Sirdal Husky Farm

The history

Learn more about us. The story of Sirdal Husky Farm is one of the roots and daring to follow a dream. It’s a true story. A tale of joy and courage in pursuit of a dream.

The Kvinen family is named after a remote, roadless mountain farm where Odd Kvinen has his roots. “Grandmother” Gunhild Kvinen lived here for more than 50 years and wrote a popular book about her life in the mountains. Sirdal Husky Farm strives to maintain this proud heritage.

For more than 30 years, Odd has shared natural and cultural values while providing unique experiences for guests from home and abroad. Sirdal Husky Farm is a family business where the hosts are a happy mix of the Kvinen ‘clan’ and co-workers from around the world who are drawn back year after year by the farm’s unique atmosphere.

The huskies are our key trademark. We have worked with sled dogs for more than 30 years. All dogs are safe, social, and love human companionship. A large fenced dog yard encourages play and challenges for our four-legged ‘staff and their two-legged guests.

Sirdal Husky Farm is a great place for people to meet for a real taste of culture, nature, and history. We’d love to share it all with you!

sirdal husky farm camp sirdal outdoor college de summer camp winter camp

sirdal husky farm camp sirdal outdoor college de summer camp winter camp HUSKYVISIT

The people of Sirdal huskyfarm

Odd

Tone

Gunhild

Frøydis

Florian

Pierre

Günther

Odd left Oslo in 1980 to return to his roots in Sirdal with Tone, his wife. In 1989, Odd realized his lifelong dream by establishing Aktiv Villmark Opplevelse (Active Wilderness Experience), which is now called Sirdal Husky Farm. Odd is still a dreamer and engages his guests through storytelling, nature experiences and fundamental values. Odd is genuinely committed to sharing knowledge about “the simple kind of outdoor life” and how we use and manage the blessings of nature.

Tone is the girl from the posh Oslo suburb of Bærum who became a country lass and Odd’s wife. She is educated as a teacher, with music and social pedagogy as her majors. Apart from music, she is especially interested in mindfulness, yoga and meditation. In 2002, Tone was named “Sirdal Resident of the Year” and in 2007 was awarded Sirdal’s culture prize together with Odd.

Gunhild is the farm’s eldest daughter and is named after her great grandmother, Gunhild Kvinen, whose 1976 book “Et liv i fjellheimen” (“A Life in a Mountain World”) has become a Norwegian classic. The younger Gunhild also followed her dream and moved back home to the farm with her own family in 2012. She works as an offshore SAR (search and rescue) nurse.

Frøydis is the farm’s youngest daughter and grew up with a pack of 40 sled dogs. She works as an engineer and lives together with Florian on the farm. Frøydis is a born organizer with an eye for details. She and Florian dream of taking Sirdal Husky Farm to the next level.

Florian first came to Sirdal Husky Farm in 2013 as a dog handler. At first, Florian commuted between Germany and Sirdal but moved to the farm in 2018. He has become involved in all aspects of the farm and its development. He has trained in ‘social education’ and has experience in ‘Pedagogy of Experiential Education.’

Pierre came to Sirdal as a dog handler in 2017. After a short trip home to Germany in 2018, Pierre longed for the farm and the sled dogs longed for Pierre. So now he is head of the dog yard where he manages all the four-legged ‘staff.’

Günther came to Sirdal Husky Farm as a dog handler in 1997. Since then, Günther and Odd have had a close friendship and cooperation. Günther is based in Germany and runs his own activity company (www.eventnature.de). He is also the founder of the German private school project at Sirdal Outdoor College (www.outdoorcollege.de).

History of Sirdal

A world of unspoiled nature experiences

Sirdal is in the mountains of southern Norway. It has a population of just 1,800 people in an area of 1,500 square kilometers (about 580 square miles), so there is more than enough room for everyone. It is home to Europe’s southernmost herd of wild reindeer and Sirdal is part of Norway’s second-largest protected nature reserve.

In the old days, Sirdal was an isolated and impoverished community. However, the area has always been rich in natural, untarnished beauty. When part of this wild countryside was tamed by the dams for hydroelectric power plants, some economic benefits naturally trickled down to the municipality. Sirdal is now a modern village, a short distance from ferry and airport connections to the Continent.

Sirdal has enough nature for everyone. Even though there are roughly 4,000 private cabins in the region, there is still plenty of room to enjoy pristine wilderness areas.

The area has southern Norway’s best network of cross-country ski trails and a variety of alpine slopes to choose from.

dogs of Sirdal huskyfarm

Our dogs are of the breed Alaska Husky which is an active polar dog with great motivation to run and pull. It has generally good health and thrives best with other dogs in a pack. They live together two or three in smaller dog kennels under a roof with access to their own dog houses. No dogs are kept on a chain. All dogs are running free for several hours daily in a large common dog yard in groups of 10-12. Here they can run, play and just be a dog together. Our guides are always nearby and watching them.

Our dogs get regular exercise and are trained in teams throughout the year, with sledges in the winter and carriages or scooters in the spring, summer and autumn. We log training protocols so that we monitor how much training each dog receives and monitor their development. In addition, the dogs are trained to walk on a leash and to carry a backpack. We focus on hygiene and all dog kennels are cleaned several times a day.

We are proud to invite you into the kennel, where you will be greeted by very trusting and safe dogs in a natural and healthy environment. We have many who visit us, and the dogs are used to visits and cuddles from all types of people such as families with children, elderly or people with disabilities. The dogs live right outside our living room window so they are always well taken care of. We share more about life on the husky farm during your visit with us.

Camp Sirdal

Summer camp for kids

Camp Sirdal is a summer camp for children from ages 10 through 13, based on Sirdal Husky Farm. The children can join a range of activities such as dog sledding with wagons, horseback riding, raft building, archery, hiking, fishing, swimming and paddling to name a few. Participants enjoy wonderful experiences in nature where play and learning go hand in hand. The goal is to promote interest in outdoor life while increasing respect for nature and its flora and fauna. Learn more at campsirdal.no or visit Camp Sirdal on Facebook and Instagram.

Outdoor College

A unique German school project cooperation

Outdoor College is a German-Norwegian school project where German 14- and 15-year-olds spend seven months of their school year in Sirdal. The pupils follow a German curriculum, while also learning Norwegian and having monthly wilderness experiences. There is a close cooperation between Sirdal Husky Farm and the school children, who also learn about husky care and training. Learn more at outdoor-college.de