Where to stay in Oppdal
Most beds in Oppdal gather in the town centre near Oppdal kirke, within reach of the station, the shops and the road up to Oppdal skisenter. The centre suits visitors who want the slopes, the Nidaros Path and Oppdalsmuseet on the doorstep, an easy base for skiing in winter and walking the pilgrim route in the warm season. It is the obvious choice.
Up the mountainside around the ski resort, lodges and cabins put guests on the snow, a base for skiers who want the lifts at the door above the south-western part of Trøndelag. Snow lingers late here. Out through the valley toward Fagerhaug and its church, farm stays and holiday houses spread among the national park country, a quieter base for travellers touring the mountains of central Norway by car.
Book the ski season well ahead.
About Oppdal
What is Oppdal known for?
Oppdal is one of Norway's main winter sport resorts, set among the mountains and national parks of the south-western part of Trøndelag. Oppdal skisenter draws skiers to the slopes above the town, while the Nidaros Path, the old pilgrim route toward Nidaros, runs through on its way north. The mountains define the place.
In the centre Oppdal kirke marks the old parish, and Oppdalsmuseet keeps the farm history of the valley that the ski resort and the pilgrim road now share.
What are the main landmarks in Oppdal?
Oppdal kirke stands at the centre of the town, a protected church and the old heart of the parish. Oppdal skisenter rises on the slopes above, the ski resort that made Oppdal one of Norway's winter sport centres. The mountains hold more.
St. Mikaels kapell and the heritage church of Fagerhaug kirke out the valley mark the older settlements, while Oppdalsmuseet gathers the farm buildings of the district in the south-western part of Trøndelag, the museum of a mountain valley crossed by the Nidaros Path.
What is the history of Oppdal?
Oppdal grew as a farming and crossing settlement in the mountains of the south-western part of Trøndelag, where the valleys carried the road south toward the high country. The Nidaros Path, the pilgrim route to Nidaros, passed through the valley and brought travellers to the parish around Oppdal kirke long before the slopes drew skiers. Pilgrims came first.
The old farms of the valley left their mark in the buildings now gathered at Oppdalsmuseet, while St. Mikaels kapell and the church at Fagerhaug served the scattered settlements across the high ground. Oppdal became a municipality in Trøndelag and, in time, one of Norway's main winter sport resorts. Oppdal skisenter rose on the slopes above the town, drawing skiers to the mountains ringed by national parks, while the Nidaros Path kept its place as a walking route through the valley.
The town held its old centre around Oppdal kirke and grew into the gathering point for a district of mountain farms and ski country in central Norway.
Where is Oppdal?
Oppdal lies in a mountain valley in the south-western part of Trøndelag, ringed by national parks in central Norway. The town sits where the valley floor gathers its farms and houses below the slopes that carry Oppdal skisenter, the high country rising on every side toward the parks. Mountains close in around the valley.
The settlement of Fagerhaug lies out the valley with its own church, while the Nidaros Path threads the high ground on its long way north, linking Oppdal to the pilgrim country beyond the mountains.
What is the climate of Oppdal?
Oppdal has the cold mountain climate of the high country in the south-western part of Trøndelag. Winters are long, cold and snowy, the deep snow on the slopes feeding the ski season at Oppdal skisenter through much of the year. Summers stay short and cool.
The long northern daylight warms the valley floor under bright high-country evenings, drawing walkers to the Nidaros Path and the trails of the surrounding national parks, while the mountains hold snow on the heights well into the warm months of central Norway.
How do you get to Oppdal?
Oppdal sits on the rail line and the main road that cross the mountains toward Trondheim. Trains stop in the town centre near Oppdal kirke, and the road runs up the valley to Oppdal skisenter and on through Fagerhaug toward the high passes. Many arrive by car.
The mountain road carries skiers and walkers into the valley from north and south, linking Oppdal to the national park country and the cities beyond, while the Nidaros Path brings walkers on foot to this corner of central Norway along the old pilgrim route.