Main Beskid Trail

The Main Beskid Trail (Główny Szlak Beskidzki) is a red walking trail that begins in Ustroń in the Silesian Beskids and ends in Wołosate in the Bieszczady. It is about 496 kilometres long and is regarded as the longest trail in the Polish mountains. Ustroń is its official starting point, so it is the Silesian section that opens the whole route.

Where the trail came from

The western part, from Ustroń to Krynica, was designed by Kazimierz Sosnowski and completed in 1929. The eastern part, to an idea by Mieczysław Orłowicz, was completed in 1935. The whole was then called the Main Carpathian Trail, and its patron was Józef Piłsudski. After the Second World War the trail was shortened to the borders of Poland, and today's name dates from that time. It is maintained by the PTTK.

The Silesian Beskids: the first 57.8 kilometres

The first section leads through the Silesian Beskids. From Ustroń Zdrój the trail goes over Czantoria Wielka (758 m), Równica, Soszów Wielki, Cieślar and Stożek Mały, then climbs Stożek Wielki (978 m). It then leads to Barania Góra (1,220 m), passing Magurka Wiślańska and Magurka Radziechowska on the way, and descends to Węgierska Górka (413 m).

On this section the trail links with the mountain huts: the PTTK hut on Równica, the PTTK hut on Błatnia, the one on Soszów Wielki, the PTTK hut on Stożek and the PTTK Przysłop hut below Barania Góra. It is worth checking which of them are open on a given date.

The Żywiec Beskids

In Węgierska Górka the section of the Żywiec Beskids begins, which leads among other places through Hala Rysianka and Hala Miziowa on the slopes of Pilsko (1,557 m), and on to Babia Góra (1,725 m). The trail leaves the Silesian Voivodeship and passes into Lesser Poland before the Przełęcz Lipnicka pass.

Practical information

• Start: Ustroń Zdrój, red waymarking.
• The Silesian section is about 58 kilometres in the Silesian Beskids, and then it runs through the Żywiec Beskids.
• Check the mountain huts and their opening hours on the websites of the PTTK branches that run them.
• We do not give walking times: they differ depending on the season and fitness, and should be checked in a current guidebook.