Small Beskids Trail (Mały Szlak Beskidzki)

The Small Beskids Trail (Mały Szlak Beskidzki) is 137 kilometres of red waymarks from Straconka in Bielsko-Biała to Luboń Wielki in the Island Beskids. Once known as the Northern Trail, it is the fourth-longest trail in the Polish Carpathians, after the Main Beskids Trail (496 km), the Rzeszów–Grybów trail and the Tarnów–Wielki Rogacz trail. It crosses the ranges the Main Beskids Trail misses: the Little Beskids, the Maków Beskids and the Island Beskids.

Three ranges, three characters

The Little Beskids (about 52 km) are the toughest part: for a similar distance, the estimated walking time (about 16 hours) is over two hours longer than in the Maków Beskids. From Straconka (430 m) the trail climbs to Chrobacza Łąka (828 m), drops to the Porąbka dam (320 m) and climbs again to Żar (761 m), where it passes the upper reservoir of a pumped-storage power station. It continues over the Kocierz Pass, Potrójna and Łamana Skała (929 m), the highest point of this section, to Leskowiec (922 m) with the PTTK Leskowiec – Groń Jana Pawła II mountain hut, before descending to Zembrzyce.

The Maków Beskids (about 52 km, roughly 14 hours of walking) are gentler. The trail crosses Chełm and Babica (727 m), drops into the centre of Myślenice (285 m), then climbs to the PTTK hut at Kudłacze and up Lubomir (904 m). Its summit is home to the Tadeusz Banachiewicz Astronomical Observatory, opened in 2007 next to the remains of a pre-war observatory burned by the Germans in 1944.

The Island Beskids (about 28 km) make a short but steep finale. After Kasina Wielka comes the climb to Lubogoszcz (968 m), a descent to Mszana Dolna and a final ascent via the Glisne Pass to Luboń Wielki (1,022 m) with its PTTK hut.

Good to know

The reservoir on the summit of Żar, completed in 1979, holds 2.31 million m³ of water and is the highest reservoir of its kind in Poland. Since 2004 a funicular has also run up the mountain, so this stretch is easy to shorten. The trail's length is given differently: officially 137 km, while the Mapa Turystyczna service measures 135.5 km, about 43 hours of walking and almost 5,800 m of ascent.

In practice

There are no climbing sections, but the total ascent is considerable. The author of the Weekendówka blog walked the whole trail in 5 days (plus a rest day) without a tent, staying in mountain huts and guesthouses. She names Lubogoszcz and Luboń Wielki as the steepest and toughest climbs. The easiest way up Luboń Wielki is the blue trail from Rabka-Zdrój, which adds about 8 km to the trail itself.

Tripto tip

Allow 5–6 days for the whole route, and if this is your first long-distance trail, add a rest day. Walking from the Island Beskids towards Bielsko-Biała lets you tackle the hardest climbs on fresh legs. Plan not only where to sleep but also where to shop; Myślenice and Mszana Dolna are good places to restock. If you prefer shorter outings, the trail splits well into day sections, such as Straconka–Porąbka or Myślenice–Lubomir.