Guide to Malta skiing holidays

Malta lake near Poznan in Poland is one of the premier skiing facilities in Central Europe. Poland’s mountains have long been winter ski resorts, but the country lacked any facility for year round skiing. Encouraged by success of artificial slopes in other countries, Malta Lake, which had previously only been used during snow covered periods, was converted into a year round resort thanks to an extensive building programme in the early 1990s.

Today the resort is an excellent place to learn to ski to to practice on artificial slopes and is best used as a holiday when combined with the other activities the area has to offer such as roller-blading, cycling and golfing. Many families visit for an inexpensive skiing experience as the ski school here is great for both learning to ski.

During the winter season when there’s natural snow there’s two runs at the resort, a main run of 150m at a 23 degree gradient with a chair lift as well as a smaller 30m ski run with a low 14 degrees gradient. The runs are covered with an artificial surface so can be used year round, with a snow machine in operation when temperatures are above freezing.

While Malta Ski is a good place for practising skiing or learning the ropes on an artificial slope, it will disappoint most skiers used to Alpine resorts. However Poland has plenty of alpine Ski resorts open during the winter season such as Zakopane, Kopa and Pilsko.

Skiing in Malta Lake is easily accessible from Poznan by either cheap taxi ride or Line 6 tram. It’s located near other attractions in the city such as Poznan Zoo which is accessible by a steam train service from the lake. Many also get involved in rowing on the lake or simply relaxing by the shore.