Ski Sweden? Idre Fjäll is Their Family Favourite
Ski Sweden? Well of course you can, but not many people outside the country know much at all about the options.
If they have heard of anywhere, the number #1 and largest Swedish resort of Are would likely be the one, 615km / 7 hours drive north west from the capital Stockholm.
But a bit further south and over an hour closer, the beautiful community owned Idre Fjäll offers plenty for all levels and budgets. If you’re doing Europe in a campa haul into the slopeside park and ski from your van door. Plus nearby Himmelfjäll, Sweden’s first new ski area in 3 decades, is on a roll.
Idre Fjäll lift passes are great value too – SEK 440 for a day pass, 1890 for 7 days – about $AUD 68 / $290
Our Swedish Correspondent Felix Aradsson, fresh from a COVID-evading season in Chamonix, Engelberg and Verbier, checked out the Idre Fjäll area before Easter and found a lot to like.
Idre Fjäll was set up as a community foundation in 1968 as a way to keep the village alive and flourishing and has since then become one of the most popular ski resorts in Sweden.
Idre is a very cozy location to ski and is really friendly with many green and blue runs all over the mountain. There are alot of slopes to access through lifts and many of them are really long runs by Swedish standards.
© Felix Aradsson 
© Felix Aradsson
It is also possible to access really nice cross country tracks, that are long and always in good conditions. There is opportunity to rent snowmobiles to get a guided tour for 3 hours or even a whole day.
You get to experience typical Swedish things like cooking hot dogs over an open fire or maybe even see a reindeer or a moose. Idre is also specially famous for a slope called ‘Chocken’ that is one of Europe’s steepest slopes, with the steepest part being 48 deegres.
When you come to Idre you have to try a swedish special called Våffla (Swedish style waffles) that you can eat with various things like cream and jam.
With Idre Fjäll’s biggest lift pass you can access three different ski areas. Idre Fjäll is the main one where most of the people live; the other two are Himmelfjäll and Fjätervålen.
On the top of Idre you can visit the cabin ”utsikten” where you have a 360 degree view of the beatiful mountains such as Städjan and Nipfjället.
Another really nice thing at Idre and Himmelfjäll is that most of the cabins are located in places with ski in and ski out access which makes things a lot easier getting on and off the slopes. Idre fjäll also has skiing in every direction north, east, west and south, so you can shelter from the prevailing winds.
Idre has a long season too.
Idre Himmelfjäll is the first newly built ski area in Sweden for 3 decades.
We were welcomed by shining sun and corduroy in every piste.
Lifts reach the top of Himmelfjäll at 875m for a magic view where you can see magnificent mountain tops. From the top you can also take a slope down through the forest that is over 3.2 kilometers long.
They guarantee snow from December to April up here at 61° latitude – the same as Alaska.
The area has a big variety of different slopes, many that suit families with kids, but there are also a few for people that want to ski some steeper slopes with speed. Himmelfjäll offers a magnificent lunch at Knoddes Streetfood with many different dishes.
A lot of houses are being built around Himmelfjäll, and even a former World Cup skier has chosen to build her own house here, so if you want a lot hurry up before they’re all sold out. The staff was really kind delivering top service. I think that this area really has potential to become huge in the next couple of years.
Fjätervålen is another ski area close to Idre and Himmelfjäll.
This is an area where many ski teams train both slalom and super g and they have FIS-accepted slopes. Fjätervålen is a quite small area at the moment, with 3 lifts and 16 slopes but wow, they delivered far over expectations with long pistes and they were all so well prepared.
Everyone from the staff was so nice and helped you out with everything you asked for. This area has huge plans for the future with big visions involving building hotels, place for 8000 people to sleep and an amazing looking top cabin, but the best thing of them all a really nice chair lift.
This is the ski area for hardcore skiers that prefer red and black slopes, but there are also huge potential for offpiste skiing and snow is not a problem during winter. Who knows, maybe this is the new metropole of swedish skiing in a couple of years?
It’s nice to see that there are still big visions for the future in the Swedish mountains. Both Fjätervålen and Himmelfjäll will hopefully get a lot of support from people believing in local and national business.
A great tip for visiting Idre is to try Himmelfjäll or Fjätervålen on days like Saturday or Sunday when the big area can be a bit crowded. With the big lift card from Idre fjäll you can ski all three areas for about 2000 swedish kronor.
There’s so much more to explore around the Swedish mountains than skiing with lifts, with so many nice ski touring opportunities that not a lot people try.
The area is home to the traditional Sami culture, and there are many opportunities to experience that,
Getting to Idre Fjall
From Stockholm 470km from around 5:45 – 6 hours. You can get a train to Mora and bus from there.
Recommended at Idre Fjall
Where to eat: Vildmarksnästet
Where to stay: Pernilla Wiberg hotel
Where to after ski: Vildmarksnästet
Where to ski: Fjätervålen
Useful links
Resort sites
