Dundret with kids – the town's own ski hill north of the Arctic Circle

Dundret isn't a mountain out in the roadless wilds. It's Gällivare's very own ski hill, and it rises right on the edge of town. From the base station you can see the town's rooftops, and from the top you can see out towards the Kebnekaise massif. With small children in tow, that makes for an unusual combination: a ski resort with 320 metres of vertical and thirteen runs, but with a train station, an airport and a supermarket just round the corner.

What Dundret is like for a family

Gällivare Municipality bought the resort in 2019, and today it's run by the municipal company Dundret Gällivare Fjällanläggning AB. You can buy lift passes in the online shop or at reception by the base station.

Below the mountain lies the lake Harrträsket, and between the mountain and the town centre is Repisvaara, a district that has grown up in recent years as the neighbouring town of Malmberget has had to move to make way for the mine. You can stay on the slopes, but you can just as easily stay in town and take the local bus up.

Dundret has four lifts: the magic carpet Trollbandet, the drag lifts Mellanliften and Liikavaaraliften, and the six-seater chairlift Dundret Express, which goes all the way to the top. There are also three snow parks, two on the main mountain and one in Liikavaara.

The children's area and the green runs

The littlest ones start down by the base station. That's where you'll find Trollbandet, a magic carpet next to the green Pulkbacken. The ski school is based at the base station.

The next step is Liikavaara, the small hill east of the main mountain. That's where the children's area is, with its own drag lift, the green Liikavaarabacken and the blue Stugbacken. It's a little world of its own, away from the fast skiers on the main mountain.

Start on Trollbandet. Once your child can turn and stop on Pulkbacken, it's time for Liikavaara, and only after that for the chairlift up to the top.

What sets Dundret apart from many smaller Swedish ski hills is that the main lift is a chairlift. A child who can't cope with a long drag lift can still come along to the top. From there, the blue Grönskimmer sweeps in long turns all the way down, and the green Skogsbacken takes you back towards the base station. The black runs Drivan and Störtloppsbacken are on the west side and are best left to teenagers and parents.

Ski school at Dundret

There's no big ski school run by the resort here. Instead, the teaching is split between two providers:

• Friluftsfrämjandet Gällivare-Malmberget runs ski school for children, teenagers and adults in three levels. In Lämmeln, beginners learn to glide, turn, brake and ride the lift. Räven is for those who can already do that, and in Lodjuret the children practise turning and stopping with parallel skis.
• Karin Niva offers private lessons in downhill and cross-country skiing, and group ski school for children.

Neither of them has published age limits or course dates for 2026/27. So ask when you book whether your child is old enough. A private lesson can be a good first step for a three-year-old, who is otherwise often too young for group lessons.

The cross-country trails in Gällivare

Gällivare is a cross-country skiing town with a long history. The ski stadium in town is named after Marcus Hellner, who moved here to attend the ski upper secondary school. For a family, it's the short floodlit trails that count:

• Harrträskslingan, 2.5 kilometres and almost flat, suits children who have only just started.
• Tallbackaspåret (2.4 kilometres) and Mosebackespåret (3.5 kilometres) are green too.
• Himlatorgsspåret starts at Hellnerstadion with a long uphill and is blue.
• Världscup 5:an is black and best watched when the elite are racing.

You can rent cross-country skis from Northstar at Dundret.

The dark season, northern lights and spring skiing

Gällivare lies just north of the Arctic Circle, but according to SMHI, the Swedish weather service, the polar night only begins a few tens of kilometres north of a line through Pajala and Gällivare. Around Christmas, then, the sun does just about rise, but only for a short while in the middle of the day. So a ski day in December is a day of blue, low light. It's best for children who find the dark exciting, and for families who'd rather ski in short sessions and then head indoors.

The darkness has one advantage: the northern lights. Gällivare Municipality gives September to March as the season and names three places as especially good, and two of them are on the way up to the slopes. They are the car park at Björnfällan on Dundret and the car park along Femmanvägen. It gets dark early in midwinter, so on a clear evening you can drive a little way up after dinner, switch off the headlights and look north. Dress the children as you would for a ski day.

At the other end of the season comes spring skiing. According to Dundret, Easter and April are traditionally the most sought-after time, with long, light days and snow still on the slopes. On the weekend before Easter 2026, the ski cross World Cup final was held here. Opening times for 2026/27 haven't been published yet, but they're posted day by day in the resort's calendar. Check your municipality's school holiday weeks in sportlov 2027 (Swedish February ski break) and easter break 2027.

How to get to Dundret

• Night train: Gällivare is on Malmbanan, the iron ore railway. From December 2026, SJ runs a daily night train between Stockholm and Narvik, and the couchettes and sleeping cars are to run all the way without a change. You fall asleep on the train and wake up far up in Norrbotten. The station is next to the town centre, and the local bus goes up to Dundret. There's more about travelling to the mountains by train in trains to the mountains – does it work?
• By air: there are daily flights from Stockholm-Arlanda to Gällivare Lapland Airport. From there, it takes about a quarter of an hour to the slopes.
• By car: the E10 and E45 meet in Gällivare. From town, it's a few minutes up to Dundret. If you're weighing the car against the train and flying, compare the options in the guide to driving, the train and flying to the mountains.

Dundret or its neighbours along Malmbanan?

Dundret suits families who want a town around the ski hill, a night train right to the door and a season that starts in darkness and ends in Easter sunshine. Carry on further up along Malmbanan and you come to Björkliden with children, a small mountain village by Torneträsk, and Riksgränsen, which is steeper and suits older children. Across the border is Narvik, with views over the fjord.

If you want to compare with resorts further south, the full list is in ski trips in Sweden, and in southern Lapland there's Kittelfjäll with two children's areas. If it's the children's first week on skis, start with first ski trip with kids. Warm layers, head torches and everything else for the bags are in the packing list.