Oppdal with children – Vangslia, Stølen, Hovden and Ådalen for families

Oppdal is not a ski resort built on the bare mountain. It is a real village in Trøndelag, with four mountainsides rising around it, so the week feels different from a purpose-built resort. You do your shopping in the village, take the ski bus to the slopes and go home to a cabin that may be on the other side of the valley. With children, the key is knowing which two of the four mountainsides are built for them.

The four mountainsides

Oppdal Skisenter has around 56 kilometres of pistes and 715 metres of vertical, spread across four mountainsides: Vangslia, Stølen, Ådalen and Hovden. The mountainsides are linked by runs and a connecting lift, so good skiers can get around the whole area on skis.

• Vangslia is the biggest and busiest mountainside and is usually the first to open each season. Here there are two chairlifts, a children's slope with a magic carpet, and the terrain parks.
• Stølen is three kilometres north of the centre and is smaller and quieter, with a children's slope and children's area near the car park.
• Ådalen is in the middle and is reached via the runs from the other mountainsides. There is plenty of off-piste and freeriding here, and it is no place for someone who has only just learnt to turn.
• Hovden has a single chairlift and one black run. It opens later than the others and only runs at weekends until the big school holidays.

So with children of ski school age, stick to Vangslia and Stølen. Ådalen and Hovden can wait until the children manage the red runs with room to spare.

The children's areas in Vangslia and Stølen

Both children's areas have magic carpets, tunnels, figures and their own children's slopes, and by the family areas there is a warming hut and barbecue spots. Bring sausages and bread – it is both cheaper and more fun than the restaurant.

For the 2026/27 winter, Barnelandet is being expanded in both areas, with more room for play and those first turns. In Vangslia, Skogsløypa til Moskar also opens – a new easy forest trail with the mascot Moskar as the finish – along with a beginner park with small jumps and boxes for anyone who wants to try the park. If the children enjoy it, there is a beginner park and a main park to grow into.

In Stølen's children's area, a lavvo is put up – a warm Sámi-style tent to rest and eat in – and you can peek inside Moskar's own hut. Stølen also has the easiest route from the car park to the children's area, which matters when you are carrying ski boots, skis and a tired three-year-old. Pushchairs are not allowed on the chairlift, though, so a children's area near the car park is worth its weight in gold.

The ski school

The ski school has groups for children and teenagers, from those who have never stood on skis to those who have skied a little, and private lessons for all ages. It is based at Skishopen in Stølen, and the meeting points are below Rockoss in Stølen and at T-kroken in Vangslia. There is also adaptive ski teaching, including with sit-skis.

Book online in advance to be sure of a place, especially during the winter school holidays. Then choose your accommodation based on the meeting point, not the other way round. How to plan a first ski week with small children is covered in the guide to the first ski trip with kids.

Age rules and lift passes

• Children up to and including age six ski free – but only with a helmet. Every child still needs their own lift pass.
• Children under ten or shorter than 140 centimetres must ride the chairlift with an adult.
• The lift pass is valid at three resorts. Alpinco's lift passes are valid in Hafjell, Kvitfjell and Oppdal, and the Fjellpass season pass gives unlimited skiing at all three. Buy the pass online before you arrive – the machines are by Onkel Pudder in Vangslia, in Hovden and in Stølen.

More about the children's areas at the neighbouring resorts on the same pass is in Hafjell's slopes and Kvitfjell.

Opening hours and the 2026/27 season

Oppdal opens for the season in late November or around the turn of the month into December, depending on the snow, and no exact date has been published yet. In the 2026/27 season, the lifts are open 10.00–16.00 every day, and from January 2027 there is evening skiing on Tuesdays and Thursdays 18.00–20.30.

The lifts not opening until ten o'clock suits families with children well – breakfast doesn't have to be a stressful affair. But the afternoon ends early in December, so do the playing on the children's slope in the morning and have your fika – the Swedish coffee-and-snack break – after three o'clock.

The free ski bus

A free ski bus runs every day during the season. The loop starts at Oppdal busstasjon, goes via Gamle brannstasjon by Skifer Hotel and Oppdal Gjestetun, and continues to Vangslia, Hovden, Sletvold and Stølen. Last winter the bus started running on 20 December, with a morning service straight to Vangslia and then roughly one departure an hour.

Parking in Stølen and Vangslia is charged, and cameras read your number plate. In Hovden there are only a few spaces by the chairlift. So if you are staying in the village, the bus is often the easiest option.

The train to Oppdal

Oppdal is on the Dovre Line between Oslo and Trondheim, and the station is right in the village, with tourist information in the station building. From Trondheim the journey takes about two hours, and a few local trains a day also run between Oppdal and Trondheim.

From Oslo, take the same train north past Lillehammer, Hunderfossen and Kvitfjell and then over Dovrefjell. It is a long day on the train, but it makes it easy to combine the resorts. How to get to Hafjell by train and bus is in Hafjell ski bus and parking, and more about travelling by train with children and skis is in train to the mountains.

Oppdal or the resorts around Lillehammer?

Oppdal suits families who want to stay in a real village and have children who want both to play on the children's slope and to ski further. If you want a shorter journey from Sweden, the ski resorts around Lillehammer is closer, and even closer to the border is Trysil with kids. Another Norwegian family resort a short trip from Oslo is Norefjell with children. All the Norwegian resorts are gathered in Norway's ski trips, and what the children need in their bag is in the ski trip packing list.