The Mazury region is one of the most beautiful parts of Europe. The moraine hills are surrounded by a web of roads and paths which are one of the best places in the world for recreational cycling, especially in summer. In this time of year thousands of guests enjoy the charm of three thousand lakes of the north-eastern part of Poland. The Polish lakelands in the winter offer above all magnificent sleigh rides, angling from under the ice, incredibly fast iceboats and comfortable luxurious hotels that are somewhat cheaper in the winter season than in summer. Woodland roads serve as wonderful dog-relay and cross-country skiing trails. Furthermore the Mazury region offers several ski slopes worth testing. The owners and managers of the sports and leisure complexes put a lot of effort to ensure the comfort of the customers offering hot meals and drinks as well as the possibility to rent skiing equipment. Perfect illumination, artificial snow and slope preparation by snowmobiles are a standard. Skiing instructors are also available. It seems that mostly for the beginners who want to try skiing the slopes of Mazury are a better choice than mountain skiing tracks. In the vicinity of the entertainment centres nice local innkeepers offer sleigh rides for a reasonable price. Below you will find information about the most important skiing complexes of the region.
The most popular complex of ski lifts in the Mazury region is situated in the Piękna Góra village in the vicinity of Gołdapia. There are four ski lifts there and four skiing routes: of 550, 300 and two of 200 metres. It is sometimes possible to take a downhill ride of 650 metres. There is also a 2 kilometres long professionally prepared cross-country skiing route. The centre has a broad accomodation and meal offer. You can find many useful informations on the webpage pieknagora.pl/en/ .
The Piękna Góra village described above is not the only place in the Mazury region where fervent skiers can enjoy their favourite sport. There is also a Moraine Ski Station in Okrągłe village in the vicinity of Giżycko, not far away from the Talki village in the Wydyminy municipality. The skiers can benefit from skiing routes of 400, 700 and 300 metres and a authentic large “Beginners Hill” for the inexperienced skiers. The renting services offering reasonable prices are worth recommending. The complex operates from 10 a.m. till 8:00 p.m. and the facilities can serve 2,000 people and hour. The owners also have a guesthouse. A presentation of the complex can be found on www.wyciag-narciarski.pl.
Mrągowo is also worth visiting. The city, crowded with tourists in the summer and, due to excellent hotels and lakes abundant with fish, often visited also in winter has a skiing complex called the Four Winds Mountain (Góra Czterech Wiatrów). The offer of the surrounding hotels and of the complex itself is perfectly adjusted to the needs of active tourists, because in this area professional sportsmen often practice before competitions. Ski runs of a total length of around 2,3 kilometres, three ski tows, a snow park, a sleigh track and a skating rink .are situated on the 60 hectares of terminal moraine crags. An interesting thing is that the parts of the hill-side mostly endangered with snow surface losses have been covered with special matting. Sometimes you can meet here skiers dressed in uniforms, for on the same peninsula on the Czos Lake there is a Military Training and Fitness Centre. A presentation on the Four Winds Mountain can be found on the webpage www.gora4w.com.pl.
A little bit to the west, already in the Warmia region, there is a Krzyżowa Góra winter Sports Centre. Krzyżowa Góra in Lidzbark Warmińsk has three ski lifts and four skiing routes (two of them have 400 metres and the other two have 280 metres). The main ski run is illuminated and covered with artificial snow. In order to ensure safety and aid in case of accidents there is always a GOPR rescuer present.
