Besides having their own set of slopes, most of the ski villages here have speedy bus access to more terrain. This is the case in Åre and Salen, Sweden’s biggest resorts, as well as Vemdalen, which each have a huddle of linked and unlinked ski areas – find your favourite and ski it all week long, or try a new one each day.
Families are welcomed with open arms in Åre, where each ski area has a dedicated children’s slope and there are some really fun facilities to help beginners learn the basics. Salen's home to some terrific family offerings too, with the enormous Experium centre having everything from bowling alleys and shops to a 3D cinema and spa.
You can cross country ski all over Sweden however the downhill ski resorts are situated in the middle and north of the country. The very north of the country is in the arctic circle and is very cold year-round.
The best resort in Sweden is Åre. It is the largest resort in Sweden with over 90km of piste and 30 lifts. The town is small in size compared to ski resorts across the Alps, but there is still plenty going on. There is an excellent selection of restaurants & bars in the main square. The options are limited for more advanced skiers, but the resort still has 6 black runs.
Swedish ski resorts are a lot smaller in altitude and size than the ski resorts across the Alps & Pyrenees. These smaller resorts mainly offer easy skiing as the gradient of the slopes is quite low. Salen Lindvallen is one of the best resorts for beginners with 50% of runs graded as blue, so there’s plenty of pistes to practice those turns on.
The ski season in Sweden is longer than most in Europe as it’s much further north. Some resorts open as early as mid-November and can run all the way through to the beginning of May. One thing to remember is that the daylight hours in Sweden are a lot shorter, so visible skiing hours are a lot shorter.
There are over 190 ski resorts in Sweden. However, many of them are tiny – less than a kilometre of skiing with only one or two lifts designed for locals rather than tourists looking to get away for a week skiing.
Property | Resort | Price (per person) |
---|---|---|
Pistbyn | Stoten | £ 558 |
SkiStar Lodge Hundfjället | Salen | £ 1116 |
Sälens Högfjällshotell, Högfjället | Salen | £ 1081 |
Hotel Kurbits | Klappen | £ 664 |