Amselfall -- a waterfall near Rathen

Uttewalder Grund -- a forest valley at  50° 58' 19" N 14° 1' 59" E

Schwedenlöcher bei Rathen -- a rock formation at 50° 58' 12" N 14° 4' 22" E

Hockstein -- a scenic view at 50° 58' 48" N 14° 6' 3" E

Brand -- a lookout with an excellent view of nearby Hohenstein Castle

Waitzdorfer Höhe -- a rock formation at 50° 57' 37" N 14° 8' 36" E

Lilienstein -- table mountain 415 m high at  50° 55' 52" N 14° 5' 5" E that was the location of a Bohemian castle

Schrammsteine -- a large sandstone formation east of Bad Schandau.

Affensteine -- a formation with Carolafelsen ( 50° 54' 47" N 14° 14' 4" E) as its highest point.

Schmilka (Germany) and Hřensko (Czech Republic) -- two village border crossings 1.5 to 2 hours from Affensteine.

Obere Affensteinpromenade (also known as Affensteinweg) -- a scenic trail that is somewhat strenuous and requires up to five hours of walking.

Kuhstall (Neuer Wildenstein) -- a large sandstone tunnel.  To reach the formation, a hike of approximately two hours, begin at the last stop of the Kirnitzschtalbahn.  See the map in German at http://www.meyer-strassenbahn.de/kbahn/Seiten/kbahn-lichtenhainer-wasser.htm.

Obere Schleuse -- boat rides that are approximately 20 minutes long.

Großer Winterberg -- second highest peak in the park at 556 meters.  The highest peak is Großer Zschirnstein at 562 meters.

Kleine Zschand -- dry valley located at  50° 54' 51" N 14° 16' 2" E

Großer Zschand -- a long, six-kilometer dry valley that runs from the Kirnitzsch Valley to the Czech border (there is no border crossing at that point).

Königsplatz -- affords an exciting view of the park that is an eight-kilometer hike from Hinterhermsdorf.

Kirnitzschklamm -- a ravine not far from Hinterhermsdorf.

Kleine Bastei -- an overlook near Schmilka with a fantastic view of the Elbe.

Czech-Switzerland National Park

The Czech-Switzerland (České Švýcarsko) National Park is approximately 79 square kilometers (about 30.6 square miles) and is somewhat smaller than its German neighbor.  Nevertheless, it also has a number of attractive hills, valleys, peaks, outcroppings, and structures.  The towns surrounding the park are Hřensko in the west, Kamenická Stráň, Vysoká Lípa, Jetřichovice, and Dolní Chřibská in the south, and Doubice and Kyjov in the west.  The highest peak in the park is  Růžovský vrch (619 meters) and is located in an appendage of the park south of Kamenická Stráň.  The S1 train travels from Germany along the Elbe to Schöna.  From there, the tourist would take a ferry across the Elbe to Hřensko to enter the western portion of the park, which is the most frequented area.

For more information, see http://www.ceskesvycarsko.cz/.  An excellent interactive map is available at http://mapy.cz/#x=14.450889&y=50.887336&z=10&c=f-t&t=s&d=area_23_1&l=16&q=%25C4%258Cesk%25C3%25A9%2520%25C5%25A0v%25C3%25BDcarsko&qp=14.346128_50.845457_14.355279_50.850346_15.

The greatest natural attraction in the park is the Pravčická brána (German: Prebischtor; English: Pravčická Gate), the natural bridge--one of the largest in Europe--that is in the western part of the park about an hour walk from Hřensko.  It has a span of 26.5 meters and is 16 meters high.  In the vicinity of the Pravčická brána are other sights: a museum, restaurant, forest trails, and rock formations.  Nearby also is Jeskyně Českých bratří (Cave of the Czech Brethren), which is not a cave but a rock overhang where some of the Protestant Czech Brethren found shelter during their trek into exile after the 1620 Battle of White Mountain.

Boat rides are available on the Kamenice River.  From Hřensko, follow the trail next to the Kamenice to the point known as Divoká soutěska (Wild Confluence), which is south of the town of Mezná.  Along the way, hikers not only will enjoy the sights and sounds of the river but the beauty of the forest and the sandstone rocks.

Not far from Kamenická Stráň, at the southern edge of the park, near the confluence of the Kamenice River and the Jetřichovické Bělé River, amidst the rocky cliffs in the valley, are the ruins of the saw mill known as Dolský mlyň (Dolský Mill).  The mill dates from the early sixteenth century and was in use until 1945, when the Germans were transferred from the Sudetenland.  Since that time, the mill has been in decay, and all that is left are its Baroque walls.  According to legend, the miller’s son went into the world and returned quite wealthy.  He knew that at night his parents would not recognize him, especially with his full beard, so he posed as a traveler and paid them handsomely for a night’s lodging.  While he slept, the miller and his wife killed the traveler, stole his gold, and buried his body in the forest.  In the morning, someone from the village who had met the boy earlier the day before asked if the miller and his wife were happy that their son had returned.  Realizing what they had done, both committed suicide.  It is said that the miller’s son still roams the environs of the mill at night.  A hasty departure from the mill may be forthcoming, but walk further upstream along the Kamenice River to the Královský smrk (Royal Spruce), a memorial or protected tree (památný strom) which is 181 years old (as of 2013), 27 meters high, and 290 centimeters (more than 9.5 feet) in circumference.  Just a few yards further upstream are a series of rocky cliffs known as Ferdinandovy věže, that is, Ferdinand’s Towers, that are numbered one through four.

Malá Pravčická brána (Small Pravčická brána) is another natural arch that is approximately 2.3 meters high and 3.3 meters wide.  It is located on the E3 European Trail northeast of Mezní louka and north of Vysoká lípa.  Nearby are the ruins of Šaunštejn, a rock fortress that had its beginnings in the late fourteenth century.