Folldal: Mining History, Museums and Nature

Folldal offers a range of starting points for a trip: mining history and museums, trails and cross-country ski trails, as well as activities on the water. Folldal Gruver is a particularly distinctive attraction, bringing together a museum visit and the history of technical heritage. The landscape and the layout of the area also offer different ways to shape your stay.

Museums, Mining and History

Folldal Gruver is an active museum with exhibitions and marked trails. Visitors can take a train through Stoll 1. The site is one of 15 included in Norway’s preservation programme for technical and industrial cultural heritage. This offers several ways to explore the subject of mining: through the exhibitions, the marked trails and the ride through the mine tunnel.

Folldal also has an open-air museum, Folldal Bygdetun. It complements the industrial museum with a different type of museum. Anyone interested in older traces of settlement and land use can also visit the large historic trapping systems at Grimsbu, with several dozen pit traps. They date from the Iron Age or the Middle Ages.

Landscape and Getting Around

Parts of Rondane National Park lie within Folldal municipality. A municipal statement dated 21 October 2024 gives the municipality’s area as 1,276 square kilometres; according to that statement, 86 percent of it is protected by conservation regulations or lies within various consideration zones. Such planning designations and percentages may change.

The Rondane National Scenic Route is 75 kilometres long and begins and ends in Folldal. Its described sections include the stretch between Folldal and Venabygdsfjellet, as well as the section from Sollia Church to Enden. County Road 29 offers another way to get around the main valley: it runs between Alvdal and Hjerkinn through Folldal’s main valley. The Folldal–Grimsdalen section is part of the Tour de Dovre.

Trails, Winter and Water

The Helsestien is 2.9 kilometres long and starts at the open area by Folldal Gruver. It is suitable for wheelchair users and pushchairs. Its length provides a useful guide for anyone planning to include a walk in their day.

In winter, Folldal has a total of 120 kilometres of ski trails groomed by machine or snowmobile. The municipal trail plan was adopted in 2017; grooming conditions may vary by season. It is therefore a good idea to check the current trail conditions when planning a trip. The Stormoegga Ski Arena has a biathlon stadium and a roller-ski track.

A circular trail near Stormoegga also combines exercise with information about the surrounding area. It is 9.8 kilometres long, starts and ends at the Stormoegga ski jump, and has eleven stops with information boards about natural and cultural-historical attractions. The route offers a clearly defined insight into the natural and cultural history of the area.

The Kroktjønna recreation area in Grimsbu has a bathing spot and a sandy beach. The area is used for paddling and fishing. Folldal statsallmenning also has around 20 fishing lakes. Those interested in fishing can consider both this specifically named recreation area and the wider choice available in the statsallmenning.

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