Skating in Orsa

Yes, the skating trip to Orsa is a guided group trip with open enrolment. You book a spot on a fixed travel date and skate together with the other participants, with Joey out in front reading the ice. If you come with your own group, you choose the date yourselves and we put the programme together with you.

On Lake Orsa in Dalarna a long track of about 15 kilometres is swept every winter. What you actually skate is never fixed in advance: every morning we look again at the weather and the ice quality, and adjust the route or the lake accordingly.

You stay in your own cabins at First Camp Orsa-Dalarna, right by the ice. No hotel corridor, but a place of your own where you sit together in the evening and step straight onto the ice in the morning. We match the exact cabin arrangement to the size of the group.

Included are the accommodation in the cabins, local transport and guidance on the ice by Joey. Not included are travel to and from Sweden, your own skating equipment and winter clothing, mandatory safety gear (ice picks and a helmet) and insurance.

You don't have to be a competitive skater, but you do need to be able to skate independently and in control. We work with three paces: recreational, sporty and fanatic. If you're unsure about your level, Joey will think it through with you beforehand.

That depends on the pace you choose: recreational is 1–4 hours a day, sporty 2–5 hours and fanatic 3–6 hours. How many kilometres that adds up to is never fixed in advance - that is determined by the ice, the weather and the route of that day. See the three paces on the travel information page.

Orsa is a guided group trip, and it is exactly that guidance which helps if you still have little experience with Scandinavian natural ice. Joey comes along, reads the ice and decides each morning where the day will come into its own best. So you don't have to judge for yourself where and when you can skate. Still, it remains natural ice: good preparation and following instructions are part of it.

Natural ice can't be guaranteed. That's why on this guided trip we look again every morning at the weather and the ice quality, and adjust the route, the lake or the programme accordingly. Where necessary we move to another suitable lake or choose an alternative programme.

You bring your own skating equipment. For natural ice we recommend touring skates. You also need winter clothing you can spend a whole day outdoors in; ice picks and a helmet are mandatory.

Give your level when you send in your request. Joey will then look at how this fits in best within the group.