Góra Kamieńsk — ski resort

Góra Kamieńsk is not a mountain in any geological sense — it is the external spoil heap of the Bełchatów lignite mine, built up between 1977 and 1993 from overburden stripped off the coal seam. The result is the highest elevation in central Poland, rising close to 200 m above the surrounding plain, with a wind farm on top. Its north-eastern flank carries a ski resort run by PGE GiEK.

For people in Łódź, Piotrków and the whole belt of central Poland this is the nearest hill where you ride a chairlift rather than a rope tow above a field. The main run is 760 m long with 123 m of vertical, but its defining feature is width — between 30 and as much as 150 metres. A slope that broad and even leaves room both for group lessons and for relaxed carving without constantly dodging other skiers.

The resort works year-round: summer brings a toboggan run, a climbing wall and around 42 km of cycling trails, including a downhill track and a ride to the summit. In winter three lifts, a full set of snow guns and floodlighting cover the hill, while the base offers a large car park, food outlets and equipment rental. Mountain rescue staff are on duty whenever the lifts are turning.

• three runs on the north-eastern flank of the spoil heap, between roughly 213 and 336 m above sea level,
• 123 m of vertical — the most you will find within many hours’ drive of central Poland,
• a main run 760 m long and 30 to 150 m wide,
• a four-seater Doppelmayr chairlift with a moving carpet, around 2,000 people per hour,
• a platter lift of roughly 700 m and a 150 m magic carpet for absolute beginners,
• full technical snowmaking with a bank of snow guns, daily grooming and floodlighting across the whole slope,
• rental shops, a ski school, catering and a large free car park at the base,
• mountain rescue on duty during opening hours.

This is a hill for beginners and intermediates, and that is exactly why people drive here from central Poland. You start on the magic carpet and the shortest run at the base, move on to the platter lift, and the chairlift then opens the full 760 m line with an even, moderate gradient. The width of the slope forgives mistakes and lets instructors run lessons without the crowding typical of narrow lowland hills. Advanced skiers will find no steep pitches and no off-piste terrain — after a day Góra Kamieńsk becomes a place to drill technique rather than a destination in its own right.

The resort address is Huby Ruszczyńskie, 97-360 Kamieńsk, about 18 km from Bełchatów, a kilometre off regional road 484 between Bełchatów and Kamieńsk and roughly 6 km from the Warsaw–Katowice route. From Łódź it is about 75 km and a little over an hour, from Warsaw about 180 km via the S8 to Piotrków Trybunalski and then south, from Katowice about 120 km on the A1 motorway.

A free car park for several hundred cars sits at the foot of the slope, so space is rarely a problem even at weekends. Public transport is awkward: the nearest railway stations are Kamieńsk and Gorzkowice, and from there you need to arrange the last leg yourself.

Driving distances

• Warszawa — approx. 180 km, ok. 2,5 h
• Łódź — approx. 75 km, ok. 1 h 15 min
• Katowice — approx. 120 km, ok. 1,5 h
• Bełchatów — approx. 20 km, ok. 25 min

gorakamiensk.pl

The season here depends entirely on frost, because every flake on Góra Kamieńsk is machine-made and neither the altitude nor the latitude provides any natural buffer. Snowmaking needs air humidity below roughly 80 percent and several days of sub-zero temperatures, which has pushed opening dates back in recent seasons: in 2025/2026 the slope started only in mid-January and the resort closed for the summer on 1 March. In practice that means one thing — check the resort’s announcement before setting off, since start and end dates are often published only days in advance. Once the slope is running it is snowed, groomed and floodlit along its full length, so evening skiing is a normal part of the day.

A dozen kilometres away in Bełchatów, the Giganty Mocy multimedia museum tells the story of the mine and the power plant, and a viewpoint overlooks the open pit itself. Kleszczów has the Solpark swimming complex, and to the north lie Piotrków Trybunalski with its old town and the Sulejów Reservoir. The Kamieńsk wind farm crowns the heap and is visible from far across the plain.

Zone4 is a ski and snowboard school from Warsaw building ZoneCloud — a booking system for lessons with instructors. We do not own any slope: what we add is the thing slopes usually lack, namely a free slot with a named instructor, visible online and bookable on the spot. Today it runs at Górka Szczęśliwicka in Warsaw, at Rybno and at Szwajcaria Bałtowska.

The next step is a nationwide network — including Góra Kamieńsk. We are building the instructor team here and will open lesson booking together with it. If you are looking for an instructor in Góra Kamieńsk for the coming season, leave your details and we will let you know the moment bookings open. If you teach here yourself, read the section below.

We are looking for ski and snowboard instructors in Kamieńsk and the surrounding area (łódzkie Province). The arrangement is freelance and non-exclusive — you can teach with us alongside your own clients or a local ski school. You set your availability in the schedule; we bring the students and handle bookings and settlements.

ZoneCloud gives an instructor what working solo does not: a public profile with a description and photo, a calendar of free slots, online bookings and payments, and a lesson history in one place. Instead of fielding calls on a Saturday morning, you get a filled schedule.

Instructor qualifications (SITN-PZN or equivalent) are a strong plus but not an entry barrier — what counts is confident, technical riding and the ability to work with people, especially children. You attach scans and a CV in the online application.