Skiing in Sweden

You can ski almost anywhere in Sweden wintertime! With more than 100 ski resorts it can be hard to choose where to go, so here a short list of “best for” in snow-covered Sweden.

Åre near Östersund - best for alpine skiing and off-ski activities

Åre in central Sweden is Northern Europe´s biggest and brashest sports resort, offering virtually every skiing style and a huge range of other winter sports and activities. It is generally considered to have the best downhill ski runs in Sweden and the Åre-Björnen part of the resort is excellent for newbies.

Åre offers awe-inspiring black pistes and highly challenging off-piste slopes, as well as Skistar Snow Park Åre. It also has an abundance of easy skiing for children and beginners. Åre and nearby Duved (10 km) also offer world-class slopes for snowboarding, telemark and carving. Heli-skiing is also available. 

In addition to skiing there´s a wide range of other activities, such as snowmobile safaris, dogsledding, ice fall climbing and much, much more. 

Being famous for its nightlife, you won´t find many places in Europe that party as hard as Åre during the season. Bars and live music venues, Tott Hotel, Fjällgården and Åregården are busy from 3 p.m. on and there is a mini-city-sized offering of high quality restaurants and eateries.

Best for off-piste snowboarding

Riksgränsen wins it for having no terrain park and almost no trees (it’s way too far north). We’re talking mostly off-piste at Sweden’s northernmost ski resort where you can catch the Aurora borealis in wintertime, and snowboard in a t-shirt summertime under the blaze of the midnight sun. Snowboarding rarely gets more exotic than this.

Best for snowparks

Kläppen in Dalarna province, central Sweden, has been awarded Sweden’s best snowpark nine years in-a-row for having multiple parks that are dialled into the needs of beginners, experts and pros. There are four parks to choose from, depending on your level of expertise.

Best for happy families

Sälen in south central Sweden is actually six ski resorts in one, connected by four ski areas; Lindvallen, Högfjället, Hundfjället and Tandådalen – offering a combined 100 slopes. In total the resort offers some 160 downhill runs, 9 connected green slopes, family skiing areas, 300 km of cross-country skiing and 3 snow parks. Why not try telemark skiing while you are here. This resort is very popular with Swedish families. Another good family resort in this area is Stöten, the northernmost ski resort in the Sälen mountain range.

The Funäsfjällen ski area lies 580 km northwest of capital city Stockholm and is Sweden’s largest ski area, consisting of the resorts; Ramundberget, Tänndalen, Funäsdalsberget, Tännäskröket, Tänndalsvallen, Kappruet and Bruksvallarna Cross Country. The area has 60 mountains over 1,000 metres in height and all types of skiing are on offer. Check out the heli-skiing and perhaps Sweden’s best cross-country skiing trails.

Best for adventure lovers

Hemavan and Tärnaby are two ski resorts separated by just 18 kilometres in Swedish Lapland. Being this far north, snow is guaranteed, as is the long skiing season. Hemavan, with 50 slopes, 10 lifts, 2 snow parks and a ski –cross arena is famous for its Kobåset freeride area. Tärnaby, with 5 lifts and 30 slopes, is famous for being the home slopes of Swedish slalom superstars Ingemar Stenmark and Anja Persson. Come in winter and you might see the Northern Lights, or come in summer and you could see the Midnight Sun.

Here is a guide to all of Sweden’s ski resorts.