Älvsbyn has a railway station that is served by trains running between Boden and Stockholm along the Swedish east coast.

It has a youth hostel with a small recreational park, including a swimming pool.

Being in a relatively deep valley by Swedish standards, the location is prone to temperature inversion.

As a result, diurnal temperature variation is usually high and winter nights can be extremely cold and average near the coldest among Swedish municipal seats.

The inland location warms summer up compared to coastal areas nearby, whereas winters are highly variable depending on wind patterns.