Cross country skiing in Norway

Donning a pair of skis and gliding across pristine landscapes is the ideal way to experience Norway’s winter season. Often overshadowed by its flashier, faster paced downhill sibling, cross country skiing is written in Norway’s very DNA. An essential means of transport across the wilderness for thousands of years, it made the transition to winter recreation as early as the 1800s, and you’ll find everything from groomed slopes to remote backcountry paths criss-crossing incredible places inaccessible by road.

Our Norwegian cross country skiing holidays concentrate on lesser visited ski spots that are popular with local people rather than large alpine ski areas that draw international crowds and rely on ski lifts, graded pistes and fake snow. In this way, not only will you lessen your environmental impact, you’ll meet local Norwegians and get plenty of off-path action, where the only tracks you’ll encounter are those of elk and deer.

There are holidays available for all levels of skier, from beginner to advanced, with beginners receiving tuition at the start. Some tours are centre based, meaning that you’ll return to the same bed every night, after exploring different areas of the local terrain each day, with an experienced guide along for the ride. Others involve self-guided cross country skiing from point to point, with nights spent in mountain lodges and your luggage transferred for you. The latter are tougher, with more time spent out on the snow, and therefore only suitable for those with some prior experience.

All of our cross country skiing breaks are small group holidays, meaning that you’ll have a small band of between four and 16 fellow travellers with whom to share the highs, lows and aches and pains along the way.

Our Norway cross country skiing holidays are all about exploring frozen lakes, forests and fells, taking time off for sleigh rides and snowmobiling. They take place off the major tourist drag in central Norway, in quiet spots popular with Norwegians. You could spend your week in Venabu, just outside Rondane National Park, in a landscape of plains, thick forest and sharp mountain peaks; head for Rjukan, set in Norwegian high country and surrounded by mountainous land and scenic lakes; hole up in Mosstrond, a picturesque town on shores of Lake Mosvatn - on which you can ski; or get your winter action in Kamben, where there’s an excellent range of trails for all levels.

Keen on following a point to point trail? Then high points include the hardy Troll Trail Rondane to Lillehammer and the easier Peer Gynt trail, north of Lillehammer between Espedalen and Skeikampen.

December to March is the best time to go cross country skiing in Norway, though beware of the shorter days earlier on. At this time the snow is soft, the landscape still fit for winter wonderland fantasies. There is usually a Norwegian school holiday in mid to late February, at which time popular spots get busy.