A simple wooden arch in a clearing on the edge of Sälen marks the starting line of the Vasaloppet — the 90-kilometre cross-country ski race to Mora that takes place on the first Sunday of March every year. Around 15,000 skiers set off at once, in a mass start that has its own bottleneck a kilometre down the trail and is famous in Swedish television history.
In summer the marked Vasaloppet trail makes a popular hiking route. Information boards at the start explain the history of the race and Gustav Vasa's flight from the Danes in 1521.