Sauna Øyer — 4 saunas at Hafjell in Gudbrandsdalen

Sauna Øyer is ski-resort bathing in the Gudbrandsdalen valley. Øyer is the municipality immediately north of Lillehammer, where the valley floor carries the Gudbrandsdalslågen river, the E6 and the Dovre Line side by side, and the ground rises steeply east to Hafjell — one of the alpine centres built out for the 1994 Winter Olympics and still the busiest ski destination in this part of the country. There is no lakefront sauna culture here and no fjord. What Øyer has instead is height: saunas attached to mountain hotels at 700 to 950 metres, most of them paired with a heated outdoor pool, and most of them full of people who have just come off the hill. Four venues cover the area, and they sit at different points on the mountainside. Ilsetra Hotell Sauna is the highest, at 950 metres on Hundersetervegen, with a heated outdoor pool and a premium indoor spa. Nermo Hotell Sauna on Nermosvegen is the hundred-year-old valley alternative, also with a heated outdoor pool and better value. Scandic Hafjell sits 700 metres from the alpine centre with a pool and sauna for guests. And Sus Sauna Mosetertoppen is the one that is not a hotel at all — a compact indoor badstu up at the Mosetertoppen ski village. Below you'll find all four with facilities, seasons and booking details.

Everything in Øyer is organised around the Hafjell hillside. Down near the valley floor, Nermo Hotell Sauna on Nermosvegen 56 is a mountain hotel of roughly a century's standing with an indoor sauna, showers, changing rooms, food and drink, parking, a heated outdoor pool in summer and a child-friendly listing — the most family-usable of the four and in the mid price band. Scandic Hafjell is a short distance from the alpine centre, 700 metres by its own description, with a pool and sauna included for staying guests and open year-round; its peak seasons are December to April for skiing and June to August for hiking and cycling, which mirrors how the whole valley works. Higher up, Sus Sauna Mosetertoppen is an indoor badstu with a changing room and mixed-gender sessions at the Mosetertoppen ski village near the top of the lift system, and Ilsetra Hotell Sauna sits at 950 metres on Hundersetervegen with the best view of the four and a heated outdoor pool alongside a premium indoor spa. That vertical spread is worth planning around: in winter the road up the mountainside carries snow and the difference between the valley floor and Ilsetra is real, and in summer the same climb takes you from farmland into open fjell. Øyer is about fifteen minutes north of Lillehammer on the E6 and roughly two and a quarter hours from Oslo, which makes it an easy pairing with the floating and wood-fired saunas down on Mjøsa.

Øyer’s saunas, valley floor to mountain top

• Nermo Hotell Sauna — Nermosvegen 56, a mountain hotel of roughly a hundred years with an indoor sauna, changing rooms, showers, food and drink, parking, a heated outdoor pool in summer and a child-friendly listing. Mid price band and the best value of the four.
• Scandic Hafjell — 700 metres from the Hafjell alpine centre, with pool and sauna for guests, changing rooms, showers, food and drink and parking. Open year-round, peaking December to April and June to August.
• Sus Sauna Mosetertoppen — an indoor badstu at the Mosetertoppen ski village, with a changing room and mixed-gender sessions. The standalone option if you are not staying at a hotel.
• Ilsetra Hotell Sauna — Hundersetervegen 775, at 950 metres, premium indoor spa with a heated outdoor pool, changing rooms, showers, food and drink and parking. The highest and the most scenic.

Øyer is a place where the sauna is the end of the day rather than the reason for it. If you are skiing or riding at Hafjell, the sauna at your own hotel will usually be included and is the path of least resistance. If you want the version worth going out of your way for, book Ilsetra for the altitude and the outdoor pool — and if you want a cold plunge or open water, drive the fifteen minutes down to Lillehammer and take Badstufergen on Mjøsa instead.