The southern and eastern part of Lesser Poland has its own slopes, less well known than the Tatra ones, but often closer to spa towns, castles and tserkvas (wooden Eastern-rite churches). The Sącz Beskids, the Little Pieniny, Gorce and the Low Beskids have resorts of very different scale, from small centres in the middle of a town to one of the largest complexes in this part of the mountains. The numbers of runs, opening hours and conditions change, so check them on the resort's website before you travel.

Krynica-Zdrój: three slopes around the spa

Krynica has several resorts, and two of them lie in the town itself or right next to it. The Jaworzyna Krynicka Ski Resort occupies the eastern slopes of Jaworzyna Krynicka (1,114 m above sea level). According to Wikipedia the resort was opened in 1997, and it is dominated by a gondola lift from the Czarny Potok valley, whose length reaches about 2.2 km. Two runs have, as the same Wikipedia states, FIS homologation for Alpine events. At the summit stands a PTTK mountain hut, and the resort's website also lists a viewing platform, cycling routes and hiking trails.

Lower down, in the Słotwiny district, lies the Słotwiny Ski Complex, popularly called “U Ryby” after the owner's nickname. Wikipedia notes that according to the operator's information it is the oldest ski resort in Krynica-Zdrój. At first only drag lifts operated here, and the chairlift started in the 2008/2009 season. The runs are easy, and two of them, according to Wikipedia, have FIS homologation for slalom and giant slalom. Right next door there is a separate resort, Słotwiny Arena, which has its own website and its own offer.

The third Krynica slope, Henryk-Ski, lies in the very centre of the spa, on the eastern slope of Krzyżowa, above ulica Dąbrowskiego. It is a small, private resort with runs right next to the town's buildings. According to Wikipedia the four-seat chairlift started here on 2 January 2015, and easy descents on both sides of the main lifts make the place suitable for beginners and families.

Tylicz: two neighbouring resorts

A few kilometres east of Krynica lies Tylicz, which has two resorts with similar names, so they are easy to confuse. The Tylicz Ski Resort (Tylicz.ski) lies on the north-eastern slope of Bradowiec (770 m above sea level), in the buffer zone of Poprad Landscape Park. The resort's website speaks of 6 km of runs. There are separate small clearings for beginners, with a conveyor belt and a training drag lift, and the Main Slope (Główny Stok), served by chairlift no. 1 and with longer pistes. According to Wikipedia a new chairlift was put into operation in the 2011/2012 season in place of the former drag lift.

The other, Master-Ski, lies half a kilometre south of the village centre, on the northern slope of Szubienica mountain (687 m above sea level). Wikipedia states that the resort was created in 2012-2013 thanks to funding from the Lesser Poland Regional Operational Programme, and in 2015 a used chairlift from the Austrian resort of Brixen im Thale was added. According to Wikipedia the Tylicz resort lies 5 km from Krynica-Zdrój.

Muszyna and Wierchomla

The largest resort in this part of the Sącz Beskids is Dwie Doliny Muszyna-Wierchomla. It lies in the Jaworzyna Range, on both slopes of a side ridge that runs from Runek through Jaworzynka (1,001 m, the highest point of the resort) to Pusta Wielka, between the villages of Wierchomla Mała and Szczawnik. According to Wikipedia the first three platter lifts started in 1997, and the first chairlift in 2000. The resort has had its present name since December 2007, when the two parts were joined. Wikipedia describes one of the two chairlifts as the longest in Poland, but we did not find a second source, so treat this as a description, not as a record. Access is through Muszyna, because it is the only road to the resort.

The Little Pieniny and Szczawnica

There are two resorts in the Little Pieniny. The Palenica Ski Resort lies on the slopes of Palenica (722 m above sea level) and Szafranówka (742 m above sea level), south of Szczawnica, by the border with Slovakia. Wikipedia states that until the 1980s there was a single drag lift here, in 1991 a two-seat lift was put into operation, and in 2005 the current four-seat one. The resort is managed by Polskie Koleje Linowe (Polish Cable Railways), and on site there is a GOPR (Mountain Rescue Service) station.

The other resort, in the valley of the Skalski Potok stream, is the Jaworki-Homole Ski Arena, at the foot of Wysoka (1,050 m above sea level), the highest peak of the Little Pieniny. According to Wikipedia the origins of the company go back to 1982, and in 2009 a cable lift and two drag lifts were put into operation. About 600 metres from the slopes begins the Homole Gorge (Wąwóz Homole), so a day of skiing is easy to combine with a walk.

Rytro, Czorsztyn and the Low Beskids

Ryterski Raj has operated since 2005 on the northern slope of Jastrzębska Góra (675 m above sea level), in the Radziejowa Range. By the chairlift stand a hotel, an inn and a rental shop, and outside winter the resort has a viewing terrace, cycling routes and a rope park. The castle in Rytro is not far from here.

Czorsztyn-Ski, also called the Land of the Sleeping Volcano (Kraina Śpiącego Wulkanu), lies in Kluszkowce, on the northern and western slopes of Wdżar (767 m above sea level) in Gorce. According to Wikipedia the first drag lifts and floodlit runs started in January 2000, the first chairlift in January 2001 and the second in 2010. In summer an Alpine Coaster track operates here, and the resort lies on Lake Czorsztyn, a few kilometres from the castles in Czorsztyn and Niedzica.

The furthest east is SkiPark Magura on the eastern slope of Magura Małastowska (813 m above sea level) in the Low Beskids, in Gorlice County. According to Wikipedia the chairlift was put into operation in December 2010 after the resort was modernised. The wooden tserkva in Przysłup is about 3 km from here.

How to plan

The slopes of the Sącz region and the Pieniny are mostly lower and gentler than the Tatra ones, and their strength is the proximity of other places to visit. Before you travel, check on the website of your chosen resort the number of open runs and lifts, because these are the only data that are current on the day of the visit.