Anyone been to Are bike park in Sweden? The Mrs wants to go visit a friend in Sweden and as a sweetener has suggested we could go meet them in Are to keep me occupied. Can't say fairer than that I guess but I was wondering how the riding is because I'm not exactly hardcore but I enjoyed Whistler as there was plenty of alternative to double black runs.

Anyone? 😉

a few of my mates went 3-4yrs ago and loved it!!

I live in Sweden and have a question for you. Where in Sweden does your wife's friend live? Sweden is a huge country so for me for example, who lives right in the South (Lund), it would probably be as quick and definitely easier to get to the Alps. There are other bike parks though. Åre is meant to be really good but remember you are getting near the Arctic circle so it can get cold even in summer.

http://www.arebikepark.se/en/

Guide in swedish to swedish bike parks

Jedi – If the trip comes off, I'll have to talk to you for some coaching before I go

GEDA – Uppsala but the idea is a group trip somewhere I can ride my bike for a couple of days while other people hang out and then off to Uppsala or Stockholm for a more normal holiday.

I haven't been in the summer, but as a guide it'll take you about 10 hours to get to Åre from Stockholm/Uppsala area. The night train is pretty handy and not too expensive if you book in advance (sj.se). Assuming that works then for you then its probably worth a visit.

To be honest, it's not where I'd head to first in Sweden if you've never been before, that area is vaguely similar to some areas of the Scottish Highlands, only somehow more tame in a weird way. That said, if you're from the south or like the idea of uplifts, it's probably pretty good. Also, there are loads of other things for non-bikers to do as it is a ski 'resort' so is set up for tourists. It might be worth asking on happymtb.org for more advice from locals.

Went there last year, very nice very chilled out place.

The number of runs is slightly limited in comparison to some (lift) resorts you might go to in the alps (for example); but there are some fun trails and on some mornings I had the place to myself (just me and the lifties) so very mellow.

The upper section isn't so steep with some quite pedally trails (not full on DH). The WC course is good. The Shimano trail was still being built when I was there (I guess its their take on A Line). They were also just cutting the trail for the (mega) avalanche style event so whilst it was rideable, I couldn't comment on it quality.

There is also a bit of bike park stuff – ladder drops, fun box, etc.

Lots of good bars, Broken was a fav.

Let me know if you need any more info. I'm sure I've got a trail map somewhere.

local attractions do include the moose farm …

I think his name was Oscar or something, big star on german TV apparently.

Nice pics floki, that elk looks mums 😉

atlaz, yeah just email me or contact on here 🙂

Soo, where else is better to go?

TBH, given I'll have Mrs Atlaz and friends in tow, uplift works perfectly because I can ride and never be too far away so can still make it seem like I'm part of the same holiday as everyone else.

Hey atlaz, my last post wan't much help, sorry. To be honest, if you want hills with uplift and stuff for non-bikers to do, in Sweden, then Åre is probably the best bet. It's accessible (in Scandinavian terms), a relatively large 'resort' that is set up for a variety of activities for people not riding, and is probably the most developed of Sweden's winter sports areas for biking in the summer (more than say, Funäsdalen, Sälen etc. which are developing their bike infrastructure too). The riding will almost certainly keep you happy and the location is pretty nice too.

All I meant earlier, is that I probably wouldn't choose to go anywhere in Sweden if I was looking for somewhere with the uplift, vertical drop, and general mix of stuff that you can find in the Alps, Canada etc… However, if you are going to be there, and are looking for somewhere to do that kind of thing, Åre is the most obvious choice.

One thing to bear in mind, bike hire will almost certainly be very expensive- see here for example…