The Östersund Ski Stadium is a World Cup biathlon and cross-country skiing venue, and it hosts the season-opening biathlon World Cup every November — the first major competition of the international biathlon calendar. If you're visiting in November and have any interest in skiing sports, the World Cup is an extraordinary spectacle: thousands of enthusiastic Scandinavian fans, athletes from twenty countries, and the peculiar combination of explosive athleticism (the skiing) and controlled precision (the shooting) that makes biathlon such compelling viewing.
Outside the competition season the stadium is the hub of the Östersund cross-country skiing network, with hundreds of kilometres of groomed tracks radiating out through the surrounding forests. In winter, you can rent skis and join the locals on the tracks — the network is excellent and well-maintained. In summer the stadium area hosts trail running and cycling events and is a starting point for hiking in the Jamtland hills. The biathlon range itself is open for visitors to examine the targets and understand the shooting disciplines; it's surprisingly interesting even if you've never watched the sport before.