If you want to experience cycling around the Arctic Circle where the sun never sets, the Midnight Sun Route awaits. A good gravel bike and a few miles of leg training will make the experience even better. It's about 1,200 kilometers of freedom in a terrain made up of mountain ranges and forests.
To get an idea of the Midnight Sun Route, the Midnight Sun Randonnée bike race is a perfect starting point, and more specifically journalist and cycling ace Daniel Breece's article in Cykelmagasinet published on September 16, 2025.
A natural starting point as the start and finish, also for the bike race, is northern Sweden's largest city Umeå. From there, the route heads in a north-westerly direction before turning around and returning from west to east. Among other things, you will cross the border to Norway and visit the town of Mo i Rana. It is a comparatively large town with almost 20,000 inhabitants. Other towns along the route include Åmsele, Sorsele, Arjeplog, Vouggatjålme, Hattfjelldal (in Norway), Kittelfjäll, Vilhelmina, Lycksele and Granö.
”It is about something bigger. About living through something that few, if any, understand. About sharing a solitude or a silent community, about forming memories through forests, mountains and weather".
Daniel Breece, Cycling Magazine.
The race is not for everyone. It's about more than one round of Vättern per day. In the article, Daniel Breece, who is a really good cyclist himself, says that the Midnight Sun Randonnée is about so much more than placing in a race. He puts it this way: "It is about something bigger. About living through something that few, if any, understand. About sharing a solitude or a silent community, about forming memories through forests, mountains and weather".
And like this: "Otherwise, what's the point of cycling 1,200 km in rain and wind, through mountains and forests, across borders and under eternal daylight? Maybe it's just that: to test your own limits. To face the adventure, the landscape and yourself at the same time. To understand that some journeys are not measured in kilometers and hours - but in impressions and memories.”
Daniel describes the meeting of nature and consciousness in a captivating way: "Embracing the meditative in the slow monotony. The roads here are made for it, long, straight and almost completely car-free, especially at this time of year. Mile after mile through forest has a slightly hypnotizing effect".
He describes the road to Kittelfjäll as "...undoubtedly one of the most beautiful things I've stepped on in Sweden. A symphony of mountains, forests and lakes".
Now we think you, the reader, are beginning to understand the power of this cycling and nature experience thanks to Daniel's great article in Cykelmagasinet. Make sure you read it. The creator of the Midnight Sun Route is Florian Kynman.
For those who want to experience the Midnight Sun Route on their own, we have divided the route into reasonably long day stages. Read more about the route here and download all gpx files.
