Winter experience7 days

Welcome to Östersund, in the heart of Sweden and on the middle of St.Olavsleden! This is a city where nature is just around the corner, and the people love to use nature as their playground.

An environmentally friendly way to travel to Östersund is by train and you can reach Östersund with a direct train from many bigger cities. Östersund is also accessible by plane.
You find your hotel located just a short walk from the train station. The city is proud to be elected as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy. The restaurant Jazzköket serves you local food of high quality before it’s time to get ready for an exciting day tomorrow!

Today you get the chance to both walk and ride parts of St. Olavsleden. Start the day with putting on your hiking boots and follow the walling path over the frozen lake that also is famous a myth about the great lake monster. You walk in the footsteps of Viking Olav and after a few kilometers you arrive to the northernmost located rune stone. This is a beautiful hike where you also encounter the nordic everyday life: children are often playing in the snow and people are biking over the ice to the city on their way to work. From the rune stone you can catch the bus to Frösö church: an important stop along St. Olavsleden.

Enjoy lunch at Norra Station, one of the best lunch places in Östersund, before you take the bus to Brunflo where you experience the trail on the back of a horse. One of the highlights here is Brunflo church, with a tower from the later part of the 12th century.

End the day with a relaxing afternoon and evening at the hotel spa with a 25 minute massage or similar.

Spend the day at the local museum named Jamtli, where the region’s cultural history comes to life. At the exhibition Vikings, the ancient woven cloths “Överhogdalsbonaderna” can be found. These fabrics have existed for more than 1000 years and depict a world miles away from the one we live in today. Jamtli is also home to a branch of the National Museum, with unique collections of Nordic paintings, sculptures, and other artwork dating from 1500-1900.

The train to the mountains leaves Östersund central station in the late afternoon and you arrive to the little village Hålland in perfect timing for a good dinner at your cozy hotel. This is a popular hotel for pilgrims on their way to Trondheim during summer time and the trail is located just a short walk from the hotel.

Take the public transport to Åre and enjoy a day in one of the oldest tourist regions in Sweden. Hundreds of years ago, in the industrial revolution, the first tourists arrived in Åre for a chance to breath the fresh mountain air and take a chance to get away from a stressful everyday life.
Today this little mountain village bustles and is the premier winter destination with a wealth of winter actives on offer. Dogsledding is for example one thing that we really recommend to do when you visit St. Olavsleden during the winter time! Other things that you can experience in Åre are skiing, ice fishing, snowshoe walk and a gastronomy hike. Don’t forget to take the cable car all the way up to Åreskutan, 1274 meters above sea level. Åre also offers you a lot of good restaurants, cafeterias and shops.

Start the day with a hike that takes you to a stunning frozen waterfall. This waterfall is located right along the pilgrim trail and is a place where lot of pilgrims stop to rest on their way to Trondheim/Nidaros. The walk to the waterfall is 3 kilometers and follows parts of the pilgrim trail. Depending on ice/snow conditions it is even possible to walk under the frozen waterfall.

Take the afternoon train west and get off right before the Norwegian border. Storlien, the village where you stay tonight, has a big hotel. The Swedish royal family also has a holiday home in this little village.

Enjoy a relaxed morning at the hotel in Storlien with a really good breakfast, before you grab the cross country skiing equipment and get out on a skiing tour in the surrounding nature. This is by far the best way to experience the winter lanscape in Sweden.
Before you leave Storlien we recommend a lunch at the hotel and then it’s time to rest your legs on the afternoon train back to Östersund.

Today is a day to enjoy the nordic city life in the winter town Östersund, before returning home. We have prepared a list with shops that you can’t miss during your time here – from local food products to Sami handcraft. ”Glashyttan” is an other place that you can visit today where you can learn about glass blowing.