Established in 2008, the Polish Mountain Hillclimb event is the newest in the Pennsylvania Hillclimb Championship series. This event is hosted by the Western Maryland Chapter of the Washington DC Region SCCA, and is located in Flintstone, MD.
The Polish Mountain hillclimb course is on a 1.2 mile section of the original National Road. It climbs the western face of Polish Mountain, taking full advantage of switchbacks originally carved to aid Conestoga wagons on their trek from the Mid-Atlantic region into the Ohio Valley in the early 1800s.
The 1.2 mile course has 9 turns, and is very technical. The road was repaved by the Maryland State Highway department in 2020, and hill records continue to be set every year on the fresh pavement.
Polish Mountain is unique in the PHA series because it has a separate return road. Drivers can return to paddock almost immediately after reaching the end of the course, and there are none of the typical delays between run groups while the cars return back down the course road. This allows for a very high run count compared to the other hills, with the current record of 22 runs offered.
Photo credits Bob HeltonGeneral Hill Information:
Location Flintstone, Maryland
Pit Location 22835 Gilpin Rd NE, Flintstone, MD
N 39 41' 39.8" W 78 32' 49.96"
Length 1.2 mile
Elevation Change Aproximately 500'
Number of Turns 9
Course Map 
Paddock:
The paddock area is a manicured farmer’s field near the start line. Camping is permitted (and encouraged). There are also several hotels nearby.
Spectators:
Spectators are welcome to walk through the pit area, and can view the beginning of the course from the paddocks. There is a shuttle that runs up and down the return road to get to the beginning of a hiking trail to other viewing areas along the course. The trail is rugged, so appropriate footwear and other attire should be worn if you plan to hike in.
Pictures:
The Polish Mountain course was repaved May 2020. In addition, milling’s from road surface were placed in the paddock entrance area in an effort to eliminate mud at paddock entrance and start line area. Here are some pictures of the freshly paved course.
The photos in the course description above and the following photos are courtesy of Bob Helton. See his website — www.photozbybob.com — for more great photos.
And check out this in-car video from Bryan McCrae: