Often hogging the title of Norway's greatest place to ski, this small resort with its trio of peaks has a lot going for it. The cragginess of the mountains here has earned them the nickname of the "Scandinavian Alps" - and it suits them.
Location-wise, you'll find Hemsedal between the big Norwegian cities of Oslo and Bergen. Oslo Lufthavn Gardemoen and Fagernes Airport Leirin are the two closest airports. The Nettbuss Express goes between the airport and the resort.
Sentrum is the original village, with a collection of hotels, restaurants, lively bars and shops and a single blue run leading through the forest and back to the centre.
There's also the Skisenter area (also known as the Mountain Village), where the accommodation, ski shops, bar and restaurants either have doorstep skiing or are within walking distance of the lifts and slopes.
Further up, the Skigaarden is a newer village built on the mountainside offering doorstep skiing.
The Alpin Lodge by the children’s area has almost everything you need for the week – food shops, ski hire, restaurant and an après ski bar – and is near other restaurants, bars and attractions. There’s also an apartment hub called Skarsnuten. All are served by the ski bus, which runs throughout the week. 49 ski slopes pour down from three different summits – Totten at 1450m, Tinden at 1345m and 1225m high Roni, together served by 20 lifts.
The spectacular Sognefjord, the world's longest fjord, is only an hour's drive away and as impressive in the winter as in the summer. The Flim railway round trip over the mountain and down to the fjord is a wonderful day trip through breathtaking scenery. Hemsedal itself has plenty of heritage and cultural attractions. The church was built in 1882 to replace the old Stave church, but eighteenth century altarpieces and a painting were saved. Hemsedal also has a library and a cinema.
The nearest airport to Hemsedal is Oslo Gardermoen at 240 km or about 3 hours 30 minutes by car
The nearest ski resorts to Hemsedal include Geilo, Hafjell Lillehammer.
In Sentrum, Kjokken Kroken has a great gourmet menu featuring the likes of moose tartar and monkfish. It’s sister restaurant T-Kronen does insanely good burgers and milkshakes. You’ve also got China Garden for Chinese cuisine and the Lodgen Spiseri for pizzas in the Ski Centre. For lunches, head up to the Skigaarden for pizzas in the sunshine (and stay on for apres ski from 2pm).
Later on, the Ski Centre’s Stavkroa club is built like a Viking church with high ceilings and has long tables ‘built to dance on’. It’s easily one of the best après spots in Norway, and sometimes makes the list of European favourites. The Bart[t] club has six bars, DJ’s and more in Hemsedal centre, and the nearby Elgen Bar is good for live sports and local brews.
If you like your après active, there’s everything from horse sleigh rides to via ferrata, paragliding, bowling, spa and yoga. Hemsedal has developed a reputation for its 'active program' of extreme sports including ice climbing, winter mountain summit climbs, paragliding and you can even try out up-ski, being towed uphill on skis by a parachute. Snowmobile safaris are available throughout the season but there are gentler activities include dog sledding, horse-sledding, and night skiing on three long floodlit slopes four evenings per week. There are plenty of attractions in the area to visit, including the Tropicana centre in nearby Gol, which includes a tropical swimming complex with water chutes and slides, squash courts, bowling and a discotheque.
Hemsedal has about 15 shops covering most of the essentials, although it could not be described as a shopping mecca! For toys such as Norwegian trolls and lots of Lego try Kjellaren.
For handicrafts and local souvenirs either Stugu Husflid or Hemsedal Møbler. There are three good wintersports shops, two fashion stores and four grocers.
View our detailed Hemsedal snow report to see skiing confitions now. Our Hemsedal snow history shows you what snow depths have been in recent years month-by-month. If you're visiting soon, use the Hemsedal snow forecast to see predicted snowfall over the coming days.
Maximum and minimum adult Hemsedal lift pass prices ranged from €1809 to €2135 for 6 days access to the Hemsedal ski lift system at the start of the 2025 winter season. Our lift passes are part of a packaged Hemsedal holiday with accommodation, so prices vary depending on chalet or hotel suppliers. Confirm price for the lift ticket before booking your holiday.
Lift Tickets | Child | Adult | Senior |
---|---|---|---|
1 Day Price | N / A | N / A | N / A |
6 Day Price | N / A | €1809 - €2135 | €1449 - €1710 |
Age Range | 7 - 17 | 18 - 64 | 65+ |
Most of our ski holidays to Hemsedal packaged with flights include airport transfers. We can also arrange private transfers to Hemsedal from nearby airports
Flights from London take about 2 hours to Oslo, Bergen. This table shows approximate transfer times to Hemsedal from the nearest airports, smaller airports can be more prone to delays.
Airport | Distance | Transfer Time |
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Oslo Gardermoen | 240 km | 3 hours 30 minutes |
Fagernes | 80 km | 1 hour 15 minutes |
Browse our self-drive ski holidays which include your car channel crossing, or go choose accom-only and book your car ferry or tunnel later.
The transfer time from alpine train stations are generally shorter than from airports, Call us for details of Hemsedal transfers.
Station | Distance | Transfer Time |
---|---|---|
Gol | 30 km | 30 minutes |
Need help choose your Hemsedal ski holiday? Call us on 020 7770 6888 or click Enquire - we love to help!