The Old Peaks are surrounded by forests, chiefly of spruce, and by meadows that are full of blueberries in summer. It is an intriguing placethat was witness to robberies (in the 16th century, the royal road from Krakow to Budapest ran through it, replete with a roadside inn), aristocratic hunts (the area belonged to Count Wodzicki) and wartime dramas (partisans had a base here). In winter, the slope is a great place for downhill skiing, and a ski lift is right near the shelter. There is area also has numerous cross-country skiing trails. You can reach it by following the trails from Rabka, Olszówka, Nowy Targ or Obidowa.

The shelter offers tasty homemade cuisine, 35 beds in 2-, 4-, 6- and 9-bed rooms, sanitary facilities and bathrooms, and not far away it's possible to set up a tent and have a campfire. Furthermore, it organises school and student camps, hiking, anniversary celebrations, Christmas and New Year events, and bonfires.

The wooden, single-storey, highland house was erected on Stare Wierchy in 1932 and it stood until it was burned down by the Germans in 1945 during a partisan liquidation operation in the Gorce Mountains. The new, currently functioning shelter building was erected in 1974 thanks to the efforts of local PTTK activists Czesław Trybowski and Stanisław Miętus, and was frequently renovated and modernised insubsequent years.