Fram - Mariborska koča (via Hotel Zarja)

Access to starting point:
We leave Štajerska highway at exit Fram and follow the signs for Fram. When we reach the main road Slovenska Bistrica - Maribor, at the traffic light crossroad we continue straight and we drive to the center of Fram. We continue through the settlement, and when we get to the parking lot below the parish church of St. Ana, we park on a parking lot in the center of the settlement.

Path description:
From the starting point, we go on the road which on the left side bypasses the church of St. Ana and by which there are signs for Ruška koča na Arehu (right - Mariborska koča). When a little ahead the road turns right, we continue straight on a side road, where we go past the cemetery. On the upper part of the cemetery the path splits, and we can continue on a marked path, which goes at first by the cemetery, and then turns right and joins the cart track, where we join the path which at the cemetery turns right on a cart track and goes in the direction of water source Zlati studenec.
From the juncture of both paths we continue for approximately a minute and we get to the source Zlati studenec, where there is an information board.
We continue on a marked path, which brings us out of the forest and few steps further to an asphalt road which we follow right upwards, and the nearby chapel we bypass on the left side. With nice views we continue past few more houses, and then signs for Areh point us to the right, and a little ahead we go left, again towards Areh. The road a little ahead changes into a cart track which ascends diagonally through the forest, and higher we reach a smaller crossroad of asphalt roads. We continue on a side marked road which at first slightly ascends, and then starts descending. The road soon stops descending, and after the cross we go from the road slightly left on a marked cart track which leads us by nearby farm. After the farm at first a nice view opens up towards Boč, and then the path goes into the forest, and is for few minutes ascending diagonally, we then cross a meadow, and at the hunting observatory we return into the forest. For a short time, we walk through the forest and then we reach a larger grassy area, where the path turns left. After the grassy part we return on the road, where the path leads us past two tourist farms, and after them we go right on a marked path (straight - Sveti Križ), which crosses a lane of a forest and then it returns on the road. We follow the road to the right, and at the nearby crossroad, we go on the left road. We few minutes continue on the road, and when the road makes a longer right turn we go from the road left on a marked path, which ascends by the power line. Higher, we reach a narrower asphalt road, where we go right, and at the crossroad with the priority road we go left. The path ahead leads us past a smaller hamlet, and then the road returns into the forest, where soon blazes point us to the right on a footpath towards Areh. Through the forest at numerous crossings we follow the blazes, and the path at first leads past a cross, higher also past NOB monument, near of which there is another cross.
Here we also get to an asphalt road which we quickly leave and we continue right into the forest, where at the crossings we follow the blazes, and higher we reach the main asphalt road and we follow it to the left.
On the main road we walk to a crossroad, where a road towards Hotel Zarja branches off to the right.
We continue right on a marked road in the direction of Hotel Zarja (slightly left on a footpath - Areh) and in few minutes of a diagonal ascent we get to the mentioned hotel.
We bypass the hotel on the bottom side, and on the eastern side of the hotel, we go on the path towards Mariborska koča. We continue on a cart track which leads through the forest, and we are ascending diagonally there on the southeastern slopes of the peak Sedovec (1231 meters). Higher, we reach a marked path, which connects Mariborska koča and Ruška koča na Arehu, and we follow a bad road to the right. The road further starts gradually descending and after few minutes we get to a marked crossing, where we go right downwards and we continue on a wider macadam road (left - Pečke, straight - lookout tower. Few minutes we are descending on the mentioned road, and at the crossroads, we continue straight, and when the road becomes asphalted we go from the road right downwards on a marked path, on which we quickly descend to Mariborska koča.
Fram - Zlati studenec 0:10, Zlati studenec - Hotel Zarja 3:20, Hotel Zarja - Mariborska koča 0:45.
Description and pictures refer to a condition in March 2022.

On the way: Water source Zlati studenec (375m), Planinski dom Zarja (Hotel Zarja) (1113m)