Discover Koppang

Koppang brings together a cultural trail, an exhibition about large wild animals and a farming landscape along the Glomma. Each attraction has a different focus: you can explore history and culture as well as trails, river scenery and wildlife ecology.

Gamle Kongevei: cultural trail and route

The Gamle Kongevei cultural trail starts at Storstua in the centre of Koppang. Its 18 information boards combine images and text, so the route is about more than moving through the landscape: it also highlights culture and history. The Gamle Kongevei route is about 14 km long and suitable for touring bikes. It can also be walked as a shorter hike from Koppang. This gives you different ways to include the route in an active stay, without making the longer distance the benchmark for every outing.

Highlights along the route include scenic stone bridges over the Kjemåa. The route also leads to the Hammarkollen viewpoint. A detour at Gamlehammeren takes you to information boards about farming and log driving, alongside a viewpoint and a bathing area. If you are interested in how the landscape has been used, you will find themes from working and cultural history here; the viewpoint and bathing area offer a different experience.

Culture at Stor-Elvdal Hotell

The Stor-Elvdal Hotell complex in Koppang houses its own museum and a museum library. The complex also includes Barfrøstua: in 1974, Lars Krogh moved it from Gammelstu Trønnes, across the Glomma, to the new hotel grounds in central Koppang. Barfrøstua is one of the first buildings in Norway to be protected by the Riksantikvaren, in 1923. In July 2017, the entire hotel complex was designated a Norsk Kultursenter. These landmarks make the area interesting if you would like to include architectural and cultural history in your visit to Koppang, alongside nature and outdoor activities.

Wildlife and the Glomma landscape

At Besøkssenter Østerdalen in central Koppang, Besøkssenter rovdyr Østerdalen presents the permanent exhibition “De fire store”. It covers bear, wolf, wolverine and lynx, as well as ecology, wildlife management, research and agricultural history. The exhibition offers more than an introduction to individual species: it connects wildlife with questions about its habitat and how it is managed.

Since 2022, Koppangsøyene has been a 12 km-long cultural landscape shaped by farming along the Glomma in Østerdalen. It includes islands and river channels, vegetation and abundant birdlife, as well as diverse floodplain vegetation. Cultural heritage sites from the Stone Age and Iron Age, along with preserved historic buildings, also shape the landscape. Nature and human history sit side by side here; for your trip planning, this offers a different focus from the exhibition in the centre or the information boards along the cultural trail.

Getting to Koppang and finding a holiday rental

Koppang station is on the Rørosbanen railway line and opened in 1875, two years before the entire line was completed. Trains from here run towards Hamar, Oslo S, Trondheim and Røros. Rail connections are therefore one factor to consider when deciding whether Koppang is the right destination for your trip. When choosing a holiday rental, you could first consider whether you would like to spend more time at the cultural sites, on the Gamle Kongevei route or in the river and cultural landscape. The attractions described here differ mainly in their themes and experiences.

Other places to consider when planning your trip are Strand, Atna, Sollia and Stor-Elvdal.

Back to the main travel overview: Stor-Elvdal.