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These Swedish bike parks are perfect for some Ride with the Swedes fun
Red Bull TV’s Ride with the Swedes series showcases the best of Sweden's mountain bike culture and riding locations, including Åre Bike Park. Here's a closer look at Åre and other Swedish parks.
Ride with the Swedes Season 2, which is now airing over on Red Bull TV, celebrates two of Sweden's most influential mountain bike pros in Martin Söderström and Emil Johansson. It also highlights some of Sweden's best riding locations including Åre Bike Park in the north of the country.
Watch Martin Söderström's visit to Åre Bike Park in Episode 2 of Ride with the Swedes season 2 in the video below
13 min
Åre bike festival, Sweden
Get a look at the creative process behind the Team Douche video, winner of the Åre Video Challenge.
Be sure to download the free Red Bull TV app and catch all the MTB action on all your devices! Get the app here.
Read on for more details on what you can get up to at Åre Bike Park, and three other prime bike park locations in Sweden where you can have same amount of Ride with the Swedes fun.
1. Åre Bike Park
Take the ski lift up and tear it up on the way down at Åre Bike Park
© Emrik Jansson/Åre Bike Festival
Åre Bike Park is the biggest bike park in Scandinavia with 34 tracks and a vertical drop of 853m. The park is beautifully situated next to a lake, surrounded by rolling, green hills in the northwest of Sweden. There's always been a lot of riding in the area, but it was when Åre hosted a Downhill World Cup in 1999 that the sport really gained momentum in Sweden, and five years later the ski lifts started running for bikers in the summer. Åre also hosts Sweden's biggest mountain bike festival every summer.
1 min
Whip It Good is one of Åre Bike Festival's highlights
Get to know what's good about Sweden's Åre Bike Festival
The tracks: From the rocky terrain at the top, to the lush green forests half way down, Åre really has the biggest variation of tracks in Sweden. With difficulty levels varying from easy green ones to technical black ones, there's a little something for every rider.
- 7 green/easy tracks
- 8 blue/intermediate tracks
- 9 red/difficult tracks
- 8 black/advanced tracks
Everything in Åre Bikepark is rideable, just ask Martin Söderström
© Adam Klingeteg
The town: Åre town has a lot to offer, so there's a lot to do if you don’t want to ride bikes all day long. During summer it transforms into an outdoor centre with both bikers and hikers, and there's always a good vibe at the local restaurants and bars in the evenings.
Why visit Åre Bike Park? “The quality and selection of tracks. It doesn’t matter if you are a beginner or professional, you can always have fun and challenge yourself. It is a pretty cool feeling to set of from the top of Åreskutan and ride all the way down to town,” says Björn Boström, marketing and sales at SkiStar Åre.
2. Järvsö Bike Park
Riding trails in the magical forests of Järvsö
© Emrik Jansson
Järvsö Bergscykelpark is a favourite among many Swedish downhill riders, both because of its proximity to the capital Stockholm and because of its well-built tracks. Even though the little mountain only reaches 370m above sea level, it has 17 tracks, most of which are designed by Tom Pro, the founder of Canadian trail-building company Gravity Logic. It is a park that suits every type of rider – kids and adults, beginners and experts. There's also a Velosolutions Pump Track next to the bike park.
1 min
Järvsö pump track style with Söderström
Martin Söderström gets creative on the new pump track in Järvsö, Sweden.
The tracks: The park has definitely made the best out of the 370 vertical metres, covering in a variety of different terrains and types of tracks. The beginner-friendly gradient of the hill makes it perfect for beginner and intermediate riders, but there are still tracks that challenge the best of riders.
- 2 green/easy tracks
- 8 blue/intermediate tracks
- 3 red/difficult tracks
- 4 black/advanced tracks
Martin Soderstrom catching air in Järvsö
© Daniel Rönnbäck/Red Bull Content Pool
The town: Järvsö is a small town beautifully situated alongside the river Ljusnan, with just over 1 400 inhabitants. The town centre has a few restaurants and one main pub where you will find most locals and bikers hanging out after a day in the bike park.
Why visit Järvsö Bike Park? “It is a bike park for everyone – beginners to experts. The park is well built and rides equally as good in the wet as in the dry, and we strive towards being able to please every rider, so everyone can have fun together,” says Lars Ek Lööv, CEO at Järvsö Bike Park.
3. Gesunda Bike Park
Ready to rock at Gesunda Bike Park
© Gesunda Bike Park
Two and a half hours west of Järvsö is Gesunda Bike Park, another lift-accessed bike park in the middle of Sweden. With 16 downhill tracks that focus both on technical singletrack and fast, flowy jump tracks, the park is well suited for intermediate to advanced riders. In recent years the park has built a few easier beginner tracks as well, to make it equally suitable for beginner riders.
The tracks: Gesunda’s slightly steeper gradient is perfect for natural technical singletrack, which challenge both intermediate and expert riders. Also the faster tracks are known for its flow and well-built jumps.
- 2 green/easy tracks
- 3 blue/intermediate tracks
- 7 red/difficult tracks
- 4 black/advanced tracks
The town: Gesunda is located next to Sweden’s sixth biggest lake Siljan, and is embedded in green forest with a killer view from the top of the mountain. It is a pretty sleepy place, where you’re best of heading to the local Inn if you want to spot other humans in the evening.
Why visit Gesunda Bike Park? “Gesunda bike park offers more challenging tracks where riders get a chance to develop their riding skills, whether they are beginners or experts. There's a lot of natural singletrack to ride, as well as smoother machine built tracks. We also enjoy hosting bike races so that beginners and professional riders can meet and mix. It creates a great atmosphere,” says Henrik Lingman, employee at Gesunda Bike Park.
4. Vallåsen Bike Park
The trails of Sweden’s Vallåsen bike park
© Esben Zøllner Olesen
Situated in the southwest of Sweden, Vallåsen Bike Park attracts riders from all over Sweden and Denmark. With lots of recent work done to the tracks it has grown into one of the most popular bike parks in Sweden. The owners are singletrack lovers and thus the bigger part of the park is made up of hand built singletrack, with some machine built tracks snuck in. The park is known for its relaxed atmosphere and fun tracks, and is the first to open after winter, thanks to its southern geographical location.
The tracks: With a total of nine tracks and a vertical drop of 145m, Vallåsen isn’t the biggest park in Sweden, but with tracks that vary in difficulty, type and terrain there's definitely something for every type of rider.
- 1 green/easy track
- 2 blue/intermediate tracks
- 4 red/difficult tracks
- 2 black/advanced tracks
The town: Vallåsen is from the beginning a small ski slope and is situated outside some smaller towns in the south of Sweden. There's a local Inn and a camping ground, close by, where most bikers tend to stay. The bike park café is where most people hang out after a long, fun day in the park.
Why visit Vallåsen Bike Park? “The atmosphere; we want every one to feel like home, enjoy our tracks and feel our love for biking,” says Kristian Jakobsson, co-owner of Vallåsen Bike Park.
