Ornskoldsvik: Mountain Biking and the High Coast's North End

Örnsköldsvik is the High Coast’s northern town: a bay, two steep town mountains and a free club-built bike arena. This page covers the riding, the trail’s end and the islands nearby, plus what changed in 2026 that older guides still miss.

When you need this

You want to ride bike trails or lift-served downhill on the Swedish coast without going all the way to the mountains. You have just walked the last section of the High Coast Trail into town and need a night and a way home. Or you found a flight to Örnsköldsvik on an old booking page and want to know whether it still exists. It doesn’t.

What changed in 2026

Three things that many travel pages and listings still get wrong:

The flight matters most. The destination organisation’s travel page still names an airline at Örnsköldsvik, but the airport itself says the town is without a Stockholm route, and a written question in the Riksdag in August 2026 warned that a fix may not come before spring 2027. Plan on the train.

Mountain biking in Örnsköldsvik

The riding was built by the local cycling club, CK Örnen, and comes in two places with different rules.

Örnen MTB Arena is owned by the municipality and run by the club as volunteers. It opened officially on 22 May 2021, built with money from the municipality and the state inheritance fund, Allmänna Arvsfonden. All trails start and end at the large car park below the clubhouse, Örnenstugan, which has changing rooms, showers, toilets and a bike wash, open May to August from 08:00 to 22:00. You can also ride in from Skyttis sports arena, which has its own parking and showers: the trail “Örnen” leads to the arena and “Skyttis” leads back.

Start at the pump track and skills area. There are picnic tables beside it, which makes it the easy choice with children. Several trails run both ways or cross each other, and the eastern part around the trail “Happy” is also used by horse riders. Stop, step aside and talk calmly to the rider when you meet a horse. You may ride the unmarked paths too, but the club asks you to keep off the paved roller-ski tracks around Skyttis and never to build or change trails yourself.

CK Örnen Downhill Park is the lift-served side. Paradisliften carries you and your bike up Varvsberget, and seven trails come down. The club’s advice is to ride each trail slowly first, because the trails are usually not inspected before the lift opens and several cross each other. The area is not fenced off, so walkers can be about. Bagarn, graded blue-green, is the line for riders new to downhill or on an all-mountain, enduro or fat bike;. If you would rather pedal up, follow the start of the High Coast Trail from the travel center to Varvsbergsvägen and climb the last part on the road. The club calls it steep.

The downhill park follows Lilla Gröna, the rulebook of the Swedish ski-area association SLAO: one rider per bike, riders coming from above or behind give way, and ride marked trails only. Beyond the two areas, the club publishes freeride and enduro paths on Varvsberget and Åsberget on a trail-mapping app; it links to them from its home page.

E-bikes: inside the arena, yes; elsewhere, ask

The club allows e-bikes at Örnen MTB Arena, and it has agreements with all the landowners there. That permission stops at the arena’s edge. Naturvårdsverket, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, says riding an e-bike on trails or in terrain is not part of allemansrätten, the right of public access, and needs the landowner’s permission. An ordinary bike is covered by the right on natural ground and private roads, as long as you damage nothing and give walkers priority. Children under 15 must wear a helmet whenever they cycle in Sweden. Our mountain biking guide explains the e-bike rules and bike-park grades in full.

South of town, Skuleskogen National Park bans cycling everywhere except Kuststigen, the coastal path between its south and north entrances. Riding the High Coast Trail through the park on a bike is not allowed; see the Skuleskogen guide.

Want company? CK Örnen says visitors can try its weekly sessions without joining, and it has some bikes and helmets to lend. In 2026 it ran an XCO race at the arena on 16 August and a road race on 22 August; dates are set each year.

The town mountains

Örnsköldsvik’s center sits right below its hills, and the best short outings start on foot from town.

The Yellow Trail runs close to steep cliffs, so keep children near you on that section. Paradisliften also runs as a sightseeing lift in summer; the destination organisation lists longer summer hours than the bike-lift evenings, so check the lift’s own times before planning around it.

For a rainy day, Örnsköldsviks museum och konsthall in the center is free for children and adults, with local-history and art exhibitions, a film room on the town’s past and a café. It is open Tuesday to Saturday and closed on public holidays. The town also has a place in sports history: in February 1976 it hosted the world’s first Winter Paralympics, with 196 athletes from 16 countries.

Getting there

Norrtåg stopped selling tickets on board on 14 December 2025, so buy on norrtag.se or in the app before you get on. Check whether your train uses Örnsköldsvik C or N. An ordinary bike travels free on Norrtåg, up to three per train with a 30 kg limit and no booking. SJ takes bikes only disassembled in a bag. The bikes on trains guide and the northern trains guide have the details.

The High Coast’s north end

The High Coast Trail, about 135 km in nine sections, finishes at Stadsträdgården in the town center after an 18.8 km last section from Balesudden; see the High Coast Trail guide. Parking at the travel center is cheap and free at weekends, which suits hikers leaving a car for a few days.

South of town, Köpmanholmen is the harbor for the year-round ferry to Ulvön, about 30 km south of Örnsköldsvik, and for boats to Trysunda. Skuleskogen’s north entrance is reached from the E4 at Bjästa, about 25 km south. North of town, Skeppsmalen on the Skagsudde promontory marks the northern tip of the World Heritage site, with the 6.2 km Lotsstigen (pilots’ path) and a summer museum about surströmming, fermented herring.

The southern sights, such as the High Coast Bridge, Nordingrå and Skuleberget, are closer to Kramfors or Härnösand; the High Coast guide covers them. Örnsköldsvik is also in the Sámi administrative area, where Sámi language rights with the municipality apply.

Seasons

• May–August: the arena clubhouse with showers is open daily, 08:00–22:00.
• June–August: the downhill lift ran on Thursday evenings in 2026, closed in Midsummer week and moved to weekday mornings in week 31 during a training camp.
• Late September: the club’s season closing; most training groups stop cycling for the winter.
• Winter: Skyttis becomes a ski area, and all its trails charge a fee. Inland, Rutberget has 25 km of ski trails and Nätra fjällskog about 30 km of ski-touring trails with open huts. The arena road and car park are ploughed, and fatbikers reach the clubhouse during school holidays; see the fatbiking guide.
• Spring 2027 at the earliest: a possible return of a Stockholm flight.

Mistakes to avoid

• Booking a flight to Örnsköldsvik from an old timetable.
• Turning up for downhill on a Saturday because a tourism listing says the lift runs then.
• Riding downhill in an open-face helmet with no protection. The club requires a helmet and recommends full-face plus back, knee and elbow pads.
• Taking an e-bike from the arena onto other private land as if the arena’s permission went with it.
• Cycling the High Coast Trail through Skuleskogen instead of Kuststigen.
• Expecting to buy a Norrtåg ticket on the train.

Practical information

FAQ

Where can you mountain bike in Örnsköldsvik?

At Örnen MTB Arena, part of the Skyttis outdoor area above Järved: about ten marked trails, roughly 35 km, plus technical tracks, a skills area and a paved pump track, all free and open to everyone. For lift-served downhill there is CK Örnen Downhill Park on Varvsberget, with seven marked trails. The club also publishes unmarked trails on Varvsberget and Åsberget.

When is the Örnsköldsvik downhill park open?

Only in summer and on few hours. In 2026 the bike lift ran on Thursdays from 18 to 20 between weeks 23 and 34, with the lift closed in Midsummer week and moved to weekday mornings in week 31. A lift card cost 100 kr per evening for adults. Check the club’s page for next season, not the tourism listing, which is out of date.

Can you fly to Örnsköldsvik?

Not from Stockholm at the moment. The operator ended the Örnsköldsvik–Arlanda route after 12 June 2026, and talks with SAS aim at spring 2027 at the earliest. The airport stays open for charter flights. The practical alternatives are the train, or a flight to Umeå followed by about 1 h 10 min on Norrtåg’s train to Örnsköldsvik.

How do I get to Örnsköldsvik by train?

Norrtåg’s regional trains between Sundsvall and Umeå stop at Örnsköldsvik C and Örnsköldsvik N; Umeå to Örnsköldsvik takes about 1 h 10 min. Tickets are not sold on board, so buy them on norrtag.se or in the app. An ordinary bike rides free on Norrtåg, space permitting; SJ takes bikes only packed in a bag.

Can I ride an e-bike on the trails in Örnsköldsvik?

At Örnen MTB Arena, yes: the club allows e-bikes and has agreements with the landowners. Elsewhere, Naturvårdsverket says riding an e-bike on trails or in terrain is not part of allemansrätten and needs the landowner’s permission. In Skuleskogen National Park, south of town, all cycling is banned except on the coastal path.

Is Örnsköldsvik a good base for the High Coast?

For the northern half, yes. The High Coast Trail ends in the town center, Köpmanholmen’s boats to Ulvön and Trysunda are about 30 km south, and Skuleskogen’s north entrance is reached via Bjästa. The southern sights, around the High Coast Bridge and Nordingrå, are closer to Kramfors or Härnösand. A car makes the coast much easier.

What can you do in Örnsköldsvik when it rains?

Visit Örnsköldsviks museum och konsthall in the center, free for everyone, with local-history and art exhibitions, a film room on the town’s past and a café; it is open Tuesday to Saturday. If you ride anyway, the arena clubhouse has showers and changing rooms from May to August.

Related guides

• Mountain biking in Sweden — bike-park grades, passes and the e-bike rules in full.
• The High Coast — Skuleberget, Nordingrå and the islands south of here.
• The High Coast Trail — the nine sections that end in Örnsköldsvik.
• Trains in northern Sweden — Norrtåg tickets and the Bothnia Line.
• Umeå travel guide — the nearest airport with Stockholm flights.

Facts verified 2026-10-15. Sources: CK Örnen, Örnsköldsviks kommun, SCB, Norrtåg, Naturvårdsverket, Sveriges riksdag, SVT and the Höga Kusten destination organisation — full register in this topic’s source file. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.