Student blogs

One of the coolest sights in Stockholm during winter is walking in the central station (on the way home from a Sunday grocery shop) and seeing soooo many people carrying their skis, snow boards and ice skates — indicative of an outdoorsy weekend well-spent. 

That perfectly captures one of my favorite parts of Stockholm: how easily accessible nature is. Surprisingly, even in the colder months, you will see most people taking advantage of the snow and being outdoors. So naturally, after these 4 months of winter I’ve decided to compile a list of outdoor activities that can be done during the winter months!

Cross-country skiing

Since Stockholm is relatively flat, it’s quite common to see Swedes take out their skis to go cross-country skiing. I had never heard of this sport before, so the first time I saw it I was a bit confused. But it’s basically horizontal skiing with more effort. People can do this in the forest, but sometimes if it’s cold and snowy enough, you will see cross country skiing on frozen lakes!

Walking on frozen lakes

This activity should always be done with a lot of precaution. This year it has gotten super cold in Stockholm, with temperatures reaching -15°C! We’ve had a few consecutive weeks of sub zero temperatures which lead to frozen lakes. If you, like me, didn’t grow up in a cold climate it is really not only such a cool sight but a crazy feeling to be walking on an actual frozen lake. My friends and I went walking across the river between Gamla Stan and Kungsholmen last week (you could actually walk to the other side!) which was a really cool experience.

Iceskating on rinks around the city

Kungsträdgården, Medborgarplatsen, Vasaparken, take your pick. There are various ice skating rinks around Stockholm that are free to access. You can even rent free ice skates at the Solna and Södermalm Fritidsbibliotek.

Alpine skiing

Not only can you do cross-country skiing in Stockholm, but there are also some locations where you can do actual skiing (downhill that is). These include Hammarbybacken and Flottsbro!

If this blog has sparked your curiousity about what winter looks like in Sweden, check out my previous post on Surviving Swedish winter — which of course, would not be complete without winter activities.