Romme Alpin with children – the closest proper ski resort for Stockholm families

For many families in the Mälaren region, Romme Alpin is the nearest slope that feels like a proper ski resort: six chairlifts, 34 runs and a hotel at the foot of the slopes. The resort is 10 km outside Borlänge in southern Dalarna, about two and a half hours from Stockholm. That makes Romme perfect for the children's first day of skiing – or for a weekend as a dress rehearsal before a longer week in the mountains.

The beginner area in Romme Dal

The best thing about Romme for small children is where the beginner area is: in Romme Dal, right outside the entrance to the Ski Lodge. Here there are three magic carpets level with the snow, two of 30 metres and one of 90 metres, and they can be ridden with or without poles. Next to them are short, slow button lifts, and on the gentle slopes there are tunnels, poles, figures and small jumps to practise on.

Next to the beginner area there is a sledging hill and a large barbecue area. The barbecues are filled with charcoal and you light them yourselves from 11:00, so bring sausages. Sledging is only allowed on the sledging hill, not on the runs.

Once the magic carpet starts to get boring, Långa Knappliften is the next step. From the top, long, easy runs lead back down to Romme Dal, where the children practise their turns at a gentle pace. Next up is Solklinten Express, a six-seater chairlift to the top of Solklinten, and Snöberget Direkt, with more easy slopes up on Snöberget.

Tips: On Snöberget Nord, at the bottom of the Utsikten run, is Rommiland – a mini park with tunnels, small jumps and gentle turns for the youngest. Calles Kurvor, a green park with big banked turns, is reached via Nord Express.

The ski school – from age three

Group lessons in alpine skiing start from age three. The children's groups take children up to age nine, and there are youth groups for ten- to fifteen-year-olds. Group snowboarding is from age eight. Private lessons suit all ages and levels, and for children with disabilities there is an adaptive ski school with bi-skis and snowcarts. Most popular with the youngest is Rommis Våffelkalas (Rommi's waffle party), which is booked online through the ski school.

Book ski school early for the sportlov (February half-term) weeks, and arrive in good time for the first lesson – a child who has had a go on the magic carpet beforehand finds it easier to get started.

Age rules and SkiPass

• Children 0–6 years ski free, but still need a pre-booked SkiPass.
• Youth 7–17 pay the youth price, and adult rates apply from age 18.
• All SkiPasses must be booked in advance. Romme doesn't sell any passes on site, so book the whole family's passes before you go.
• To ride a lift without an adult, the child must be at least 140 centimetres tall.
• Baby carriers are not allowed on the slopes and lifts, so the youngest sibling has to wait in the playroom or on the sledging hill.

If you buy a season pass for a young person, there is a parent pass that is bought at the same time, one per young person. Season pass holders don't need to pre-book their ski days. Current prices are shown when you book.

Day trip or overnight stay?

A day trip from Stockholm works best for children who can already manage a long day. The ski bus leaves Cityterminalen at 6:30 or 7:00, depending on the booking, and heads back a quarter of an hour after the lifts close: 15:15 until 21 January and 16:15 after that. The ticket can be combined with a SkiPass. Every child needs a seat of their own, and you bring your own child car seat or booster cushion. Buses also run from places including Uppsala, Västerås, Örebro, Sala and Norrköping.

Staying overnight makes the day much calmer with small children. The Ski Lodge has 169 rooms, and the family rooms sleep four, five or six people. The breakfast buffet is included, the ski room has an entrance straight from the snow, and a staffed playroom opens at 15:00. Bear in mind that only children under two can sleep as an extra person in the room, and a cot can be booked for them. Larger families can rent Holgers Hus or Annas Hus, two houses with their own kitchen just under a kilometre from the slopes.

Getting to Romme

• By car: from Stockholm it is around 220 km via Enköping, Sala, Avesta and Säter. Uppsala and Örebro are about two hours away, Västerås an hour and forty minutes. Parking is free, with just over 2,500 spaces.
• By train: take the train to Borlänge C and continue with a Dalatrafik bus to the Koppslahyttan/Rommealpin stop, or by taxi, about 10 km.
• Ski bus: direct from Stockholm and several towns in the Mälaren region, Östergötland and Närke, see above. Children under fifteen must be accompanied by an adult on the bus.

No evening skiing – plan your day

Romme has no evening skiing in its opening hours for the 2026/27 season. The slopes and lifts are open 9:00–15:00 between 19 December and 20 January, and 9:00–16:00 from 21 January to 4 April. So in December and January the day is short, which is one reason to stay overnight if you want to fit in both ski school and skiing on your own.

Food on the slopes

The waffle hut on Snöberget serves waffles with homemade jam and simple lunches such as goulash soup. Down in Romme Dal there are burgers, a café and traditional Swedish home cooking. If you bring your own packed lunch, you can eat it in the Värmestugan warming hut by Torget, but there is no microwave, so bring hot food in a flask. There are more ideas for packed lunches in food on a ski trip, and a flask of hot chocolate works wonders at the barbecue spot.

After Romme – on to the mountains?

Romme is a good place to learn to ski before the family takes the step to a whole week in the mountains. Once the children can handle Långa Knappliften and the blue runs from Solklinten, they are ready for bigger slopes. Compare the mountain resorts in ski trips in Sweden, read about the children's areas in Sälen with kids or head over the border to Trysil with kids. If it is your first time, the rest of the planning is in ski trip for beginners and the first ski trip with children.

Romme is busiest during the sportlov weeks. Which week your municipality has off is in winter sports break 2027, and there are more holiday tips for families in the capital in sportlov (February half-term) in Stockholm. Before the day, the ski trip packing list helps you remember everything.