Kongsberg with children – a ski hill close to town with evening skiing in Buskerud

Kongsberg is an old silver-mining town on the Numedalslågen river, and on the west side of town rises Gruveåsen, home to one of the busiest ski hills in Eastern Norway. For a long time it was called Kongsberg Skisenter. Today it's called Skimore Kongsberg and is run by Skimore AS, the same company that operates Oslo Vinterpark in Tryvann and the hill in Drammen. For a family, it's a hill you visit for the day or the evening, not a resort to stay in for a week. All the Norwegian options, big and small, are gathered in Norway's ski resorts.

Why Kongsberg suits a family

The hill is in Funkelia, a few minutes from the centre, with a large free car park below the lifts. Nobody has to walk far in ski boots, and anyone who gets tired can sit in the car or the café while the rest carry on skiing.

There are five lifts and around twelve kilometres of runs. The vertical drop is just over 300 metres, from about 235 to 565 metres above sea level. That's enough for older children to get proper runs, but the layout is easy enough to keep track of that a family won't lose each other.

What sets Kongsberg apart from many other small hills is the lighting. All runs are floodlit, so an ordinary Tuesday can turn into an evening of skiing after work and school.

The family area and the first turns

The youngest start in the family area, which has its own child-friendly lift and is set apart from the faster runs. Here a four-year-old can practise the snowplough in peace and quiet while the parent stays on the slope.

Once the child can turn and stop, the easy runs from the top are waiting. About half the slopes are classed as easy, and the rest are split between intermediate and difficult. The four-seater chairlift runs as an express from Funkelia all the way up to Gruveåsen. A child riding a chairlift for the first time needs an adult beside them, and it's easiest for them to sit right at the back of the seat.

For teenagers and experienced children there's a terrain park with jumps and rails, plus a few steep black runs. If they want to move on to long runs above the tree line, the mountains of Buskerud are the next step.

Ski school and rental

The ski school teaches children, teenagers and adults, and its website lists private lessons of 45 or 90 minutes, on skis or snowboard. No minimum age is stated. For a child under six, 45 minutes is usually about right – concentration rarely lasts longer than that.

A few things are worth knowing before you book:

• Booking is online only and is binding. The place is confirmed once payment has gone through.
• If your child doesn't have a lift pass, the ski school provides the pass free during the lesson.
• Two children can share a 90-minute lesson if they're the same age and at the same level.
• The meeting point is the ski school flag outside the rental shop. Arrive a quarter of an hour early with your own equipment, and half an hour early if you're renting.

At the rental shop, children get a free helmet when they rent a full set of equipment, while stocks last. Your first ski trip with children goes through what you can practise at home before the first lesson.

Lift passes and age rules

Here, there's no age below which children ski free. This is how the age groups look in Skimore's price list:

• Knøtt (toddler), ages 0–6. A separate knøttkort, cheaper than the child pass.
• Child, ages 7–15.
• Adult, ages 16–66, and senior from age 67. Anyone aged 80 or over skis free.
• A keycard is required for everyone and isn't included in the price. Keep it for next time.

If you ski often, you can buy a membership instead of day passes. It's valid at Skimore's hills in Oslo, Drammen and Kongsberg and at a few partner resorts around Oslo. There are knøtt, standard and family memberships, but all are binding for twelve months. For a Swedish family coming here a few times a winter, day passes are usually simpler. Current prices are shown on Skimore's booking page.

Evening skiing and opening hours

Opening hours for 2026/27 and the season start date have not been published. Last winter the hill opened on 20 December, and the hours were:

• Monday–Friday: 10.00–22.00.
• Saturday–Sunday: 9.00–17.00.

That means weekday evenings are the hill's strong point – the children can fit in an hour or two on the slopes after school. Bring an extra jumper – it gets colder quickly once the sun has gone down. As the school holidays approach, you'll find the Swedish sportlov weeks (the February half-term ski holiday) in sportlov 2027 (Swedish February ski break).

Getting to Kongsberg

From Oslo take the E18 towards Drammen and then the E134 west to Kongsberg. It takes just over an hour. In Kongsberg, follow the E134 through the roundabouts, turn off onto Bergmannsveien and then turn towards Funkeliaveien. The hill is signposted all the way, and the address is Funkeliaveien 105.

From western Sweden take the E6 over Svinesund. An alternative is to take the Moss–Horten ferry across the Oslofjord and drive via Drammen, avoiding the traffic around Oslo. From Gothenburg it's a long day's journey each way, so most Swedish families combine Kongsberg with a night in town or a few days in the mountains.

By train the regional train runs from Oslo S via Drammen to Kongsberg, which is the end of the line. The journey takes just over an hour. From the station it's a few kilometres up to Funkelia, so count on a taxi for the last bit. Skimore also lists ski buses from Østfold and Vestfold. How car and train compare with children and ski bags is covered in getting to the ski resort.

Kongsberg, Eggedal or Oslo Vinterpark?

• Kongsberg suits you when you want floodlit slopes, evening skiing and a town with shops and accommodation right next door.
• Eggedal is a small mountain hill in Sigdal with a warming hut and cabins all around – read Eggedal with kids.
• Oslo Vinterpark is run by the same company and can be reached by metro from central Oslo – see Oslo Vinterpark with children.

When the children want longer runs than Gruveåsen can offer, Norefjell is the next step, with over a thousand metres of vertical. Before each day on the slopes, the ski trip packing list works as a checklist.