Alta Between Cross-Country Skiing and Culture

Alta offers a variety of ways to explore the surrounding area actively while also discovering culture in the town centre. For cross-country skiing, the options range from short, easy routes to challenging training and competition trails. The centre also has plenty to offer, including the ice rink in the market square, Nordlysbadet and the Northern Lights Cathedral. Which of these interests you most can help you choose the right base for your stay.

Cross-country skiing on trails with different characteristics

Arctic Alta offers a route through several types of landscape: the 42 km cross-country ski trail starts at BUL-Banen in Bossekop and runs through the town, farmland, forest and mountain scenery to Kaiskuru Ski Stadium. If you are looking for shorter routes or ones more focused on training, the Kaiskuru ski area has a 5.5 km training loop and 12 km of challenging competition trails. These trails are groomed daily.

Byløypa connects all the other cross-country ski trails in Alta. It is 21 km long, easy to ski and runs from east to west—or in the opposite direction—through the Alta settlement. The shorter BUL-løypa runs for 11 km from Bossekop to Eiby. It is also easy to ski and illuminated, with rest areas and places to play on skis along the route. When choosing a route, you can therefore take its length, lighting and level of difficulty into account without treating the different trails as equivalent.

Other options have different features: the 5 km Komsa trail is a challenging, gently hilly and illuminated ski loop. On the flat terrain at Sandfallet, there is an easy 4 km out-and-back route. The Saga trail is also 5 km long and easy to ski; it is located in the east of the town, is illuminated and connects to the Kaiskuru ski area. In Tverrelvdalen, you can choose between a challenging 12 km training route and a 5 km trail for sporty skiers. This makes it possible to compare routes by length and the stated level of difficulty.

There is also a designated activity beyond cross-country skiing: Gruvevannsrunden is an approximately 5.5 km fatbike loop of moderate difficulty, with varied single-track sections. The ice rink is right in the middle of the market square in central Alta. Admission and skate hire are free.

Culture and activities in the centre

The Northern Lights Cathedral is in central Alta, at the end of the pedestrian street. It was consecrated by Bishop Per Oskar Kjølsaas on 10 February 2013. The library offers another cultural destination alongside this striking landmark: it is next to the pedestrian street and frequently hosts music, talks and exhibitions.

Nordlysbadet is also located in the centre. Its facilities include a swimming pool, a leisure pool, a water slide, a paddling pool and a whirlpool. This means the venue offers a range of different water activities. If you are travelling with your family, you can consider these different activities when planning what to do each day, without confusing them with the physical demands of the ski trails.

Northern Lights experiences and a place to stay

The Northern Lights Tour in Alta is listed as starting in the centre at 20:00; it usually returns to the centre shortly after midnight. The guided tour provides information about the way of life in Norway, Stone Age history, Sami culture, reindeer husbandry and wildlife, as well as the Second World War and modern society in Alta and Finnmark. Another tour, Hunting Northern Lights by car, meets in the town centre at Explorer Store, Markedsgata 6, 9510 Alta.

When choosing a holiday apartment, it may therefore be important to consider whether you mainly want to include the various cross-country ski trails, activities in the centre or a Northern Lights experience in your trip. Alta brings together these different interests, even though they do not all involve the same kind of outing. If you would also like to discover other places in the same area, you can find Hakkstabben, Korsfjorden, Kongshus, Alta, Talvik, Komagfjord and Kviby here.

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