the real challenge began. The nearby Saxon Switzerland National Park. Nature conservation. FFH sites. Natura 2000. Forestry law. Heritage protection. Species conservation. Catchment areas, etc. For the species monitoring alone, the flora and fauna were mapped over a period of more than a year. Added to this were licence agreements, approvals from the lower and upper forestry authorities, and countless consultations with Sachsenforst. Whilst many decisions on the Czech side were taken in a comparatively pragmatic manner, the German side turned into a marathon of bureaucratic procedures.

Time and again, plans had to be adjusted, expert reports supplemented or routes altered. Whilst the first trails were already being ridden on the Czech side, on the German side the State Forestry Commission’s signature was still required before construction could begin. This remained the case until just a few weeks before the partial opening in May. The fact that many mountain bikers were largely unaware of all this did attract some criticism in the region. Even within the Sebnitz Cycling Club, hardly anyone knew for a long time how far the planning had actually progressed. Although intensive work was taking place behind closed doors, very little information filtered out to the public.

The total value of the property is 3.5 million euros

Mayor Kretzschmar is familiar with this criticism. “For years, the real work was done at a desk,” he says. “Contracts, funding applications and permits aren’t exactly visible. But without them, there wouldn’t be a single trail today.” The decisive breakthrough finally came through the European Interreg programme between Saxony and the Czech Republic. The total project is worth around 3.55 million euros, of which approximately 2.85 million euros comes from the European Union’s ERDF funds. Without this funding, says Kretzschmar, a project of this scale would simply not have been financially viable for the participating local authorities.

Alexander Arpaci of BikePlan GmbH was commissioned to carry out the detailed planning, whilst the contract for the actual trail construction on the German side was awarded to the Bavarian company DirtWays GmbH – a firm that has already built numerous bike parks and pump tracks. The contract value for the German trail construction stands at around 820,000 euros. Meanwhile, construction on the Czech side had already begun in 2025, whilst in Germany contracts with Sachsenforst and further permits were still pending.

However, this gap is set to be closed by autumn at the latest. By then, both sections are set to function as a single, connected network of trails for the first time – exactly as the planners had sketched out in their initial designs almost ten years ago. The partial opening in May, featuring three of the 15 planned trails, was simply intended to show that progress is being made.

Two countries, two mindsets – one network of trails

After the third descent, we join the other cyclists on the terrace of the Trailpark Hut and order a non-alcoholic Bohemian beer. “In the Czech Republic, it’s just part of the experience,” says Vendula, letting her gaze wander over the other tables. “You go for a cycle, then sit down with friends, have a beer and stay for a while. That’s part of the culture.” Kurt nods. It’s precisely this attitude to life that could do the project a world of good. “The sport’s already working. Now we need the whole experience.”

In fact, the Czech side already seems remarkably appealing today. The trails are complete, the network of paths is up and running, and the restaurants exude Bohemian charm. On the German side, by contrast, a construction site atmosphere still prevails around the SoliVital. However, anyone cycling up the blue hiking trail will notice that things are happening here too: a new uphill trail is taking shape, with the first sections already visible. Piles of material lie ready in some places. By spring 2027, a total of around 31 kilometres of trail network comprising fifteen routes is due to be completed.

Of course, Sebnitz is well aware of the appeal of the other side, which is why the aim here is to score points with infrastructure in future. For example, by developing the SoliVital sports centre into a central ‘welcome hub’ with caravan pitches and basic camping facilities. Not just for mountain bikers, but for gravel bikers too. After all, the 320-kilometre-long “RockHead” – one of Saxony’s newest gravel routes – runs through the region. “I’d love to see even more happening,” says Vendula. “Perhaps a skills area for children, more technical training or camps. The area has so much potential.”

As if on cue, Ingo Loth, a former professional mountain biker and coach from Sebnitz, comes rolling across the border with a group of children. Training. Testing. Having fun. They know each other, exchange greetings and feel a sense of connection. On a section of the black ‘Rockstar’ trail that’s already finished, we bump into Czech riders again. The conversations are much the same. “The trails are great fun,” says one. “But now the Germans need to get a move on.” A remark meant in jest – and yet one that strikes a true chord. After all, the bigger picture only emerges once the pieces of the jigsaw on both sides of the border slot together.