To Bacówka nad Wierchomlą and the Kotylniczy Wierch loop
Types of trails: Cycle
Length of trail: 30,3 km
Beginning of the trail: Wierchomla Wielka
End of the trail: Wierchomla Wielka
Total length of the trail: 30.3 km
Difficulty: easy
Trail colour: green/blue
A good suggestion is to combine two trails into one MTB trip that will show us both the beautiful and the demanding sides of Beskid Sądecki. We arrive at the Bacówka PTTK shelter from the Wierchomla railway station following the green trail, and then make a loop to Jaworzyna Krynicka by the blue bicycle trail. This is just an example of what the surrounding mountain trails are like, so if you enjoy these mountains, we also recommend exploring the other trails in the area (e.g., to Hala Łabowska or the new Trail of Mineral Waters). We arrive at the Wierchomla complex (hotel, lower station of the chairlift) where a bike park is also available by an asphalt public road in the summer season. The demanding cycling doesn’t start until you get down the forest transport road to the Bacówka pod Wierchomlą shelter. After reaching it, we recommend having a coffee and a rest with great views and gaining strength for the biggest climb of the day, i.e., Runek and further up to Jaworzyna Krynicka. This section will also be the rockiest, hence the suggestion to go there only on bikes with thick tyres. When you reach the upper station of the gondola lift on Jaworzyna, you can again take another rest with a view and make use of the numerous inns that operate there. Further on, you will enjoy a downhill ride along a great gravel road to Szczawnik, where it is worth stopping for a short visit to the Orthodox Church of St. Dmitri, next to which there is also a rest stop with a mineral water spring. The return up to Bacówka is a nice ascent along the wide forest road running along the Żebracze Reserve.
Maximum elevation: 1086 m a.s.l.
The lowest point on the route is at elevation: 207 m a.s.l.
The route runs through the following protected areas:
Landscape parks: Poprad Landscape Park
Reserve: Żebracze
Natura 2000: Ostoja Popradzka
74% of the route runs through forested areas.
Tourist attractions:
Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Muszyna), St. Mary Magdalene Church (Muszyna), Orthodox Church of St. Dmitri (Szczawnik), Bacówka PTTK nad Wierchomlą shelter, Jaworzyna Krynicka.
Natural attractions:
Natura 2000 – Ostoja Popradzka, Lembarczek Nature Reserve, Żebracze Nature Reserve, Poprad Landscape Park.
67% of the trail runs on roads free of motor vehicle traffic.