Åre has a long history as a tourist destination and mountain resort.
The first organised groups of visitors came to Åre in the Middle Ages when the pilgrims followed the Åredalen valley on their way to Nidaros (today Trondheim) and the tomb of King Olaf II. We may be right or not in calling these people the first tourists?
In 1882 the railway reached Åre bringing the first major influx of guests to the village. These visitors came primarily for the fabulous views and the healthy air, but also for hunting and various forms of mountain sports, in winter as well as in summer. Skiing, tobogganing and hiking were often on the programme. The first café at the summit of Mount Åreskutan opened as early as in 1892 and became a popular venue for the early sports tourists.
In 1910 the funicular Åre Bergbana opened, the first lift in Åre and still today operating on a daily basis during the winter and summer seasons.
Before the hosting of the Alpine World Ski Championships in 1954, new lifts were added in Åre.
In 1976 the cable car ‘Åre Kabinbana’ opened together with several other new lifts and pistes, in particular in the so-called upper zone. Right from the start the cable car also ran in the summer, still today a major attraction.
Some time in the 1980s someone brought a mountain bike up on Åreskutan by the cable car and then biked downhill. No one knows exactly who it was, but there are probably several persons who want to claim to have been the first biker down the slopes of Åreskutan.
In 1992 the first mountain bike event was staged in Åre, comprising several competitions in one week, including a long-distance race called ‘Skutan runt’. Furthermore an uphill race from the town up to Hummeln, followed by lunch at Hummelstugan and afterwards a Downhill competition back down, on the same equipment as the uphill race! There was also a parallel slalom competition.
In 1995 Åre hosted the UCI World Cup Downhill. This was also the year when the World Cup lift opened to bikers even in the absence of competitions and other events.
In 1999 the UCI World Mountain Bike Championships were held in Åre, a week in September that will remain in the memory of Åre for many years to come. The event awoke a new and broader interest in biking in Åre, using the lifts for the ascent.
Since then, the interest in biking on the slopes of Åreskutan has grown continuously and local enthusiasts build trails and maintain the paths for biking.
In 2003 the first ’Åre Mountain Bike Mayhem’ served to show to a broader audience the qualities of Åre as a biking destination.
In the autumn of 2004 Holiday Club opened on Lakeside Åre Strand. This mega-project has brought on an even broader drive making of Åre again an all year destination.
In April 2005, SkiStar Åre initiated the project ’Åre Bike Park’, aiming to further develop the lift-assisted alpine biking.