Ringebu
Joline’s 3 favorites. Joline is a professional mountain biker and Norrøna Ambassador since 2020. She won the Swedish Enduro Series 2016 and 2017, and the Silver medal in the Nordic championship 2016.
Get to know Joline here.
Why?
Many mountain bikers are familiar with Hafjell after hosting the World Championships in mountain biking back in 2014. Approximately 40 minutes north of Hafjell, you`ll find a small village by Gudbrandsdalslågen and E6. This super friendly and cozy village is also the place for some of the best trails you can find in Norway.
Ringebu has loamy singletrack trails, some steep and rocky trails but most of all it is a singletrack heaven. Ringebu can offer long descents with a “big smile guarantee”.
“Ringebu is not out in the market yet, it’s still a secret pearl of biking. So if you want to come and go riding in Ringebu you`ll have to drop by the local shop Værfast to get all the best recommendations of trail, guiding or shuttle. The trails are not marked, so you have to trust the guidance from the locals.”
– Joline Johansson, Norrøna Mountain Biking Ambassador
Favorite trail?
Trolldalen is a super nice singletrack above Ringebu.
Lift-based?
No but a shuttle and guiding can be booked, contact Værfast.
Where to eat/drink?
Værfast, Annis Ringebu and the bakery Hev
Where to sleep?
Elstad Camping, Airbnb or rent a cabin at Venabygdsfjellet, Ringebu or Kvitfjell.
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Drammen
Where?
Drammen, Aron Bike Park and Solbergelva
Why?
Drammen is just an hour south from Oslo and a perfect place to go if you’re around Oslo or arriving in Oslo. Drammen has a bike park named Aron with different trails in varied levels. Close by the bike park you find fast and flowy natural trails. The trails are easy to pedal to if you take the chairlift, or you do the proper job and pedal uphill on the gravel road. The easiest way to find the trails is to use the site trailguide.net. My favorite is the trails on riders right from the bike park.
The trails in Drammen are a mix between singletrack and also some highspeed rock sections. You can choose between doing top to bottom or mix different trails and do some easy transfers.
Drammen is well known for the super friendly mountain bike community so if you meet any bikers don’t be afraid to say hi and stop to have a chat.
Favorite trail?
DrammEnduro FE2, you`ll find it at Trailguide.net
Lift-based?
Yes and no
Where to eat/drink?
Becks Brasserie & Bar, but you`ll find many options and different kinds of food in Drammen.
Where to sleep?
Scandic Ambassadeur, but you`ll find a lot of different hotels around Drammen.
Other favourite trails? +where to eat and where to sleep
All the stages from DrammEnduro, you`ll find them at trailguide.net and also the trail at Krokstadelva.
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Harstad
Why?
Harstad has in a few years built an amazing bike arena that looks like a lot of fun. If you are going to the north part of Norway and have an interest in mountain biking Harstad has to get a visit. It is trails in different levels, a pump track that has hosted a world championship qualifier and the beautiful landscape! Harstad has a bike park but also different natural trails around the city.
Favorite trail?
Svartdalsåsen is a favorit trail with a beautiful view over Harstad. Use Trailguide or Trailfork to easily find the trails.
Lift-based?
No lifts, just pedalling or you can do some shuttling yourself.
Where to eat/drink?
Harstad is known for its gourmet food. Restaurants to visit are Umami and Bark el Cafe.
Where to sleep?
Scandic Harstad in the city center. The hotel has the former road biker Thor Hushovds jersey on the wall and is a big sponsor to the biking in Harstad. It is cosy hotel with a good solid scandinavian breakfast.
Beitostølen
Ole Richard’s favorites. Ole Richard is a guide at Bike Beitostølen, which is part of the Norwegian mountain bike guide and instructor training. There they have experience in both trail building and destination development. They arrange workshops, camps, and technical rides.
Discover Bike Beitostølen.
Where?
Beitostølen
Why?
Beitostølen has the ambition to develop into a MTB destination, and has started by building trails to accommodate a broad spectrum of riders. You can get everything from green and blue graded flow trails, to red and black single tracks.
Favorite trail?
There are many, but my number one is a 20k mountain to valley descent (from 1313 masl to 400) that takes through everything from rocky technical flow on top, through pure dirt flow and pine needles further down. This is not an easy accessible trail, so we usually shuttle to the trailhead when we have guests.
Lift-based?
No
Where to eat/drink?
The gas station at the end of the trail. Why? Because it’s the only place there. But if you are based in Beitostølen, you can eat at Lodge 900, Hytta Mat og Vinhus or at one of the many other restaurants. Everything from burgers and beer, to fine dining (without shorts and a cap). Or you can just go for a beer tasting at Bryggerihuset (the brewery house).
Where to sleep?
There are plenty of places. But for guests who book rides with us, we usually recommend Grønolen Fjellgard which is a cosy-close to nature hotel with excellent food and a unique atmosphere.
Other favorite trail?
Intersportløypa (actually in Beitostølen).. This is a short but challenging (Black) handmade trail with several steep rock rolls, drops, switchbacks and berms. It’s only 700 meters long, but this is a trail you would want to ride several times to refine how you approach and handle the different elements of the trail.
Lift based?
Yes (a slow lift, but a new one is being put in place for next season (2023). It’s also accessible by pedalling for 20 minutes on pavement and gravel.
Where to eat/drink?
At one of the several good restaurants and cafes at Beitostølen. My favorite is burgers and beer at Cafèen in the town center.
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Nesbyen
William’s favorites. William works at Any Excuse to Ride. It is a mountain biking company that started with two people and a dog, Nora, and now employs two NMIG Level 2 guides and a cafe. They focus on experiencing the best descents and leading riders through a variety of landscapes and trail types, giving riders the feeling of adventure in the remote and wild Norwegian landscape.
Discover Any Excuse to Ride.
Where?
Nesbyen in the heart of Hallingdal.
Why?
Nesbyen is a great place to ride in Norway because it is one of the few places that offers a full package of riding. You have some really flowy, family-friendly trails such as Hallingspranget (a new 17km flow trail). You also have some really challenging natural trails, such as Påskestien or Knut’s Favorit, full of technical features that will entertain even the most advanced riders.
All of these trails are located on the hillsides right outside of Nesbyen with many ending right in the town itself. That means you have all the services and comforts of the town where you can base yourself, and ride all day without having to travel very far.
Favorite trail?
My favourite trail has to be Beaster. This is a trail we’ve built over the last 2 years. It started out as an old logging trail that we found and cleared. Nesbyen has a lot of high speed and straight trails so we’ve tried to build in as many corners as possible, this has ended up with a trail that is a great mix of high speed logging trail where you can dare yourself to go as fast as possible along with some really steep and tight corners that I’ve not found anywhere else in Norway where you have to really control the bike around some tight corners and get those hips swinging. It is somewhat a British riding style inspired and copied trail building styles from the Tweed Valley in Scotland.
Lift-based?
All of the trails in Nesbyen have good access roads or trails to the top so it is very possible to cycle to the top of all trails which is another great feature of the town. Otherwise it is possible to book a guided day with us at Any Excuse to Ride or a shuttle with Trialhead Nesbyen.
Where to eat/drink?
The best spot to eat and drink in town is at The Bear House Cafe. It is a cozy cafe in town that serves barista coffee, homemade cakes and fresh sandwiches every day. It is biker friendly so you can turn up with a muddy bum and your bike and it has a lot of outdoor seating and space to spread out.
Next year there will be an even better offering in town as The Bear House Cafe is moving to a bigger location and expanding to become a bakery and cafe during the day as well as a simple pizza restaurant and bar in the evenings so all your culinary needs will be covered!
Where to sleep?
In recent years Nesbyen has gained several good accommodation offerings. We at Any Excuse to Ride have catered or self catered accommodation in a 100 year old timber house that can sleep up to 12 people, were currently renovating a new house that will be open next year. Hotel Nesbyen is under new ownership and has had a refurbishment which sleeps 50 people then there are two large camp sites just outside of town for all you campervan travellers.
Other favorite trails?
Another couple of favourite trails in Norway have to be over in Hardangerfjord where I used to live. You have a fantastic mountain that a lot of people know for skiing, but it also has a great trail for mountain biking called Oksen. I would grade it black as it is very steep and technical in places, but totally worth it for the fantastic views all down Hardangerfjord. Another fantastic trail is down Bitihorn that I discovered recently. But again, this is a very rocky and technically demanding trail, not for the faint hearted!
