Salen

Salen is home to the only ski-through McDonald’s in the world! No wonder it is considered to be a family ski resort! Salen in the Dalarna region is a four to five hours drive from Stockholm. It is Scandinavia’s largest ski domain with four separate ski areas, connected by free shuttle buses. Salen is a quite small town on the bank of a river with several ski resorts spread out on the same valley.

Each of the four ski areas at the resort offers ski schools with tuition for children. The most popular ski school in Sweden is at Lindvallen. Salen has superb facilities for beginners, especially children, with its gentle gliding slopes and varied terrain and has grown to be the most popular family ski resort in Sweden. It plays host to the Scandinavian Ski Week, a gathering for student skiers with students travelling from all over for a fun-filled ski camp at very economical rates.

Salen offers some good downhill and cross-country slopes, though the scenery is not particularly spectacular. The surrounding hilly area makes for gentle slopes and there are 160 well maintained downhill runs, covering a total of 145kms. A hundred lifts operate here and 400 snow cannons ensure a good cover on the slopes throughout the season. Most runs will suit the absolute beginner and early intermediates with 60 green runs, 31 blue runs, 31 red and 31 black. There is over 300km of cross-country skiing at Salen, in addition to off-piste skiing and half-pipes for the more adventurous.

The accommodation ranges from cottages and apartments to hotels, and there are forty restaurants and ten discos for entertainment. There are also some rather typical Scandinavian pastimes such as dog-sledding and horse-sleigh rides. One can also go on a snowmobile or snow-scooter safari tour and even ice-carting, paragliding and swimming. The season runs from mid-November to the end of April. The most convenient route to Salen is via Stockholm Airport a domestic flight to Mora, followed by a bus to the resort.