The most iconic European (ice) circuits
Few destinations in the world allow you to drive on ice in conditions worthy of a car manufacturer. Let’s review the most iconic circuits.
There are ice circuits and there are ice circuits. These might be the small training circuits that are scattered throughout the winter sports resorts and which are very often holiday destinations for competitions such as the Andros Trophy. Other operations also offer tracks on frozen lakes, but they rarely exceed 80 km/h.
And, if you want to drive in the best conditions and on the most legendary motor circuits in the world, where speeds of more than 200 km/h can be reached- and more than 180 km/h drifting- then there is only one destination that reproduces the layouts of some of the most beautiful circuits in Europe, if not the world. These are the ice tracks that have now become reference points.
Table of contents
What distinguishes an exceptional ice track
Before setting off in search of the best snow driving circuit, you need to know what separates a real drifting shrine from a simple tourist operation. Four criteria consistently arise among the big names in the sector:
- A frozen lake with cold, steady, long weather conditions: from -15 °C to -25 °C guaranteed over several months
- Enough space to carve out real tracks: fast corners, braking, chicanes, making it possible to “build” circuits several kilometres long, with long run-offs that allow complete safety, even if you come off the track. In comparison, the winter sport resort circuits rarely extend over 750m to 1,000m at most and offer very little run-off, with widths of between 10 and 12m.
- A flat, smooth surface, easy to get on a frozen lake, almost impossible to get on land
- Supervision by experienced instructors, capable of helping you progress whatever your level without ever compromising your safety. They often have competition experience, a guarantee of their solid driving know-how.
Legendary European ice tracks
It’s impossible to talk about European ice circuits without looking to the Scandinavian Far North- the activity’s historic birthplace- before looking South to the Austrian Alps.
Arjeplog, Swedish Lapland: the gold standard
On the shores of Lake Uddjaur, 60 km from the Arctic Circle- since the 1970s Arjeplog has been home to the highest density of ice circuits in the world. It’s in this village that Porsche, Mercedes, Fiat, Lancia, Ferrari, BMW, Kia Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover and Volkswagen develop their future models. It’s here that Lapland Ice Driving has built the largest ice driving centre on the planet: 13 tracks spread over 1,200 hectares (six times the surface area of Monaco) including 5 Formula 1 circuits reproduced full-scale. The Nürburgring, Silverstone, Paul Ricard, Sepang, and Yas Marina are among the tracks where you can undertake long drifts and even reach 200km/h on the straights, in complete safety.
Our Arjeplog complex is complemented by a technical circuit, a practice track and various ovals and circles devoted to learning.
Åre, Sweden: the WRC laboratory
Further south, in the Swedish mountains, Åre has established itself as a popular testing ground for World Rally Championship teams. Without being as concentrated, Åre’s facilities nevertheless include 12 km of bespoke ice tracks (mostly on dirt), and a learning oval.
Levi and Rovaniemi, Finnish Lapland
On the other side of the border, Finnish Lapland also has a solid reputation. Rovaniemi, the regional capital at the foot of the Arctic Circle, has a concentrated area with circuits designed for speedy progress, including ice karting and sports car driving. This is more typically the Disneyland of ice driving.
Zell am See, Austria: The Porsche Heritage
Are we entering a world steeped in history and competition this time? In 1952, the first races were held on the Zell am See circuit, at a time when ice racing was very popular. For more than twenty years, enthusiasts from all walks of life travelled to Lake Zell to devote themselves to competitions, just a stone’s throw from the historic Porsche family property.
At the dawn of the 70s, races were banned for safety reasons. But under the impetus of Porsche, the event was relaunched in the early 2020s under the name FAT Ice Race. This exhibition-like event brings together historic manufacturers, rally cars and ice demonstrations every winter, in a format closer to a car festival than a driving centre.
How to choose your circuit based on your profile
Not all these circuits meet the same need. There are three ways to find your way around:
- You are new to drifting: choose a circuit with real instructional supervision and staged progression, rather than a circuit designed for pure performance.
- If you’re looking to make serious progress: look for destinations that offer a high actual driving time over several days, with individualised coaching.
- You want the most exclusive experience: the circuits that host the manufacturers themselves for their own testing fufill by their nature the most stringent demands, on ice as well as in the vehicles themselves.
Lapland Ice Driving is the only organisation capable of offering all these profiles within a single infrastructure.
Why Lapland Ice Driving remains the gold standard
All the circuits covered here are accredited in their own way. But none of them combine everything that Lapland Ice Driving is able to offer in Arjeplog:
- The world’s largest ice driving complex
- Exceptional cars prepared to a high standard, based on 35 years know-how
- Instructors couple with a educational program of the highest level
- Astonishing speeds in absolute safety, enabling you to reach up to 200 km/h on ice circuits.
- Unmatched driving Time
Whatever your experience, we guarantee you mastery of the drift in a supercar in just 2 days.