Zakopane in winter

Written in September 2026 for the 2026/2027 season. Ski resorts publish their new prices in November and December, so ski pass prices below are from last season as a guide. We update this page when the new ones are out.

Zakopane is Poland's winter capital. Once the snow settles, the wooden houses, the spruce forests and the granite peaks above town look like a Christmas card, and the town fills with skiers, families and people who just want a few days of snow and hot water. It is also when the mountains are least forgiving, so a little planning goes a long way.

When to come

In town, snow usually lies from mid-December to early March, but it comes and goes: a warm spell can melt the lower slopes in a few days. Higher up, on Kasprowy Wierch, the season often runs into April.

Skiing

You can ski in Zakopane itself, on Kasprowy Wierch high in the Tatras, or 30 minutes away in Białka Tatrzańska, the largest ski area in the region. Most slopes around Zakopane are on one shared pass, Tatry Super Ski, valid at more than a dozen resorts on both sides of the border. Last season (2025/2026) a day pass cost:

Prices are highest from Christmas to early January and during the school holidays, and lowest before Christmas and in March. Add a refundable 10 PLN deposit for the ski card. Rental shops by the slopes and on Krupówki hire complete sets of skis, boots and poles, and there are ski schools at Nosal and in Białka; ask when booking whether an instructor speaks English. New prices for 2026/2027 appear in November and December.

A sleigh ride evening (kulig)

A kulig is the classic Zakopane winter evening, and not just a sleigh ride. A bus picks you up from your accommodation, you ride horse-drawn sleighs lined with sheepskin by torchlight for 45 to 60 minutes, and then you sit by a bonfire with grilled sausages, sour rye soup, smoked cheese with cranberry, mulled wine and a band playing highland music. The whole evening takes 3 to 4 hours, with starts at 15:00, 17:00 or 19:00.

• Gubałówka: along the ridge above town, with the lights of Zakopane on one side and the Tatras on the other. From 180 PLN per adult, 160 PLN per child.
• Chochołowska Valley: a quiet forest road inside the national park, small four-person sleighs. 200 to 240 PLN per adult.
• Białka Tatrzańska: across the fields below the lit ski slopes, good for groups. From 200 PLN.

Children under 3 ride free on a parent's lap. Prices go up by about 20 PLN between 26 December and 6 January, and those dates sell out first. If there is no snow, the ride goes ahead on wheeled carriages at the same price, so if sleighs matter to you, book for January or February. There are more than a dozen organisers in Zakopane, with prices within 20 to 40 PLN of each other, and their buses pick guests up at Willa Storczyk's door.

Sledging

Free sledging hills in town, with no tickets and no staff:

• Równia Krupowa, the meadow between Krupówki and the station: a gentle hill for small children.
• Lipki, ul. Stolarczyka: longer and faster, with the best view of Giewont.
• Olimp, ul. Zwierzyniecka, near the ski jump: the longest and steepest, fun for adults too.

Paid runs with lights, groomed snow and sledges included:

• Snowlandia by the Wielka Krokiew ski jump: 25 PLN per person per hour, helmets required under 16. About 10 minutes on foot from Willa Storczyk, with a snow maze and ice castle next door.
• The sledging garden at Nosal: 20 PLN for the first hour, for children up to about 10.
• Snow tubing at the Gubałówka funicular: 12 PLN per run.

Cheap plastic sledges cost 15 to 40 PLN in any shop on Krupówki. One important rule: sledging is not allowed in the Tatra National Park, including popular clearings like Kalatówki or Rusinowa Polana, and rangers can fine you. Keep the sledges for the hills in town.

Thermal baths

After a cold day, nothing beats an outdoor pool at 36 °C with snow falling around you. There are six thermal bath complexes within 30 minutes of Zakopane, open until 22:00, and one of them, Termy Zakopiańskie, is a 15-minute walk from us. Between 17 and 25 December they switch to higher holiday prices, and the big ones limit entries at busy times, so buy online. Our guide to the thermal baths compares all six.

Cable cars in winter

Kasprowy Wierch runs all winter, weather permitting. Skiers buy a ski pass; everyone else buys a normal return ticket. At the top it can be −20 °C with the wind, and the trails from the summit are closed or at risk of avalanches, so for non-skiers a simple ride up and down is the plan. The winter price list is published in December. See our Kasprowy Wierch guide.

The Gubałówka funicular runs all year and is cheap (37 PLN return online in autumn 2026). At the top there are easy flat paths along the ridge with views of the whole Tatra range, a gravity slide and a small beginners' ski slope.

Christmas and New Year

Christmas in Zakopane means a Christmas market on Plac Niepodległości at the lower end of Krupówki (in 2025 it ran from 12 December to 11 January), midnight mass with highland bands, and snow if you are lucky. Two things to know for 2026:

• Shops are closed from Thursday 24 to Sunday 27 December 2026. Christmas Eve is now a public holiday in Poland, and the following Sunday is a no-trading day. Do your shopping by Wednesday 23 December. Restaurants may open, but many close early on the 24th.
• 6 January (Epiphany) is also a public holiday with shops closed.

New Year's Eve is one of the busiest nights of the year in Zakopane, and accommodation and kulig evenings for those dates book up early.

Winter walks

You do not need to ski to enjoy the mountains in winter. Easy options:

• Kościeliska Valley: a flat valley road through snowy forest to Hala Ornak. Park ticket 11 PLN.
• Rusinowa Polana: about 1 hour 15 minutes from the Wierch Poroniec car park to one of the best views of the High Tatras.
• Gubałówka ridge: outside the national park, with no ticket, reached by funicular.
• Morskie Oko: the road stays open in winter, but it is long and often icy, and the upper part crosses avalanche paths. Read our Morskie Oko guide and check the avalanche level first.

Winter rules that catch visitors out

• No sledging anywhere in the national park, as above.
• The road from Krakow can be snowy and very slow on winter weekends. The train avoids both. See Krakow to Zakopane.
• Parking near the slopes fills up by 9:00 on holiday weekends. City buses to Kuźnice have ski racks, and our bus stop is 30 metres from the door.

What to bring

• Warm, waterproof boots with a good grip. Pavements and valley roads are often icy.
• Microspikes (small slip-on crampons) for any winter walk. Sports shops on Krupówki sell them.
• Layers, a hat, gloves and a buff. On Kasprowy Wierch it is 10 to 15 °C colder than in town.
• A hat for the outdoor thermal pools, and a swimsuit, flip-flops and a towel.
• Some cash in złoty for sleigh drivers, mountain huts and small stalls.