Oplotnica - Veliki vrh (on Pohorje)

Access to starting point:
A) From highway Ljubljana - Maribor we go to the exit Slovenske Konjice, and then we follow the signs for Slovenske Konjice. From the roundabout after OMV gas station we turn to the first exit right towards Slovenska Bistrica, towards Slovenska Bistrica we drive to the turn-off of the road to the left towards Oplotnica and Osankarica. We turn towards Oplotnica and on the road we drive to the center of the settlement, where we park on one of the many parking lots in the settlement.
B) From highway Maribor - Ljubljana we go to the exit Slovenska Bistrica - south, and then we follow the signs for Slovenske Konjice. Soon after Slovenska Bistrica we turn right in the direction of Oplotnica, and then we drive to the center of Oplotnica, where we park on one of the many parking lots in the settlement.

Path description:
From the center of the settlement, we go on the path in the direction of Osankarica, lake Črno jezero and Tri Kralji and we at first walk on a sidewalk past Mercator store, primary school Pohorje battalion Oplotnica to pizzeria Salama, where we go left and then immediately right, so that we bypass the pizzeria on the right side.
The path ahead starts visibly ascending on a narrower asphalt road which leads us past occasional houses, and when we already get to the settlement Lačna Gora, a nice view opens up also towards Oplotnica and surrounding hills.
Higher, at the cross, signs for lake Črno jezero point us right, where we go also past the last house, behind which we continue the ascent on a macadam road, and from there we soon go left into the forest on a marked footpath. Through the forest, we ascend steeper, a little higher we cross a macadam road which we recently left and then we in a moderate ascent get to the church of St. Mohor and Fortunat.
At the church, we return to the road, and there we continue towards the north. The road quickly changes into a cart track which at first leads through the forest and then through a panoramic grassy part, where for some time it descend a little.
When in the village Kebelj we reach an asphalt road, we cross it diagonally towards the right, and then we go left in the direction of the lake Črno jezero, the nearby house we bypass on the right side. Next follows few minutes of panoramic ascent on a grassy slope, and when for few steps we ge to the end of the asphalt road, from the right joins also the path with the starting point at the cemetery in the village Kebelj.
We continue straight on a marked cart track which before the entrance into the forest turns right and continues by the edge of the forest, and from the mentioned cart track, the blazes point us to the left on a narrow cart track which continues through the forest. Through the forest, we follow the blazes, and when the path turns a little to the right, after a shorter crossing from the right joins also the other path from the settlement Kebelj.
Here we go left and we quickly get to the ruins of Kebelj castle or Castle Zajec.
We bypass the ruins on the left side and we follow the blazes to the nearby asphalt road, where we go straight upwards. Only a little further, the asphalt road on which we continue turns right, and to the left the path branches off towards Osankarica (path Kebeljska transverzala). We leave the asphalt road only a little further, where signs for lake Črno jezero point us to the left into the forest. Next follows a shorter ascent through the forest and then past a lot of litter we reach the nearby homestead (from the opposite direction there is also a warning for dangerous dog). At the homestead, the road becomes asphalted and we quickly return on a little wider asphalt road, on which we continue the ascent. After few minutes, the blazes point us to the left on a grassy cart track, on which we are ascending by the edge of the forest, and higher past the house we again step on the asphalt road which brings us to the next marked crossing.
We continue right in the direction of Sveti Trije kralji and lake Črno jezero (left - lake Črno jezero - path via Kos) and we continue on the road to a crossroad near the NOB monument.
From the crossroad, we go right towards the access path, and at the sign for dead-end street we go left on a marked footpath which continues through the forest. Next follows approximately 20 minutes of ascent through the forest, where we follow the blazes, and then we reach a road which we follow for few 10 strides to the right, where we get to Hotel Jakec, above which there is the church of Holy Three Kings.
From Church of Holy Three Kings we continue in the direction of the lake Črno jezero and the path Urškina pot, where we quickly get by the edge of the nearby ski track of the ski slope RTC Jakec - Trije kralji. The path ahead at first leads by the edge of the forest, only few meters away from the ski slope, and higher we cross the ski slope towards the right (while the ski slope operates, we cross the ski slope above the ski lift). On the other side of the ski track, the path goes a little to the right and leads us below the artificial lake.
A little after the lake we get to the connecting ski track, on which we continue the ascent (while the ski slope operates, we walk by the far left edge of the ski slope), and when few minutes higher we reach another ski track, where the marked path towards the lake Črno jezero crosses a ski slope, we still continue by the left edge, where there are also signs for path Urškina pot. Next follows few minutes of a steeper ascent and with increasingly beautiful views we get to benches on Veliki vrh, from where a nice view opens up on Pohorje and valley.
From here we can continue few more 10 meters into the forest, where there is the highest point of the peak.
Oplotnica - Sveti Mohor 0:45, Sveti Mohor - Castle Zajec 0:40, Castle Zajec - Sveti Trije Kralji 1:20, Sveti Trije Kralji - Veliki vrh 0:30.
Description and pictures refer to a condition in January and April 2022.

On the way: Lačna Gora (516m), Sveti Mohor (Lačna Gora) (602m), Kebelj castle (Castle Zajec) (813m), Nadgrad (851m), Sveti Trije kralji (1181m)