Skiing

Skiing in Silesia means about thirty slopes, trails and ski jumps: from big resorts in Szczyrk to small family lifts on the Jura.

Winter resorts gather in the Silesian, Żywiec and Little Beskids, thickest in Wisła and Szczyrk. Small slopes also exist in the cities of the conurbation and on the Jura, so beginners and families with children are never far from one. In summer some of the lifts carry cyclists and walkers.

Where to go skiing in Silesia?

The most lifts and runs are found in three places: Wisła, Szczyrk and Istebna. Each has its own list: skiing in Wisła, skiing in Szczyrk and skiing in Istebna. Smaller slopes work in Ustroń, Korbielów, Zwardoń and Rajcza, and surprises include a slope in Sosnowiec and a centre in Bytom.

What ski resorts are there in Wisła?

Wisła has eight places and is the biggest concentration of resorts in the region. At Nowa Osada a four-person chair runs beside two platter lifts and six pistes, and a bike park opens in the warm months. Soszów lies roughly 4 km west of the centre, on the slope of Soszów Wielki, with a chairlift and six pistes. About 5 km south-west of the centre, on the eastern side of Stożek Wielki, spreads the Stożek resort: a chair, two drag lifts and five pistes with lighting for the evening.

In the Jawornik district stands the Stok station with a four-person chair and four pistes. In Malinka two resorts are neighbours. Cieńków offers eight pistes totalling 6.87 km, served by a four-person lift, and Klepki is a small resort on the southern flank of Czupel, with a chair and a pair of platter lifts. In the very centre of town Skolnity Ski & Bike Park operates all year, where beside the slope and the lift there is a bike park and a viewing tower 38 m high.

Fans of cross-country skiing head for the Kubalonka pass. It has four tracks (2.5, 3, 5 and 7.5 km), one lit loop and a biathlon range.

What is there in Szczyrk: slopes, lifts and ski jumps?

Szczyrk has five places of differing character. On the northern slopes of Mały Skrzyczne lies Czyrna-Solisko: a gondola, chairlifts and some 25 km of pistes, and in the summer season the resort also caters to cyclists. The COS OPO resort sits by the northern side of Skrzyczne and offers 12.5 km of downhill skiing, chairlifts and cross-country tracks. In Biła works Beskid Sport Arena, with a six-person chair, two platter lifts and four pistes.

For the first steps on skis pick Biały Krzyż, a small slope with two drag lifts, which is groomed, lit and given artificial snow. The Skalite complex has a quite different function: the K95, K70 and K40 jumps operate throughout the year, and the stands hold 1,472 people. It is a place for watching jumps and training, not for downhill runs.

Where to ski in Istebna, Ustroń, Korbielów and Zwardoń?

Istebna has two resorts. Zagroń spreads over the northern slope above the Olza river and has a chair and five pistes. The other is Złoty Groń on the north-eastern side of the hill: a six-person lift from 2012 and lit pistes, 3.67 km in total, the longest reaching 1,500 m; more is on the page of the Złoty Groń Ski Resort.

Ustroń means Czantoria, with five downhill pistes, a chair, lifts, tracks for cross-country skiers and a summer toboggan run. Next to it lies Poniwiec Mała Czantoria, a small resort with a four-person chair, one evening piste and a nursery slope. In Korbielów, on the north-eastern slopes of Pilsko, Pilsko operates; it is regarded as the highest-lying resort in Poland outside the Tatras. Nearby sits the modest Baba lift: a two-person chair and one easy piste on which you can ski after dark. In Zwardoń Zwardoń Ski uses the western slope of Mały Rachowiec; there is a chair for four and a piste with snowmaking.

What slopes are there in Bielsko-Biała and the Little Beskids?

Bielsko-Biała has the municipal Dębowiec resort in Kamienica, with a detachable chair for four, a snowpark and a ropes course. The LKS Klimczok club opened two plastic-matting jumps, HS-31 and HS-19, in Bystra in 2010; together they make a separate complex. In the Little Beskids, in Międzybrodzie Żywieckie, on the southern slope of Żar mountain lies the ski resort on Żar with a cable-hauled mountain railway and three pistes.

Where to ski outside the mountains: the Jura and the cities?

On the Jura small family slopes work in winter. Smoleń Ski offers two pistes, lit and with snowmaking, as well as a school, a rental shop and guest rooms. Cisowa is two evening pistes, lifts and a ski school. Below the summit of Jastrzębica (758 m) lies Jastrzębica SKI: a black piste approved by the FIS and two red ones, about 3 km in all. In Cisiec the Za Groniem slope has a drag lift, a school and two lit pistes, and in Rajcza Ski Park Rajcza relies on a single lift, 310 m, on Cząpel hill.

The conurbation has two places to ski. The Środula slope in the Sosnowiec park is an artificial hill with three pistes, drag lifts and lights, and in Sucha Góra in Bytom Sport Dolina has been working since 1 December 2002: a lift, a rental shop and a school.

How to choose a slope for yourself and your family?

For beginners and children the small slopes will do: Biały Krzyż, Poniwiec, the Baba lift, Ski Park Rajcza and Smoleń Ski, where pistes are short and ski schools close by. Whoever wants longer descents and faster lifts goes to Szczyrk, Wisła or Istebna. Cross-country means Kubalonka and Czantoria, while jumping is watched at Skalite and on the LKS Klimczok hills. Many of the resorts deserve a visit in summer too, since they have bike parks, toboggan runs and a viewing tower.

Frequently asked questions

Where are the most ski slopes in Silesia?

Most are in Wisła, which has eight places, followed by Szczyrk with five and Istebna with two resorts.

Where to ski with children?

Choose small slopes with easy pistes: Biały Krzyż in Szczyrk, Poniwiec in Ustroń with its nursery slope, the Baba lift in Korbielów and Ski Park Rajcza.

Where to go cross-country skiing?

Kubalonka has four tracks: 2.5, 3, 5 and 7.5 km. Cross-country tracks are also found at COS OPO in Szczyrk and at Czantoria in Ustroń.

Are there ski slopes in the cities?

Yes. Sosnowiec has an artificial slope in Środula park, and Bytom has the Sport Dolina centre with a lift and a school.

Which resort lies highest?

Pilsko in Korbielów is regarded as the highest-lying in Poland outside the Tatras.