Did you know that they say we Norwegians are born with skis on our feet? Well, not really. But it’s quite close. As soon as you learn to walk in Norway, you’re basically put on a pair of skis. Every year you can expect snow in all parts of the country. In coastal, low altitude areas, the amount varies. And also the time that the snow stays. But in the mountains all over the country, you’re guaranteed a long and snowy winter. Even where we live, on an island in the coast, we have snow. Last year we lived in winter wonderland for three whole weeks! The rest of the winter snow comes and goes in the coast. But even when we don’t have any, we can just drive up to the mountains 40-60 minutes east, and we have snow all winter long.
The ski resorts in Norway are not as big as in the Alps. In the Alps they offer skiing up to 3000 m. While in Norway the highest you can get with a lift, is up to 1500 m. But Norway are so far north that altitude isn’t a problem when it comes to snow.
One of the great things about skiing and snowboarding in Norway is that it’s not that crowded! Do you drive off-piste like us? Then you can expect miles of powder snow and untouched nature (almost) all to yourself!
- How To Get To Norway
- Driving A Car In Norway
- Strandafjellet The Powder Paradise Of Norway
- Stryn Winter Ski And Summer Ski
- Biggest Ski Resort In Norway: Trysil
How To Get To Norway
Norway is big! By car it’ll take you more than 30 hours to drive from the south to the north. That means that how to get to Norway really depends on where you’re going. But there are around 60 airports to choose from in Norway. So, once you’ve chosen which powder paradise you want to go to, find out which airport is the closest and you’re ready to book a trip!
Here’s a list of the airports closest to the ski resorts mentioned in this post;
- Vigra Ålesund Airport
- Gardermoen Oslo Airport
- Scandinavian Mountains Airport
- Bergen Airport
Driving A Car In Norway
When arriving in Norway, you should rent a car. Click here to check what’s available. The distances are big, so that’s the easiest way to get around. Speed limits are not more than 80 km/h most places. And fines are expensive. So, make sure you don’t drive too fast! Rental cars come with winter tires with or without spikes, so you should be able to get up the snowiest hill.
From the closest airport to every ski resort we’ll mention bellow you’ll need from 2-4 hours to drive. But don’t worry, the scenery of Norway covered in white is absolutely beautiful! You’ll be gazing out the window the whole time. And before you know it, you’ll arrive at your destination. You’ll see mountains and lakes. Cute little houses. And threes covered in snow along the way. Do you like road trips? It’s something magical about driving towards the mountains with your snowboard and skis right there with you, knowing that you’re underway to a new adventure.
Last, but not least: Don’t drink and drive! It’s both dangerous and expensive!
Norway has very strict drinking and driving laws, only allowing 0.2 milligrams of alcohol per millilitre of blood. And the fine will be 1-1,5 times your monthly salary if you are pulled over. You’ll also normally lose your driver’s license, and might go to jail.
Strandafjellet The Powder Paradise Of Norway
Strandafjellet Ski resort has been awarded the tittle “The Powder paradise of Norway”, “The ski resort of the year” and “Peoples favourite vote”. It’s a place that we’ve gone to snowboard quite a lot. When I (Jeanette) was a student, my class mates and I used to skip school if we woke up and it had snowed in the night. Instead we drove to Strandafjellet and had a fantastic day in fresh untouched powder snow! Do you love powder as much as we do? Then you’ll totally understand!
The ski resort is located 1,5 hours from Vigra Airport Ålesund. That’s the shortest drive of all the places we’ll tell you about in this post. KLM has a direct flight from Amsterdam to Ålesund, so you can basically get there from all over the world. You can also fly from Oslo, Bergen and Copenhagen. Book your flight here!
Strandafjellet Ski resort opened in 1957 and has been a popular destination all the way from the beginning. They have developed quite much, and today they have a gondola taking you to 1062 m in seven minutes. From the top you have 360 degrees view of the fjord «Stordfjorden» that’s absolutely stunning! It’s even on UNESCOs world heritage.
Strandafjellet Ski resort has 7 lifts. Including the gondola up to one of the tops. 18 slops. And maybe the best off-piste area in whole Scandinavia. Completely untouched. And really easily accessible from the top lifts. Either you choose to walk even higher, or go down from the top lifts, you’ll get unbelievable amounts of powder snow – if you’re lucky!
When visiting this ski resort, you can stay at Stranda Hotel.
Fun fact: Strandafjellet actually means Beach-mountain in Norwegian.
Stryn Winter Ski And Summer Ski
Stryn Winter Ski
It’s a quite small ski resort, but it’s great for off-piste, and has great powder conditions. We snowboard here a lot because our family have a cabin here. And because we usually have a ski card valid for the whole season.
They offer 3 lifts that gets you up to 1000 m. They have 12 slopes. Plus all the off-piste areas that are easily available. In weekends and holidays, they have after ski with live music. Intimate, but fun after ski! They also have a restaurant, ski rental, great areas for kids and 30 km cross country slopes.
The whole region offers plenty of things to do, if you want to try something other than skiing/snowboarding. Take a trip to Hoven and get blown away by the view. You can even go on a sleigh ride all the way from the top and down.
Stryn Summer Ski
Did you know it’s possible to ski in the summer? In Norway it is! If you want to visit Norway in the summer time, but also want to try skiing, this is a great solution! In the winter the summer ski resort isn’t even open because there are so much snow that it’s above all the lifts. Normally they open in May, once the snow has melted enough. The season is short, just from end of May-July. Depending on how warm it gets. So make sure you plan your trip accordingly.
You can rent gear if you arrive without, and try out skiing in the Norwegian Mountains in your bikini if you want to. Some days the sun can make it quite warm, so it’s really possible to have a go in the slushy-snow with much less clothes than needed in the winter time. I once heard there actually exists a photo of my great-grandmother skiing in her bikini, taken right here!
They offer two lifts that gets you up to 1000 m. You’ll actually be skiing on the glacier «Tystigbreen», so then you can tick that of your bucket list as well!
Stryn is a 2,5-hour drive from Vigra Airport Ålesund, or approx. 45 min from Hovden Ørsta-Volda Airport. Find your flight by clicking here. For accommodation, check out the beautiful Hotel Hjelle here.
Biggest Ski Resort In Norway: Trysil
Trysil is one of the largest ski areas in whole Norway with its 65 km total slopes. They offer a total of 68 runs and 31 lifts. And they plan to get even bigger after the Scandinavian Mountains Airport opened just before Christmas. They get 1.1 million payed days per year and that makes them the biggest of all the ski resorts in the country.
Trysil is located just over 2 hours from Gardermoen Oslo Airport or only 40 minutes from Scandinavian Mountain Airport (which have flights from Stockholm, Gøteborg, Malmø, Ängelholm, Växjö, Copenhagen, Aalborg and London). Go ahead and book your flight by clicking here. The best choice when spending a few days in Trysil is to live as close as possible. For instance, check out the Radisson Blu Resort Trysil.
Since I was a kid, we’ve gone there to snowboard every winter and eastern vacation. Even though it’s not as big as the ski resorts in the alps, it’s still really big. There are many restaurants and bars, and some of them are even located in the middle of a slope. You can just swing by for a quick bite or a drink before you continue.
We went there together for the first time a few weeks ago. And for Pascal it was also really great. Have you ever been there? We really, really recommend it!
Do you dream of visiting Norway and really live in a Winter Wonderland? Then the options above are great! Thanks for reading!
