Narvikfjellet, the mountain above the town

5 min read Updated October 2026 Compare all tours

Few towns have a ski area this close. The slopes start right above the houses, and the lower gondola station is on Skistua, a street on the upper edge of Narvik. In winter the operator lists skiing, snowshoeing and northern lights up here, in summer hiking and the midnight sun. Gondola, ski area and the evening trips on the mountain are all sold by Norway's Best, which also sells tickets for the Arctic Train and the war museum.

The gondola reopens in January 2027

If you are planning a trip for this autumn or early winter, the most important fact is a closure. The operator is replacing the gondola, and its Norwegian page says the new line opens in January 2027. Until then the old gondola and the Fjellheis restaurant stay shut. No exact day in January had been announced when we checked in October 2026, and opening hours and fares for the new gondola were not yet listed.

Once it runs, the trip from the lower station to the upper station at 656 metres takes about eight minutes. The operator plans to run it all year, and a ticket can be used during opening hours on the day you buy it. At the top is the Skard restaurant, newly renovated and due to open in January 2027 as well. A ski industry report describes the new cabins as 10-seaters, part of a rebuild of the whole resort.

Book the gondola directly on the Narvik Gondola page of Norway's Best. The opening date, hours and fares will appear there.

Skiing in the 2026/27 season

The resort's opening hours page gives 3 January to 2 May 2027 as this season, with lifts and rental open every day. The operator adds that the opening depends on the building work keeping to schedule and on December being cold enough for snowmaking. On weekdays the lifts run from 10:00 to 20:00, at weekends and on public holidays from 10:00 to 16:00. Race weekends change that. On 23 and 24 January (Alpine Cup) and on 20 and 21 March (Children's World Cup) the slopes open to the public only at 12:00, and from 3 to 11 April 2027 they are closed to skiers during the Norwegian senior championships. The Slingsby restaurant opens in December 2026.

In its Norwegian description the operator counts 22 runs, 17 of them groomed and 5 left ungroomed, about 16 kilometres in total. Lifts cover up to 889 metres of vertical, and the off-piste terrain reaches 1,154 metres. Peak season begins in early February. Lower figures from the tourist board's earlier website are out of date; the operator's are the current ones. The piste map is being updated for this season, so expect changes on the mountain.

The reason for all the work is the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, which Narvik hosts in February 2029. Visit Narvik adds that the Arctic Ski Pass covers the lifts in Narvik, Björkliden and Riksgränsen with one pass. Ski media put the investment at around 53 million euros, for a new gondola, a six-seat chairlift and three new drag lifts, plus new race facilities and snowmaking. The operator says most construction from 2025 to 2027 takes place outside the season. Even so, a winter of building means some slopes and lifts may look different from older photos and reviews.

Daylight on the mountain

Narvik lies at 68 degrees north, so light is short at the start of the ski season. On 1 January there is no sunrise at all, only twilight from about 09:14 to 14:34. By 1 February the sun is up for about five and a half hours, and by 1 March for nearly ten. The long weekday lift hours in January let you ski after the sky has gone dark. Our page on the best time to visit shows how quickly the days grow in spring.

Evenings and the northern lights

Norway's Best describes a northern lights gondola: a return ride, a hot drink and a waffle, with a campfire outside or the panorama windows of the restaurant if the weather turns. Trips start at the lower station from 20:00 and last up to two hours. There is no guide. Because it uses the gondola, it can only start once the new line opens, and the page gives no dates for this winter. The aurora is never certain, and cloud decides as much as solar activity. Guided tours that drive away from the town lights are on our northern lights page.

Summer and the war landscape

Outside the ski season the mountain is used for hiking, and from late May to about 20 July the sun stays above the horizon all night. The operator plans to run the new gondola in summer too. The mountains around Narvik also hold a protected landscape from the fighting of 1940, with stone positions and loose relics; anything you find must be left where it lies. The war history page explains the rules and the background.