Venabygd: Cross-country skiing, horseback riding and mountain biking

Venabygd offers winter cross-country ski trails, horseback riding tours and mountain bike routes, as well as culinary experiences at Venabu. For planning your trip, route details are particularly helpful: they vary in length, difficulty and terrain. Season, day of the week and advance booking also matter for the culinary experiences.

Cross-country skiing on the plateau and the Trolløype

There are 140 km of groomed trails at Venabu and on the surrounding mountain plateau, with cross-country skiing starting right at the hotel. North of Venabu, you can join the Trolløype long-distance ski route, which connects Rondane National Park with Lillehammer. The trail information describes the extent of the local offering, while the Trolløype is a long-distance route with named endpoints. This lets you choose between cross-country skiing on the plateau and a route connecting two regions. Trail grooming and conditions depend on the season; check the conditions before planning a specific day of skiing.

Horseback riding tours and mountain bike routes

Venabustallen offers daily horseback riding tours from mid-June to mid-October for riders of all ages and abilities. Take this seasonal window into account when planning, and check dates before your trip.

Three routes with different profiles are a highlight for mountain bikers. The 14 km Around Svartfjell loop starts at Venabu and follows gravel roads and a technical trail around Mount Svartfjell. It is rated challenging and is open from June to October. An easy 10 km family ride leads to the foot of Svartfjell. The 7.5 km loop via Spidsbergseter, Lundes and Venabu is rated easy to moderate. So distance is not the only factor when comparing routes: ratings range from easy to challenging, and Around Svartfjell also includes a technical trail in its described terrain.

Regional cuisine with specific visiting conditions

At Venabu Fjellhotell, the culinary experience “A Taste of Norwegian Tradition” is offered on Wednesdays during the summer and winter seasons. It includes regional mountain specialties, reindeer rump steak, local side dishes and a dessert with cloudberries. Guests who are not staying at the hotel are also welcome, provided they book in advance. Venabu also serves a seasonal twelve-course game dinner featuring regional dishes and flavors, known in Norwegian as “Viltaften”. For the Wednesday experience, the season, day of the week and advance booking are therefore relevant; the game dinner is another seasonal offering.

Culture in the wider Ringebu destination

The wider Ringebu destination also offers cultural sites and pilgrimage routes as distinct themes. Ringebu Stave Church was built around 1220 and is one of Norway’s largest surviving stave churches. Ringebu Prestegard is a historic cultural site with art exhibitions; Prestegardshagen features around 170 different varieties of roses. At Høgkleiva, contemporary art, an Iron Age hillfort, legends and stories come together. The pilgrimage route over Høgkleiva runs between Fåvang and Ringebu. The 643 km Gudbrandsdalsleden, a well-marked route from Oslo to Trondheim, also passes over Høgkleiva. The Pilegrimsleden combines hiking and culture there with a landscape described as natural and spiritual.

Discover more destinations: Fåvang, Ringebu

Back to the overview of the wider destination: Ringebu.