THE LITTLE BESKID TRAIL IN POLAND: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

The Little Beskid Trail stretches over 137 km through 3 mountain ranges in Poland: the Little Beskid, the Makowski Beskid, and the Island Beskid. My goal was to finish this hike in 3 days. Did I make it? Unfortunately not. My fitness level was on point, but the high temperature combined with a very fast pace caused me nasty blisters that slowed me down significantly. After all, I finished this hike in 4 days, which is pretty good anyway. All you need to know about hiking the Little Beskid Trail in Poland is included below.

HOW MANY DAYS YOU NEED FOR THE LITTLE BESKID TRAIL?

The Little Beskid Trail (Mały Szlak Beskidzki in Polish) winds its way through 3 mountain ranges in Poland: the Little Beskid, the Makowski Beskid, and the Island Beskid. The total distance is 137 km with an elevation gain of 5772 m, and an elevation loss of 5176 m. So how many days is needed to walk it? Well… it depends on many factors, but most people do it in three to six days. Three days is for fast hikers with excellent overall fitness. Four days is for people confident with hiking 40 km a day. Five days is for hikers preferring a more relaxed pace, and covering 20-30 km a day. Six days is for slow walkers who enjoy taking long breaks.

Little Beskid Trail – map

HOW DIFFICULT IS THE LITTLE BESKID TRAIL?

The Little Beskid Trail has no technical difficulties, and to be honest, it doesn’t really provide too many epic views either. You will be walking mostly through forests and towns, getting a view from time to time. The overall difficulty is mainly related to the number of days you want to spend on the trail and your very own fitness level. Obviously, completing this hike in three days is going to be more demanding than walking it in five days. Along the way, there are a couple of steep uphill sections that can be painful, especially in the middle of hot Polish summer. For me, going up Góra Żar, Lubogoszcz and Luboń Wielki was the hardest.

WHERE DOES THE LITTLE BESKID TRAIL START AND END?

The Little Beskid Trail starts in Bielsko-Biała, in Straconka to be exact, and ends on Luboń Wielki, but feel free to walk it in either direction. I started the hike from Bielsko-Biała as this made more sense to me, given that I’m based in Katowice, Poland. So once you get to Bielsko-Biała, catch bus number 11 and after about 20 minutes, get off at Górska Kościół. After finishing the hike, it’s best to get to Mszana Dolna, and catch a shuttle bus to Kraków, where you should find transportation anywhere else. I was very lucky when I walked down from Luboń Wielki to the main road as the first car that I tried to stop, stopped, and gave me a ride.

WHERE TO STAY OVERNIGHT?

The options are endless. You can stay overnight in mountain huts, guest houses, as well as hotels. You can also go camping and sleep in a tent. In fact, there’s a high chance that you will have to mix it up a little bit, especially if you are planning to do the Little Beskid Trail in three or four days. If you want to stay overnight in mountain huts, it’s wise to do a booking beforehand. I did this walk in May, which is still low season, but without the reservation and arriving past 7 pm, no one would wait for me in the hut. With a prior booking, the staff expected my late arrival, and they even kept the kitchen open, which is so kind and thoughtful.

HOW TO PLAN THE LITTLE BESKID TRAIL?

As previously mentioned, my goal was to do the Little Beskid Trail in three days, but unfortunately, that mission failed, and I finished it in four days. That’s why I’m sharing with you 3 different itineraries. The first one is my original plan for a 3-day walk. The second one is the actual 4-day walk I did. The third one is the adapted plan for the 4-day walk, as if I planned it that way from the beginning. One more tip for anyone staying overnight in guest houses or hotels. If you can speak Polish, it’s better to call the place directly and book it over the phone. You can usually get a better deal by doing that rather than online via booking.com.

Little Beskid Trail | 3-day itinerary

• Day 1, Bielsko-Biała Straconka to Na Leskowcu (mountain hut), 37,5 km, 13 h
• Day 2, Na Leskowcu (mountain hut) to Myślenice (hotel), 52,5 km, 15,5 h
• Day 3, Myślenice (hotel) to Na Luboniu Wielkim (mountain hut), 46,5 km, 16,5 h

Little Beskid Trail | 4-day itinerary

• Day 1, Bielsko-Biała Straconka to Na Leskowcu (mountain hut), 37,5 km, 13 h
• Day 2, Na Leskowcu (mountain hut) to Myślenice (hotel), 52,5 km, 15,5 h
• Day 3, Myślenice (hotel) to Mszana Dolna (hotel), 37 km, 13 h
• Day 4, Mszana Dolna (hotel) to Na Luboniu Wielkim (mountain hut), 9,5 km, 4 h

Little Beskid Trail | 4-day itinerary

• Day 1, Bielsko-Biała Straconka to Na Leskowcu (mountain hut), 37,5 km, 13 h
• Day 2, Na Leskowcu (mountain hut) to location 49.7956558N, 19.8228906E (camping), 39 km, 12 h
• Day 3, Location 49.7956558N, 19.8228906E to Kasina Wielka (guest house), 38 km, 13 h
• Day 4, Kasina Wielka (guest house) to Na Luboniu Wielkim (mountain hut), 22 km, 7,5 h

Remember that you need to walk down an extra 3,5 km to get from Luboń Wielki to the main road.

WHERE TO RESTOCK ON THE LITTLE BESKID TRAIL?

Good news is you don’t need to take lots of food with you. I packed supplies sufficient for one day and paid attention to always having 2 or 3 meals in my bag. It’s not hard to restock on the trail. There are grocery shops, restaurants and mountain huts along the way. However, in Poland, all shops are closed on Sundays. So if you are doing this hike over a Sunday, make sure to plan accordingly. Apart from that, guest houses and hotels usually offer breakfasts, so you can definitely do that, eat before hitting the trail or even pack some stuff for lunch later in a day. Below, you can find a list of places to restock on the Little Beskid Trail.

List of places to restock on the Little Beskid Trail:

• Na Hrobaczej Łące (mountain hut)
• Gastronomia Góra Żar (restaurant)
• Zajazd nad Przełęczą Kocierską (restaurant)
• Chatka na Potrójnej (mountain hut)
• Chatka pod Potrójną (mountain hut)
• Na Leskowcu (mountain hut)
• Krzeszów (grocery shop)
• Zembrzyce (grocery shop)
• Myślenice (grocery shop)
• Na Kudłaczach (mountain hut)
• Gościniec pod Lubomirem (restaurant)
• Mszana Dolna (grocery shop)
• Na Luboniu Wielkim (mountain hut)

IS THE LITTLE BESKID TRAIL WELL-MARKED?

The Little Beskid Trail is marked with red signs from the beginning till its end. There are plenty of well-placed, visible markers, so it’s hard to get lost. Nevertheless, it’s always good to have a paper map on you or an online map downloaded to your phone beforehand. When you open the app mapy.cz, and type in the name of the trail in Polish – Mały Szlak Beskidzki, you’ll get the whole route. The mobile coverage and Internet work quite well on the trail, but like in any mountains, sometimes the signal is stronger, and other times, it’s weaker. So make sure to download your maps prior to starting the walk, so that they work offline.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO HIKE THE LITTLE BESKID TRAIL?

My total spending on hiking the Little Beskid Trail was 227€ and here’s a detailed breakdown. Let’s start from accommodation. I stayed one night in a mountain hut and two nights in hotels. This cost me 146€ all together. Next, let’s add up grocery shopping and dining in mountain huts. This one is 48€. I also spent 21€ in a pharmacy. As mentioned before, I developed severe blisters on my feet and needed to get some patches. Lastly, transportation. For public transport from Katowice to Bielsko-Biała and from Rabka-Zdrój to Katowice, I paid 12€. That’s about it! If you want to do it cheaper, go camping. It will save you some money.

That’s all you need to know about hiking the Little Beskid Trail. Are you planning to do it in 4 or maybe 5 days? Let me know in the comments!

Hey, it’s Karolina, the author of this blog. If you find my content valuable and helpful, I would be more than grateful, if you could support my work, and buy me a coffee. I do love writing my blog, and creating content for you guys. Thank you!