Carpathian Ski Resorts
Ukraine's ski industry is fairly young and underdeveloped, but it is growing rapidly. Each year there new lifts open and improvements are made to ski areas. The vast majority of these resorts are in the Carpathians at the far west end of the country, but there are also a handful in Crimea and in several cities around Ukraine that have ski hills next to town (see below).
Primary Carpathian ski resorts
These are Ukraine's best-equipped ski resorts with a variety of ski runs and more or less decent infrastructure. Slopes are usually groomed. These resorts have nice hotels, inns, and cottages and good ski rental equipment, as well as restaurants and a night life. Here foreign tourists will probably feel most at home.
At the moment the only European-level ski resort in Ukraine is Bukovel. The other resorts might better be called "ski areas" — clusters of ski lifts and lodgings that belong to different owners and have evolved chaotically over the years.
Planned ski resort development
Most Ukrainian ski areas do not have long-term development development potential because of their small size and the relatively low elevation of surrounding mountains (especially in light of the Europe-wide trend towards warmer winters). Word has it that Drahobrat, the highest and snowiest resort, might some day improve their road up the mountain or install an aerial tram from the town of Yasinya below. Also, a new $60 million ski resort is in the planning stages for an area near Bystrets village (6 km from Verkhovyna) that includes road contruction and might reach to some of the higher peaks of the Chornohora ridge, which has hitherto been free of ski resorts.
Secondary Carpathian ski resorts
The secondary ski resorts listed in the left-hand column differ from the main resorts in ski run length and variety and in size and development of infrastructure. Slopes are often ungroomed. Runs are still long enough and varied enough to be interesting to a variety of skiers. At these ski areas there are hotels and private rooms available for rent in the vicinity. Equipment can always be rented from locals and at the ski slopes themselves.
Minor Carpathian ski areas
These ski areas have just a tow lift or two and slopes that are lacking in variety or difficulty. Services will be minimal and slopes are never groomed.
This list may only be partial, since the smaller ski areas do not advertise and have almost no web presence.
Other ski areas in Ukraine outside of the Carpathians
Crimea (a few tow lifts here and there on the mountain plateaus):
- Angarskyy Pass (on the road from Simferopol to Yalta)
- Ay-Petri (aerial tram from near Yalta)
- Marble Cave Hostel (near road to Yalta)
Cities around Ukraine (no mountains — just small hills and tow lifts):
Kiev, Kharkov (new ski complex opened in 2006 with three tow lifts), Dnepropetrovsk, Poltava
Planning your Ski Trip in Ukraine
To go skiing in Ukraine's Carpathians you need to decide 1) where to ski, 2) where to stay, and 3) how to get there. We hope our site will make these decisions process easier.
Ski passes in Ukraine are not sold in advance, so you can just show up at the resort on the day you want to begin skiing. However, accommodations should be arranged in advance if you plan to stay in a hotel, and plan on buying train tickets at least a week in advance — otherwise, they may well be sold out, especially for weekend dates.
When to go skiing
Generally speaking there are considerable lift lines at almost all resorts on the weekends and short lines during weekdays during the main ski season (January to early March). Outside of this period lines will be shorter overall. The best time to go is after a good snowfall, since in many places slopes are not groomed and ice and moguls are common. In early December and April Drahobrat is usually the only place that has snow.
Snow quality and quantity varies from day to day and season to season, so make sure there is snow and the lifts are operating before you make your trip!
Read more about the climate of the Carpathians and current weather conditions.
Accommodations in the Carpathians
All levels of comfort are available at hotels and private accommodations in the Carpathians. Our website offers booking only at hotels and inns that have relatively high standards of comfort and service. Otherwise, we would have to deal frequently with disgruntled clients who are not used to local "amenities."
Read more about the kinds of accommodations available in the Carpathians.
What's it like skiing in Ukraine?
Read about interesting aspects of skiing in Ukraine and visit the Ski Ukraine forum. Ask questions. We will answer.
Ski rental
Virtually every ski resort in the Carpathians has ski rentals right at the slopes. However, you can also rent skis from local villagers who collect secondhand equipment from Europe. The cheapest set of skis might cost 25 UAH at the cheapest resort, but expect decent skis to cost 50 UAH and up ($10 USD).
If you have large feet (men's size 12 or larger), you may occasionally have trouble finding skis. If you're worried, get there first in the morning!
Make sure you have a passport or driver's license to leave as a deposit. At smaller ski resorts you can usually leave your shoes on the shelf where the ski boots were taken from, but in larger resorts there are generally lockers available.
HAPPY SKIING!
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