Beskidzki Szlak Rowerowy
Beskid Mountains Cycling Trail
Beginning of the trail: Męcina
End of the trail: Rabka-Zdrój
Total length of the trail: 68.2 km
Difficulty: easy
This trail is an old and no longer maintained cycling route that crosses the Gorce Mountains, Island Beskids and Łososina Range and connects Rabka-Zdrój with Nowy Sącz. The signage is unfortunately weather-worn and rudimentary, but the concept and routing of the trail is still so attractive that it’s worth revisiting and riding it according to gpx (recommended). Between Rabka and Mszana Dolna the trail is most suitable for gravel/mtb bikes, while from Mszana to Nowy Sącz you can easily treat it as a classic road trail, which offers the simplest possible connection of the VeloRaba and VeloDunajec/EV11
routes. In Limanowa the trail crosses a park and the new recreation centre that currently is under construction. The market square and the Regional Museum are also worth visiting. The route is definitely for advanced cyclists, mainly because of the steep inclines and riding alongside the general traffic, but you will be rewarded this effort with fantastic views in the passes. The area around Rabka can be reached by train (the station in Chabówka); the station in Nowy Sącz can be reached by the Carpathian Bicycle Trail – Łososina variant.
Maximum elevation: 700 m a.s.l.
The lowest point on the route is at elevation: 289 m a.s.l.
The route runs through the following protected areas:
Natura 2000: Habitat of Bats of the Island Beskids
5% of the route runs through forested areas.
Tourist attractions: Morawski family manor (Chełmiec), Gorce Museum (Rabka-Zdrój), Museum of Highlanders and Robbers (Rabka-Zdrój), Władysław Orkan Museum (Rabka-Zdrój), Regional Museum of the Limanowa Region (Limanowa), Rabkoland (Rabka-Zdrój)
Natural attractions: Natura 2000 – Łososina, Natura 2000 – Habitat of the Bats of the Island Beskids, Gorce National Park
3% of the trail runs on roads free of motor vehicle traffic.