There are 14 separate ski areas in Zakopane. There is a ski map in the information drawer at the apartment, which illustrates these areas. A brief guide to the facilities at each location is provided below.
Hire of skis, boards, boots and poles is available at or close by each ski run. We have not found anywhere that hires ski clothing - but there are many ski shops in Zakopane that sell branded gear, with cheaper alternatives being readily available on the market.
Usually a passport has to be left with a deposit for any equipment hired.
The most convenient (and also the most expensive) is at the bottom of Szymoskowa where you should expect to pay 35 - 50zl for a day's hire. A cheaper alternative is to turn right at the bottom of Pod Blachowka, and take the 2nd left (not the one by the mini market, but the one after). Go under the arch and there is a small ski hire shop in the basement of an old apartment block on the left. The young couple who run it are very helpful. Expect to pay 25 - 30zl for a days hire.
Instruction is available at most ski locations. The key is to find an instructor with a reasonable grasp of English.
Skiing in Poland is on a pay per ski basis. Tickets for lifts are bought at the foot of each slope. There is usually a kiosk (Kasa) but at some smaller slopes you pay the attendant direct. Tickets can be bought singly or in blocks of 10 at a slightly cheaper rate. Often your credits are put onto a plastic card (which you can share with a friend). There is normally a 10zl deposit for the card which you can top up as often as you wish.
This is the best area for established skiers. Access is via cable car from the car park at Kuznice, with a change station in Myslenickie Turnie but set out early as the car only takes 190 people per hour, 35 in each car.
Prices are as follows: - Cable car: return tickets for adults 28 zl, for children 18 zl. Single for adults 18 zl, for children 13 zl. Going down for adults 10 zl, for children 5 zl.
From the cable car, there are 2 pisted areas, Hala Goryczkowa down the valley to the right and Hala Gasienicowa down the valley to the left.
It is also possible to ski down from the top of Kasprowy all the way down to Kuznice, via Hala Goryczkowa, but serious skiers should note that once you get down to the middle station the run is a simple green as it winds gently through the trees back to the bottom of the cable car at Kuznice.
This area is on the other side of Zakopane. Drive out through the centre of town heading for Kuznice, turn left at the big roundabout passing the BP garage and you will reach Nosal on your right. There is ample parking in a large car park at the foot of the slope. There is 1 chairlift providing a good steep run of 700m down through the trees for intermediates, and 8 tows on green nursery slopes for beginners.
2 easy pomas with short 200m runs on the other side of Zakopane.
A short easy 100m piste and a slightly longer moderate 200m piste both served by pomas on the other side of Zakopane behind the railway station.
One easy one moderate poma on the other side of Zakopane with 200m runs off each.
This is a good learners piste on a moor with fabulous views on the other side of Zakopane. Drive out through the centre of the Zakopane heading for Kuznice, turn left at the big roundabout passing the BP garage, and left again to Olcza. Continue along until you see the "Maria" group of apartments and take a left. The piste can be seen at the bottom of the road. There is 1 piste with a beginners trainer tow and 2 beginners pomas. The pomas are gentle and good for developing balance, and the piste is a good gradient to practice turns. Prices are 1.5 zl per ride with a 20 zl deposit on the lift pass.
New for 2007 is the Harenda 4 man chairlift which you will have seen on your right if you drove into Zakopane from Krakow. Situated behind the drive through MacDonalds (Mac Drive) it is a steep and challenging piste for intermediates. Also on the Harenda site are 3 easy and moderately easy pomas.
Skiing this piste is best combined with a trip to ski Gubalowka. From the top of the funicular, avoid the temptation to set off skiing immediately down the Gubalowka piste, and instead walk to your right along the ridge to the top of the Kotelinica piste. The piste is 1000m long and offers a good ride for intermediates, with a poma at the bottom to bring you back up to the ridge.
Access to the slopes is via the funicular railway from the town centre. One car takes 112 people and the railway takes 860 people per hour. The piste of 1600m is best suited to intermediates. This area is also good for snowboarders.
The prices 2004/5 are as follows: Adult single 8 zl, child single 4 zl, adult return 14zl, child return 7 zl. Winter offer: day pass- 70 zl; half-day pass- 50zl, an evening pass- 30 zl. 10 passes - 50 zl for adults, 30 zl for children.
At the upper glade there is a short poma of 300m, 10 passes 18 zl.
Click Here for the piste map of the Gubalowka ski area.You will have seen the bottom of this slope just after the Hotel Mercure as you approach the apartment from Zakopane centre. There is a 4 man beginners chair and a 6 man chair for intermediates. The top of the 6 man chair can be seen from the kitchen balcony. The piste is 1400m long, and snow cannons ensure the piste has good snow throughout the season. It is a very popular piste - particularly crowded around lunchtimes and at weekends and is best skied early in the morning or late afternoon and early evening, when you can experience the unusual sensation of floodlit skiing.
It is most economical to buy tickets in 10 ride packs. There is a 10zl deposit for the lift pass.
This is the chair you can see from the side of the apartment. Although this has not been pisted for the last couple of years due to a land dispute, we understand this has now been resolved and will be operational again for the 2006/7 season. If so it will be possible to walk across the road and ski down to the bottom of the slope, take the chair up and ski from the top back to the apartment. There is a short trainer tow and a 1660 metre 2 man chairlift taking 720 people per hour to the top of the Butorowy Wierch.
This is a collection of 3 very gentle childrens and beginners pomas in the bottom of the valley in Koscielisko. Turn right at the bottom of Pod Blachowka, turn left at the mini market, and left again at the bottom of the hill and the slope is on your right. Prices range from 0.5 - 1 zl per ride.
The Salamandra poma is also very close to the apartment - about 100metres on the right from the bottom of Pod Blachowka. Park on the road and follow the track down past the stream until it opens out into a little glade at the bottom of the run. The piste is great for intermediates being in a natural half pipe with little humps - and is well worth a visit. Another feature is the ancient poma - which must be one of the trickiest in Europe to master - but great fun all the same. Prices are 15zl for 10 runs - pay the lift attendant who will give you a tag to fix to your jacket to be punched each time you get on the poma.
Gigant is a gentle ski area adjacent to the ski jump area with artificial snow and lighting - ideal for beginners.
There are 2 Cross country trails: One is at the Stadium near the ski jumping hill in Br. Czecha street, and the other at the Biathlon stadium in Koscielisko Kiry.
There is a Ski jumping complex in Br. Czecha street owned by the Sports Centre in Zakopane.
World Cup events, which attract the worlds leading ski jumpers are held here annually, usually towards the end of January. In summer the summer Grand Prix circuit on artificial carpet takes place in mid August, which again brings the best ski jumpers into town.
If you are here during either of these events they are well worth watching. You will know about the event because you will find the town taken over by supporters from all nationalities, all patriotically dressed, and all making a lot of noise!!
Tickets for the world cup event are impossible to get hold of, but for the grand prix it is much easier. Even without tickets you can get a good view of the proceedings from the road ouside the complex, or you can watch live on television in any of the bars or in the apartment. Be prepared to support local hero Adam Malysz - world champion on a normal hill in 2001, and large hill and normal hill in 2003, and silver medallist 2002 Winter Olympics on the large hill, bronze medallist on the normal hill, and world cup winner on 3 occasions.
It is possible to take a tour of the hill on Saturdays when the hill is not being used.
There is a permanent ice skating rink on the Sports Centre premises with skate hire and a bar, and when temperatures drop sufficiently in winter, an outdoor rink is set up on the park in the centre of town.
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