Cross-Country

Here is a map of the Nordseter and Sjusjøen cross-country area.

For the real cross-country enthusiasts, Norway is Nirvana. Here, cross-country skiing is not simply a sport, it is a lifestyle, a way of transportation, a social affair and everyday exercise. In North America and the Alps, cross-country skiing is in some respects the poor cousin to downhill skiing and snowboarding. Americans and other Europeans have never developed the excitement that Scandinavians have for the Nordic sports.

From the capital city, cross-country trails can literally take a skier to every corner of Norway. Trails are measured in tens of kilometers or miles in Colorado, Wyoming, California and New England. Even in the Alps, loops are carefully measured and trails shoot across a lake here or there. But in Norway, the network is measured in thousands of kilometers. For that matter, the distances don’t really matter, when the entire country is accessible on cross-country skis.

Every area has a stated length of their trail system, however those statistics only refer to the trails that their region maintains.

In Lillehammer, trails lead right from the city through the woods surrounding the town. They connect to more trails that connect to Hafjell where the cross-country area criss-crosses the top of the mountain before descending into the dale. In Kvitfjell, the downhill course slashes down the mountain that is surrounded by caressing tracks set for kicking and gliding. These trails never end. Intrepid cross-country skiers can head over to the North Sea or back to Oslo.

The excellent cross-country trails at and around the Birkebeiner Ski Stadium are suitable for both adults and children. The 5-km-long lighted trail is popular all winter, and is lit up until 10 p.m. every evening. The stadium is the ideal starting point for trips into the local mountains, and is connected to a 450-km long trail of cross-country tracks.