Ruta - Lobnikov vrh (circular path)

Access to starting point:
A) With a car we drive from Maribor in the direction towards Dravograd. Approximately 20 km from Maribor we cross river Drava and we go in the direction of Lovrenc na Pohorju. After two hundred meters, we turn left, through a rocky bridge, over the stream Radoljna. We continue on the asphalt road through the settlement to the railway station Ruta, where we park.
B) First, we drive to Dravograd, and then we continue driving towards Maribor. Few kilometers after the settlement Ožbalt we leave the main road and we continue right in the direction of Lovrenc na Pohorju. Immediately behind the bridge over the river Drava we turn left and then we park near the railway station Ruta.
C) To the starting point, we can also come with a train from Maribor or Dravograd.

Path description:
A pleasant circular walking path above the river Drava, which on the old hunting footpaths leads over Štiblerjev vrh on Lobnikov vrh. The most beautiful it is in the early spring and late autumn, when the views open on the valley Dravska dolina.
The beginning of the path is at the railway station Ruta, where approximately two hundred meters in the direction of Fala we follow the railway track. At the ruins (quarry) we start ascending on an old hunting footpath right uphill. A gently sloping path, at an altitude of approximately 400 meters, crosses the western slopes below Štiblerjev vrh. After approximately half an hour of walking, we get to thirty meters high granite wall. We continue a little downwards, just by the a wall, and then the path is again slightly ascending all the way to the ridge Predla. Our footpath soon joins a little wider path, which comes from Fala. We turn right on that path. Now we more or less follow the ridge, which higher flattens a little. The path then by Štiblerjev vrh (648 meters, GPS N46 34 237' E015 26.882' a cairn on the top), brings us to a smaller saddle (a view towards Ruše) right before Lobnikov vrh. At the crossing of cart tracks we follow the right narrower path. After few meters, we turn left and we reach the highest point of our path. On the vegetated peak there is only a salt lick for wild animals.
Descent:
From Lobnikov vrh we continue on the path in southwest direction. The path in a gentle descent follows the ridge. In few minutes we reach a smaller saddle, from which we continue straight into a dense spruce forest. Soon from the left, the cart track cuts our path, which over the ridge leads on the other side of the slope. We descend left on the mentioned cart track. We soon step out of the forest on the south grassy slopes of Lobnikov vrh. We cross the meadows below the power lines where we stick to the cart track a little to the right. The path over southwestern forest slopes brings us back into the valley of river Radoljna and we are soon at the starting point.

On the way: Štiblerjev vrh (648m)