Where to Stay in Surnadal, Møre og Romsdal

Surnadal is the administrative centre of its valley municipality, set at the villages of Skei and Surnadalsøra. It holds the valley together. The old church of Øye kirke and the later Ranes kirke stand among the farms as the parish centres, while the slopes of Surnadal alpinsenter give the valley its winter sport above the floor of this municipality in Møre og Romsdal, in western Norway.

The landmarks of Surnadal are its old parish churches and the slopes above the valley. Øye kirke stands among the farms as one of the long-held centres of worship. Churches anchor the valley. Ranes kirke holds another part of the parish, the two old churches marking the spread of settlement along the valley floor, while the ski runs of Surnadal alpinsenter rise on the higher ground as the winter draw of this north-eastern part of Møre og Romsdal in western Norway.

Surnadal grew along its valley, where the farms of the inland country were settled long before any centre formed. The valley was worked generation after generation, and the parish left its mark first in the old churches that stood as the heart of worship and gathering for the scattered farms, among them Øye kirke and Ranes kirke, each holding its own part of the valley before any village rose at the head of the fjord. Farms shaped the land first.

The two old churches marked the spread of settlement along the valley floor through the centuries. A centre formed at Skei and Surnadalsøra. Shops and services of the valley parish were drawn together where the roads met near the fjord, and the village pair became the gathering place of the district.

Winter sport came later. On the higher ground above the farms the slopes of Surnadal alpinsenter were cut, and as the valley municipality took shape, Surnadal became its administrative centre, holding the valley farms and the old churches of this north-eastern part of Møre og Romsdal together as one municipality in western Norway.

Surnadal lies along its valley at the head of the fjord, in the north-eastern part of Møre og Romsdal, in western Norway. The centre sits on the valley floor at Skei and Surnadalsøra, ringed by farmland and rising to the wooded and snow-held heights on either side. Mountains close the valley. Øye kirke and Ranes kirke stand among the lower farms, while this municipality in Møre og Romsdal reaches up the slopes to the ski ground of Surnadal alpinsenter on the higher land.

Surnadal has a cooler inland climate than the open coast of Møre og Romsdal, set back in its valley away from the milder shore. Winters run cold and snowy, with frost and snow lying long over the valley floor and the higher ground that feeds the slopes at Surnadal alpinsenter through the heart of the season. Summers are short and green.

The valley farms warm under the long northern daylight, while cloud and rain cross the inland heights of this part of Møre og Romsdal in every month of the year.

Surnadal lies inland at the head of its fjord, reached by the valley roads that run from the coast and the neighbouring districts of Møre og Romsdal. The routes meet at Skei and Surnadalsøra, and from the centre it is a short drive to the churches and up to the ski ground at Surnadal alpinsenter. Most arrive by car.

The valley roads carry the traffic of this municipality between the farms and out toward the fjord, while the wider airports and ferries of the region handle the longer journeys of travellers reaching this north-eastern part of Møre og Romsdal in western Norway.