Sälen with kids in winter – four areas, the children's slopes and where the ski school meets

Sälen is Sweden's largest ski resort and has been one of families' favourite mountains since the 1970s, and you can tell on the slopes: most runs are green, blue and red, and every area has its own children's slopes. But Sälen is not one mountain but four ski areas along the same valley, and where you stay decides how the week turns out. This guide is only about winter with children. For summer there is a separate guide, Sälen in summer, and an overview of all the mountains in Sälenfjällen.

Two pairs of mountains

SkiStar's four areas in Sälen are connected in pairs. Lindvallen and Högfjället are linked by a transport lift, and Tandådalen and Hundfjället by transport lifts between them. Between the pairs you take the ski bus, which is included in the SkiPass and runs between accommodation and lifts in all four areas.

With small children you will in practice stay within one of the pairs during the week. The ski school, the children's slope and the café should ideally be within walking distance of the cabin, and the bus is good for a day trip – to the Troll Forest or Experium – rather than for getting to ski school every morning.

The children's areas in each part

Lindvallen is Sälen's largest area and has the most children's slopes. Valleberget outside Experium, at Experiumtorget, is one of Europe's largest children's areas, with several drag lifts, conveyor lifts, a sledging hill and Valletorget. Sydpolen at Söderåsen Express is smaller and quieter, with a conveyor lift, a drag lift, green slopes, a heated hut and a barbecue area. A third children's area is at Sälfjällstorget, close to parking and services.

Högfjället lies higher, on open bare mountain, and has a small children's area below Högfjällshotellet. There you will find conveyor lifts, drag lifts and Knattesvängen with tunnels and figures. The area is easy to keep an eye on, and the transport lift takes you to Lindvallen's children's slopes.

Tandådalen has children's areas in both of its parts. At Tandådalstorget is Valle's ski land with drag lifts, conveyor lifts and ski school, and in Östra Tandådalen a quieter children's area with green slopes. Sälen's largest Snow Park is also here, which makes Tandådalen a good choice if you have both small children and a teenager in the family.

Hundfjället is perhaps the most child-friendly area of all. Trollbäckstorget is a large beginner area with conveyor lifts, drag lifts, a sledging hill and a heated hut, and at Hundfjällstorget there is Valle's childcare for the youngest while you take a few runs yourselves.

Valle's ski school – for three- to nine-year-olds

Valle's groups are available in all four areas and take children from age three up to nine. The children learn to turn and stop through play, and during lessons they are covered by accident insurance through the ski school. The meeting points are linked to the lifts, and the table above shows where they are.

In Lindvallen there are three meeting points: Experiumtorget, between Svalan (L9) and the LR2 conveyor, Gustavsplatsen a little way up the slope between Korpen (L16) and Nordpolen (L17), and Sälfjällstorget, between Haren (L25) and Fasanen (L27). Which one applies depends on the group you book. In Hundfjället older children, teenagers and adults meet at Kvarten (H15), a short distance from Valle's meeting point.

Book the ski school first and the accommodation second. A meeting point on the other side of the area – or in another area – turns every morning into a logistics exercise with ski boots and little legs.

The lift pass – free until age seven

Until children turn seven, the lift pass costs nothing in SkiStar's areas. From age seven children pay, including to attend ski school. The SkiPass is valid in all four areas and on the ski bus, and if you have a SkiPass for at least three days, two of them can be used in Trysil on the Norwegian side – more about the children's slopes there in Trysil with kids.

Magic Mountain and the Troll Forest

Magic Mountain is Sälen's evening skiing for families. Every day between 5 and 6 pm, from week 51 until 7 March 2027, Valleberget in Lindvallen becomes a floodlit slope with a light show. It is included in the SkiPass, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays Valle the snowman comes to say hello.

The Troll Forest in Hundfjället is Sälen's best-known children's experience: an easy one-and-a-half-kilometre run through the forest with more than 800 wooden trolls, troll sounds and lights. Since the 24/25 winter a drag lift goes up to the Lyktan restaurant, and from there you ski down through the forest. There are barbecue areas both at the top and at the bottom, so bring a packed lunch. At the bottom is Trollens Fäbod with activities several days a week.

When the children need a rest day

Experium in Lindvallen is Sälen's answer to a snowstorm or tired legs: a large adventure pool, indoor surfing, bowling and restaurants under one roof. The ski bus goes there from all four areas. The sledging hills at Valleberget and Trollbäckstorget work for an afternoon when the skis get a rest.

How to get to Sälen

Sälen is about 400 km from Stockholm, 460 km from Gothenburg and 740 km from Malmö. Two options let you leave the car at home:

• By train: in winter 2026/27 Snälltåget runs to Mora on Saturdays between 19 December and 10 April, mostly from Malmö via Stockholm and some weeks via Gothenburg. A transfer bus waits at Mora station and runs to Experiumtorget, Sälfjällstorget, Högfjällshotellet, Tandådalstorget and Hundfjällstorget.
• By air: Scandinavian Mountains Airport is right by the mountains, with direct flights from Stockholm Arlanda. The transfer bus takes about ten minutes to Hundfjället and Tandådalen and twenty-five minutes to Lindvallen.

If this is the family's first ski trip, the rest of the planning is in the guide to the first ski trip with kids.

Sälen or another mountain?

Kläppen and Stöten are also in the Sälen mountains but are separate resorts with their own lift passes. If you want to compare Sälen with other Swedish mountains, such as Idre and Vemdalen, they are in ski trips in Sweden, and we compare the ski school in Idre in Idre Fjäll ski school. Sälen is busiest during the sports holiday weeks – which week your municipality has off is in winter sports break 2027.