Hiking trips
The Silesian Beskid is one of the best-developed tourist areas in Poland. A network of numerous sign-posted mountain tracks, good public transport connections, numerous mountain hostels and resting spots, as well as all-year-round chair lifts - all these make the peaks in our region accessible not only to experienced walkers, but also to less fit or elderly people, or families with small children. Still, our mountains extend on an area wide enough for the amateurs of peace and quiet to hike the mountain tracks without meeting other tourists, far from civilisation.
Ustroń marks the beginning of The Main Route of the Beskids (Główny Szlak Beskidzki) – a red track of 500 km running to as far as Wołosate in the Bieszczady Mountains. It begins at the Ustroń railway station, leads over Równica (but skips the peak) to Wielka Czantoria, then through the Kubalonka Pass, to the top of Barania Góra, and further on – deep into the Żywiec Beskids. The part of the route described above offers wonderful vantage points on the following mountain tops: Czantoria (a lookout tower), Soszów, Cieślar, Stożek, Kiczory and Barania Góra (a lookout tower).
You don’t have to go as far as the Bieszczady Mountains in order to have a four-person chair lift ride from Ustroń Polana to Czantoria Wielka, and then hike to Stożek through the Beskidek Pass, Soszów Mały and Soszów Wielki – it is a very popular scenic route that is not too demanding. Other routes popular among tourists are those running from the centre of Ustroń to Równica, and then further on to Trzy Kopce Wiślańskie through Orłowa, or the yellow route from Ustroń Polana to Wisła – Obłaziec. Another interesting route worth taking which originates in Ustroń is the Knights’ Path (Ścieżka Rycerska), 20 km long; the name of the path refers to the legend of the knights who sleep in a golden chamber within Czantoria. The path begins at the chair lift station at the foot of Czantoria, at the top of Czantoria it forks, with one path making a circle in Nýdek in the Czech Republic and the other leading through Bieńkula and Poniwiec to the “Pod Czantorią” Inn, which serves knightly dishes.
A route worth taking due to its environmental value is the blue route from the Wisła district of Czarne Fojtula to Barania Góra and on to Zwardoń and Rycerka, through Karolówka, Gańczorka and Tyniok; in part, the route goes along the „Barania Góra” didactic nature trail. Another interesting trail is the yellow route from the railway station in Wisła Uzdrowisko to the Salmopol Pass through Trzy Kopce Wislańskie. There are also a number of relatively short trails around Wisła, running from the valley to the neighbouring mountain tops, such as the blue route from Wisła Uzdrowisko to Soszów, the blue route from Wisła Głębce to Stożek Wielki, or the yellow route from Wisła Nowa Osada to Gawlasi Groń.
The area around Szczyrk also abounds in interesting mountain trails. The red route links the summit of Malinowska Skała with the Salmopol Pass and the Karkoszczonka Pass and leads on to Szyndzielnia through Klimczok. The green and blue routes, in turn, run from the centre of Szczyrk to the highest summit of the Polish Silesian Beskid – Skrzyczne. It is also possible to get to Brenna from the Karkoszczonka Pass by taking the yellow route. The routes of Brenna, despite this area being rather out of the Beskid 5 main network of tourist tracks, give visitors a chance to hike around a picturesque loop: they can set off from the centre of Brenna, hike along the black route to Grabowa, then take the red route from Grabowa to Kotarz, and then follow the blue route back to Brenna.
