Things to see in the North Sweden in November

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Do not drive to Nikkaluokta (nearest village to Kebnekaise) from Arlanda in November, unless you are experienced driving long distances in the dark on icy roads. It's not a 12 hour drive, 18 hours more likely. If you wish to visit Nikkaluokta, take the overnight train to Kiruna and rent a car from there. The Kiruna car rental will provide a car with dubbdäck (studded tyres), which you can carefully drive on snow-packed or icy roads, preferably in daylight.

Now (November) is the worst time of the year to visit Kebnekaise.

The nearest parking to Kebnekaise is Nikkaluokta, which has a tourist station. The tourist station in Nikkaluokta is closed in November. It tends to be open February to September (or February to April and June to September). Most of the parking lot will normally be buried in snow this time of year (possibly deeply already), but there is a village (2 inhabitants, no services), you will be able to park a car along the road. To get to the foot of Kebnekaise means skiing through deep winter conditions. To get to the summit this time of year requires mountaineering experience. Remember that there are only several hours of daylight per day this time of year, so prepare for long (16 hour) nights in a tent.

There are however two interesting reasons to visit Nikkaluokta in November:

  • Along the drive between Kiruna and Nikkaluokta and back (round trip around 140 km), you have a very good chance of seeing moose. Drive accordingly slowly, 50 km/h is plenty. Do not be fooled by the empty-looking road along Holmajärvi. I've driven this road twice at this time of year, and saw moose on both occasions, including once right in front of the car, fortunately I was driving no more than perhaps 40 km/h at the time and there was some daylight/twilight. I never saw moose the dozen+ times I travelled this road at other times of year.
  • If there is no snow yet: ice skating in Vistasdalen is a great nature experience. Inquire locally. Vistasdalen has a dry microclimate so is often snow-free when Kiruna is already buried in snow. You can reach many km into the valley as the lower part is entirely flat. I'm told some have reached as far as the famous Lisas stuga, which would be a very exclusive place to spend the night and tell your grandchildren about (if you survive; do not forget wilderness ice skating safety rules)

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