My top five favorite outdoorsy places to visit in Skåne County!

It is summer in Sweden and that means outdoor travel! Here are my top five spots in Sweden’s Skåne (Scania County), located down south.

Kullaberg

If you are interested in a great day hiking spot, come to Kullaberg Nature Reserve! This area is so reminiscent of the Oregon coast to me and offers wonderful coastal hiking. Visit Kullen Fry, the lighthouse that is 120+ years old, and see Nimis, one of Sweden’s weirdest (and most controversial) outdoor sculptures.

Wånas Konst Skulpturpark

If you are looking to spend a nice day outside and get some culture in, then head to Wånas sculpture park for the day. It is a bit of a trek from Malmö via public transport, but really fun and worth it! You get a map of the park when you arrive and then begin your walk around the grounds to see the different sculptures! Many are interactive, too!

Sofieroslott

Sofiero Palace is beautiful and not too far outside of Helsingborg. In fact, it is its proximity to Helsingborg (the “Pearl of the Sound”) that drew Crown Prince Oscar and his wife Sophia of Nassau to this location in 1865. The royal couple bought the homestead Skabelycke and began building their summer residence, Sophie-Ro. They moved in to the one-story palace in 1866. When Oscar became king 10 years later, they renovated the palace to what can be seen today.

In 1905, Oscar and Sophia gave the palace to their grandson Gustav Adolf and his first wife Margareta of England as a wedding gift. We owe the beautiful gardens to Crown Prince Gustav Adolf and Crown Princess Margareta, who were both extremely interested in gardening.

While we visited inside the palace, I would really recommend skipping it in favor of more time in the gardens. The grounds are stunning, and we had a great time smelling the flowers, picking berries, eating at the cafes, and visiting the gift shops. Also, I’d recommend breakfast at Brödkultur 2.0 on your way there!

Smygehuk

Welcome to the most southern tip of Sweden (Sveriges sydligaste udde)! This is a fun little stop for a fika, especially if you are trying to visit Sweden at is most northern and southern points!

And while you are here, Ale’s Stones are only a stone’s throw away (pun intended). Sweden’s version of Stone Hedge, Ale’s Stones are one of Sweden’s great mysteries. The 59 stones in the shape of a ship, covering 67 meters (220 feet) long and 19 meters (62 feet) wide at the widest point, and has been here since the early Iron Age (500-1,000 AD). Some say it is a burial monument, others think it’s an astronomical clock, as the stones are positioned so that the sun goes down at the north-western corner in summer and rises exactly at the opposite corner in winter.

Kjugekull

Nick and I both enjoyed rock climbing before moving to Sweden, but it wasn’t until we arrived here that we started bouldering outdoors! If you are in Skåne, Kjugekull is one of the best places to do it. While many of the boulders here aren’t too high, they are tough. Most of the routes feel ultra-crimpy, especially if you aren’t an avid outdoor climber (like myself). But the area is beautiful and fun even just for a day outside.

Hallongården

Have you ever wanted to hand pick (självplockning) some raspberries (hallon)? Well here you can! And other fruits too. Raspberries are ready to pick from the end of June until the end August, and strawberries from the start of June. Gooseberries are ready for a few weeks around early July and blackberries in mid-July. Since the grow their berries in covered “tunnels”, this is a good activity even if it rains. And be sure to stop at the cafe for some hallon fika!

• You can access all of these spots for free via public transportation with the Skånatrafiken Sommarbiljetten (summer ticket)!

• It always gets cold in Sweden, even during the summer, so be sure to bring a jacket/rain coat with you!
• Interested in some water activities? Visit the Canoe Center in Stockamöllan or rent standup paddles boards in Malmö.
• Another very fun outdoor activity is dressincykling (trolly cycling). In this activity you rent a Buda Velocipede, an old fashioned track inspection cycle and peddle your way along the tracks and back. We did it here in Skåne and they are open between April and October. It cost 300 SEK (~ $35 USD) to rent the Buda Velocipede for a few hours (although we finished the track in about 1.5hrs) and sits 3 people (or two plus our camping backpacks!). The scenery was beautiful and we passed by some white cows! The peddling is very light, so don’t worry about working up a sweat – anyone can do it!

• Visit Skåne