Děčínský Sněžník (723 m a.s.l.) is a striking sandstone table mountain and the highest peak of the Bohemian Switzerland protected landscape area. It combines a historic lookout tower, sweeping panoramas stretching as far as Dresden, and a wonderfully atmospheric forested plateau that rewards visitors in every season.
The summit plateau stretches roughly 1600 by 600 metres and is rimmed by dramatic sandstone cliffs dozens of metres tall. The forests are mostly spruce, with pine, larch and beech, while birch and rowan trees give the very top a lighter, more open feel. From the plateau's edges you can take in views of the Lusatian Mountains and Bohemian-Saxon Switzerland, and on a clear day the skyline of Dresden appears to the northwest. In winter the snow-covered plateau feels wonderfully remote; in summer the deep forest shade keeps things cool even on hot days.
How to reach the summitThe 33-metre stone tower dates from 1864 and was originally built as a first-order trigonometric tower — making it one of the oldest lookout towers in the Czech Republic. In 1936 it made history again when the first television signal from the Berlin Olympic Games was received here, the first time this had ever happened on Czechoslovak soil.