Where to stay in Vemdalen
Vemdalen splits its visitors between two ski hills and the village floor between them. Vemdalsskalet, up at the pass north of the village, holds the classic hotel and ski-in cabins, and it suits you if you want morning lifts and evening quiet in equal measure. Björnrike spreads over the south side of the fells.
The area is built almost wholly for families, its cabin lanes feeding gentle runs where children ski home, though it sleeps outside winter. The village of Vemdalen itself keeps the food shops, the church, and a handful of guesthouses along the road, a practical base for couples mixing ski days with cross-country loops. Storhogna lies higher to the east toward Klövsjö, a small knot of fell lodging beside the tracks.
Winter weeks sell out early. School holidays in February and the weeks around Easter fill the cabins first, while summer leaves wide choice for hikers walking the bare tops of Vemdalsfjällen.
About Vemdalen
What is Vemdalen known for?
Vemdalen is known for skiing on the fells of Vemdalsfjällen, where the slopes of Vemdalsskalet and Björnrike face each other across the valley. The season runs long here. Snow-sure winters draw families from across Sweden, and cross-country tracks thread the birch forest between the fells.
In the village below, the octagonal church of Vemdalens kyrka has stood since 1763, its rococo timber frame counted among the finest country churches in Norrland.
What are the main landmarks in Vemdalen?
Vemdalens kyrka holds the centre of the village, an octagonal timber church raised in 1763 with a freestanding bell tower and a bright rococo interior. Few country churches match it. The pass road over Vemdalsskalet climbs north between the fells, an old route between Härjedalen and Jämtland travelled long before the ski lifts came.
Bare summits stand on either hand. South across the forest rises Sonfjället, the national park fell famous for its brown bears, within reach for a day's drive and walk.
What is the history of Vemdalen?
Vemdalen grew where the valley of the river Veman opens between the fells. Härjedalen's farms came first. Settlers worked the thin upland soils and drove cattle to summer shielings, and for centuries the province answered to Norwegian and Danish crowns before passing to Sweden with the peace of Brömsebro in 1645.
The village raised its octagonal church in 1763. Vemdalens kyrka, with its curved timber walls and painted interior, marks the high point of the parish's farming age. Skiing arrived quietly in the twentieth century, first with a mountain hotel at the Vemdalsskalet pass, then with lifts on the fells and cabin villages at Björnrike, and the old church village found itself serving winter guests.
Farming faded as the slopes grew. Vemdalen keeps both inheritances, the rococo church on the valley floor and the ski runs lit above it through the long Norrland winter.
Where is Vemdalen?
Vemdalen lies in the landskap of Härjedalen, in the southwestern corner of Jämtland County, where the river Veman drains a high valley between the fells. The village sits near the tree line. North of it the road climbs to the pass at Vemdalsskalet, south and east rise Björnrike and the tops of Vemdalsfjällen, and beyond the forest stands the bear country of Sonfjället. Sveg, the seat of Härjedalen Municipality, lies south through long spruce miles.
What is the climate of Vemdalen?
Altitude sets Vemdalen's weather. The valley floor lies high for Sweden, so winter arrives early, holds hard through the school-holiday months, and gives the fells reliable snow from December into April. Nights run bitter in clear spells.
Summer is short, bright, and cool, with mountain showers crossing the tops of Vemdalsfjällen even in July, and autumn colours the birch slopes early. Wind matters more than rain on the bare summits above the village.
How do you get to Vemdalen?
Vemdalen is reached by road. Most visitors drive, coming north from Sveg or west off the inland route through Jämtland, with the last stretch climbing to the valley through spruce forest. Ski-season buses run from the railway at Östersund.
The small airfield at Sveg serves Härjedalen, while Åre Östersund Airport to the north handles most flights, a couple of hours from the slopes by transfer. Snow tyres are wise from autumn onward.