Rudawiec (Bialskie Mountains)

Rudawiec (1,106 m) is not the highest peak in the Bialskie Mountains, yet it made it onto the Crown of Polish Mountains, the popular list of the highest summits of each Polish range. The higher tops — Postawna, Brusek and the Czech Travna hora — have no waymarked trail, so this one was chosen to represent the small, forested range on the Czech border. It is a goal for people looking for quiet and old woodland rather than sweeping panoramas.

A summit on the border

Rudawiec sits on the border ridge in the southern part of the Bialskie Mountains, in the municipality of Stronie Śląskie. The Czechs call it Polská hora or Červené Bahno, and its old German name was Rote Sümpfe, meaning "Red Marshes". The massif is a junction of three ridges: Rude Krzyże to the south-west, Iwinka to the south-east and Biała Kopa to the north. The European watershed runs across the summit, and the rock is metamorphic schist and Gierałtów gneiss.

Ancient forest on the slopes

The northern and eastern slopes are covered by the Puszcza Jaworowa forest, whose most valuable parts are protected in the Puszcza Śnieżnej Białki nature reserve, an old beech and sycamore forest. Lower down grows montane forest, thinning out towards the summit. So do not expect long views from the top itself — this hike is above all a walk through a wild, little-visited corner of the Sudetes. Rudawiec also belongs to the Crown of Lower Silesian Mountains.

How to get up

The most popular route starts in Bielice in the Biała Lądecka valley. It follows the blue trail and then the green one through the reserve, with the last few hundred metres running along the Polish-Czech border. According to trail tables, the section from Bielice to the Schron pod Rudawcem shelter is about 2.4 km, with another 2.4 km from there to the summit. The climb usually takes around 2 hours one way, with a total ascent of about 400 m. The border trail from Bielice via the Płoszczyna pass towards Śnieżnik also crosses Rudawiec, so you can extend the hike into a full-day loop.

Tripto tip

Allow 3–4 hours for the round trip from Bielice. The easiest way to reach Bielice is by car via Stronie Śląskie — bus connections up the valley are very limited, so check them before you set off. Remember that dogs are not allowed in the Puszcza Śnieżnej Białki reserve, and forest paths can be muddy after rain. If you are collecting the Crown of Polish Mountains, take a photo by the summit sign, because there is no view to prove you were there.