Brits looking for lift-served powder without the crowds have a new option on the map. Ski Safari has added Oppdal to its Norway programme on an exclusive basis for winter 2026/27, bringing a resort that's a household name among Norwegian and Swedish skiers — and almost unheard of in the UK — to British booking sheets for the first time.
The pitch is simple: serious off-piste, no queues. Each of Oppdal's four base areas puts freeride terrain right next to the pistes, with open bowls, powder fields and tree runs all reachable from the lifts. Norwegian freeriders and mountain guides train here, and according to Ski Safari's Norway Product Manager Andy Hemingway, fresh snow can sit untracked for days — even during Norwegian school holidays. It sits two hours from Trondheim, right beside Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park.
Unlike purpose-built Alpine-style resorts, Oppdal is a real working mountain town. Accommodation is a five-minute free shuttle from the slopes, and the town itself has shops, a swimming pool, bowling and curling. Ski Safari is offering two hotels: the 4* Quality Hotel Skifer, the town's top option with strong half-board dining, and the 3* Oppdal Gjestetun, which has apartment-style rooms with kitchenettes plus a breakfast buffet for self-caterers.
One genuine standout: Dovrefjell is the only place in Norway where you can see musk ox in the wild. A guided musk ox safari is available as an add-on, with decent odds of also spotting reindeer and mountain grouse. If that's not enough, there's ice fishing, dog sledding, ice climbing and snow tubing on the menu.
Oppdal also slots neatly into a multi-resort trip. The scenic Dovre Railway runs from Trondheim to Oslo, stopping at both Oppdal and Kvitfjell, and Hafjell is just 45 minutes from Kvitfjell — both of those resorts carry Winter Olympic pedigree. Direct flights from the UK to either Oslo or Trondheim make the logistics easy.
Pricing undercuts the stereotype of Norway being eye-wateringly expensive. Seven nights half board at the Quality Hotel Skifer starts at £1,359pp in January 2027 (or £1,059pp for a family of four over Christmas 2026), with flights to Trondheim and shared transfers included. The Oppdal Gjestetun starts at £819pp in January, dropping to £769pp for the festive family date.
Who's it for? Confident intermediates and freeriders who want terrain they can actually use from the lifts, families priced out of France and Switzerland, and anyone after a quieter, more Norwegian ski week. If you've been eyeing Scandinavia but baulking at the cost, this is one of the more affordable routes in — with the bonus of a musk ox safari thrown in.
Story via Breaking Travel News.
