My top five favorite hikes in Sweden!

Despite being a pretty flat country, Sweden has great hiking all year round. And during my (almost) three years living here, I have been able to do a good amount of hiking! Today I am going to share with you my favorite hikes throughout Sweden.

Kungsleden

This is the Swedish thru-hike. Sweden’s version of the PCT or AT, Kungsleden (the King’s Trail) is more than 400 km (~248 miles) long and stretches between Abisko and Hemavan. While hiking through Lapland, you will pass between alpine terrain and low-lying mountain birch forests.

Kungsleden passes through four national parks: Abisko, Stora Sjöfallet, Sarek, and Pieljekaise. The trail was established by Svenska Turistföreningen (The Swedish Tourist Association) in the 20th century. During this long walk, you can stay at the 16 mountain cabins maintained by Svenska Turistföreningen in between your days camping.

During my time on Kungsleden, we hiked between Abisko and Abiskojaure. It was a sight to see!

Want to learn more about Abisko? See my post here.

Skåneleden

If you are looking for a longer thru-hike, then come to Skåne. Skåneleden (the Scania Trail) is 1300 km (~807 miles) long and is located in Southern Sweden. The Skåneleden trail is divided in to six sub-trails by geographical area, moving from north to south, coast to coast, and ridge to ridge. They offer a great map planning tool that lets you plan your trip and search for public transportation, water sources, and wind/rain shelters along the way.

Söderåsens National Park

The first hike my partner and I went on in Sweden was at Söderåsens. It is a beautiful forest walk that provided some great views. We have done it more since and always enjoy coming back to Söderåsens. There is also a yummy cafe at the trail head in case you want to stop for a fika!

Tip! Hike to Kopparhatten during the Fall and you will not regret it! The views of the valley below are amazing.

Trollsjön

This was one of the most incredible hikes I have been on in my lifetime. Every single view was amazing. Every. Single. One.

Located right on the Norwegian boarder, Trollsjön (Troll Lake) is at the very top of this long country. You park off the side of the highway and start the peaceful looking trail, bypassing an old train station on your way. Soon the vistas open up and you will find yourself in the most diverse landscape, with the Kärkevagge valley on your left and glacial mountains on your right.

Rissajaure, or Troll Lake as it is most commonly called, is the clearest and purest lake in Sweden. It is so clear that you can see right down to the bottom of its entire 34 m (~111 ft)! The lake is filled with meltwater from the surrounding glaciers. 

The hike is 10k (6 miles) round trip, but a steady assent to the lake. When we went in late July, there were snow-covered patches and most of the lake was frozen. If you can, try coming here for a day hike! We had just got off the Kungsleden that morning and had already hiked 15km (~9 miles) earlier in the day with full backpacks. And the day before. Needless to say, my knees were screaming at me during the 5km descent back to the car. But it was so worth it for these views!

Ivö

Ivö is an island (ö) in Sweden’s southern parts and offers some great hiking! It is Skåne’s largest island and requires a ferry ride to get there. We went during the winter and it was amazing. Everything glittered during our sunny day hike and the whole island was so quiet and peaceful due to its remote-ish location.

There are plenty of fire pits, so don’t forget to pack some hotdogs (korv) and buns!

Stenshuvud National Park

Stenshuvud is located in beautiful Österlen. Enjoy wonderful coastal views looking one way, and then deep valleys looking the other! Lots of options for easy forest walks and plenty of places to pull over for a picnic.

Tip! Like Söderåsens, this is a great Fall hike.

• During the summer, you can access a few of these spots for free via public transportation with the Skånatrafiken Sommarbiljetten!
• Kebnekaise mountain is the tallest point in Sweden at only 2,096 m (6,877 ft).
• Sweden does such a great job with trail marking and maintenance!

• Always be sure to research your mode of transportation before you leave! Coming back from both Skåneleden and Söderåsens, Nick and I had to wait for over an hour and a half for the bus to arrive. Sometimes they only stop every two hour during the weekends!

• Rissajaure
• Kebnekaise