About this route
Route overview
Szczyrk is the "ski capital of the Silesian Beskids" — a 40 km² complex of ski slopes and hiking trails, one of the three largest ski centres in Poland (alongside Bialka Tatrzanska and Zakopane). SKRZYCZNE at 1257 m above sea level is the highest peak of the Silesian Beskids — a 360-degree panorama over the Tatras, the Zywiec Beskids, Pilsko and north over Silesia and Lesser Poland. The summit is reached by the Szczyrk-Skrzyczne cable car opened in 1957 (one of the oldest in Poland, modernised in 2017), 4 km long, a 25 min ride. SZCZYRK MOUNTAIN RESORT is a modern ski complex after the 2017-2019 modernisation — 40 km of trails of all difficulties, 5 new-generation chairlifts, a snowpark and floodlighting. THE SANCTUARY OF THE MOTHER OF GOD QUEEN OF POLAND ON GORKA — a hilltop church above Szczyrk, a Marian place of worship since the 19th century, with a Stations of the Cross set among Beskid landscapes. Beskid Sport Arena is a sports centre with an Olympic trampoline, a ski academy and a sports hall. Winter season December-March (skiing), summer May-October (hiking, mountain biking). 60 km via the S1 expressway to Bielsko-Biala, then DK69 to Szczyrk, 1 h 15 min - 1 h 30 min off-peak. The service runs 24/7. A standard winter plan: 8:00 hotel pickup in Katowice, 9:30 Szczyrk Mountain Resort (skiing all day), 17:00 return to Katowice. Summer plan: 9:00 pickup, 11:00 Szczyrk-Skrzyczne cable car (1 h), 12:30 panorama from 1257 m (2 h hike), 14:30 lunch at the PTTK refuge on Skrzyczne, 16:00 Sanctuary on Gorka, 17:30 return. From EUR 380 in a Mercedes E-Class for 1-3 passengers, EUR 480 in a V-Class for 4-6.