15 of the best national parks in Sweden
The first country in Europe to establish national parks, Sweden set aside nine remarkable landscapes in 1909. The country now has 30 national parks that protect everything from distant Arctic and alpine wilderness, primeval forests and ancient bogs to wildflower meadows, windswept sand dunes and unique underwater environments.
While some parks are quite remote and require a bit of effort and backcountry experience to explore, others are within easy reach of large urban areas and accessible to almost everyone. Here, from north to south, are some of the very best of Sweden’s versatile and beautiful national parks.
Abisko
Abisko is located far above the Arctic Circle and attracts visitors all year round with beautiful mountains that frame a wide glacier-sculpted valley on the southern shore of Scandinavia’s largest alpine Torneträsk. In summer, the midnight sun provides almost endless hours of daylight for hiking, bird watching and admiring flowering alps.
When autumn comes, troublesome mosquitoes disappear and the landscape turns into glorious red and gold. In winter, the snow adds a new layer of beauty and opportunities for cross-country skiing and ice skating on Torneträsk. With frequent clear skies and almost no light pollution, Abisko is also one of the world’s best places to see the northern lights.
Sarek
Sarek, one of Sweden’s wildest parks, is a land of untamed rivers that rush through deep U-shaped valleys surrounded by high peaks, including dozens of Sweden’s highest peaks, with almost 100 glaciers. The park is a study in contrasts, which sets forests of mountain birch and flowering meadows with sharp rock walls with almost no vegetation.
Golden eagles, buzzards and kestrel hover overhead as bears, lynx, wolverines and oversized moose move through the valleys below. The right equipment and wilderness hiking are crucial for exploring Sarek, which has few marked trails and almost no infrastructure.
Stora Sjöfallet
Adjacent to Sarek and the remote wilderness park Padjelanta, Stora Sjöfallet was built to protect a large waterfall that fell into Langås lake. Shortly afterwards, the industry won over nature conservation and the borders were redrawn to enable hydropower development. Although the cascade is greatly reduced, the park is still spectacular, with deep valleys, birch and pine forests, high plateaus, moors and mountains, including the 2015m (6610 feet) Áhkká, a 13-peak massif with 10 glaciers.
Unlike its neighbors, Stora Sjöfallet has a road, visitor center and accommodation that provides easy access to hiking trails and panoramic views.
Muddus
Muddu National Park has been called the quietest place in Sweden. One of the country’s few roadless forest areas, it is a place with old trees and wide bogs, steep ravines and high waterfalls. Trails meander through primeval forest and over ridges, past 10 deep ravines that slope down to the Stora Luleälven river.
Together with the alpine national parks Sarek, Padjelanta and Stora Sjöfallet, Muddus is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Laponia. All four parks have been shaped not only by the forces of nature but also by thousands of years of use by the reindeer herding Sami.
Skuleskogen
This enchanting ancient forest is located in the heart of Sweden’s High Coast, a region that is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its dramatic and ongoing glacial recovery. IN Skuleskogen The ice age coastline has risen about 282m (925ft) above today’s shoreline, which leaves a landscape where mountains, coast and forest meet in a convincing mix unlike anywhere else in Sweden.
The forest itself is a mixture of sparse, bushy pine that clings to rocky ground and tall spruces that line rivers and valleys. Hiking trails reveal signs of the region’s unique geology, including the dramatic Slåttdalsskrevan, a long, deep ravine that is only 7 meters wide.
Sonfjället
Part of Sweden’s southernmost mountain range, Sonfjällets distinctive profile can be seen from many miles away. Lichens, mosses, lingonberries and heather otherwise cover bare mountains and nutrient-poor soils, while mountain birch, spruce and cloudberries multiply in gentler environments. There is an abundance of wildlife, including a large number of moose, which are often seen on bare slopes.
Sonfjället also has one of the densest populations of bears in all of Sweden. Although you must be very lucky to see one, signs of their presence are visible throughout the park. Wolverine tracks are often seen in winter snow. Capercaillie, black grouse, red pepper and various types of woodpeckers and owls are among the park’s many resident and seasonal birds.
Fulufjället
In northwestern Dalarna, which borders Norway, is located Fulufjället, a mountain with a flat top that rises steeply from the densely populated surrounding landscape. Here you will find a rich wildlife and hiking trails, one of Sweden’s highest waterfalls, Njupeskär, and the world’s oldest known tree root system, Old Tjikko, a Norway spruce that has survived by cloning itself, repeatedly sprouting new roots, trunks and branches in the same place in more than 9550 years.
Färnebofjärden
Sweden’s second longest river, the Dalälven River, flows from near Avesta to the Gulf of Bothnia, often in the form of wide, shallow lakes connected by several canals. Along its lower parts, Färnebofjärden occupies a biological transition zone between northern and southern biomes, which creates conditions for an enormous diversity of plants and animals to thrive.
Färnebofjärden is especially known as a bird watching destination, with 205 species being observed, of which about 100 nest here regularly. There are good views from a tower at Skekarbo and along various paths through the park. Other wild animals include moose, bears, deer, foxes, beavers and lemmings, as well as more than 20 different fish. Mosquitoes can be a plague during the summer months.
Ängsö
Very small Ängsö is not a wilderness park, but rather an island where agricultural activity has been going on for centuries, which shapes the landscape into a mixture of meadows, pastures and deciduous forest of oak, pine and hazel. Over time, human activity on Ängsö created ideal conditions for the abundance of wild flowers that spread across the island during the spring and early summer.
Particularly striking are the thousands of elderflower orchids that bloom in late May and cover the meadow in magenta and light yellow. The island also attracts a wide variety of birds, including woodpeckers, sea eagles, ospreys, ravens, owls and flycatchers. There is a seasonal passenger boat service to Ängsö from Stockholm and Östanå on the coast northeast of Åkersberga.
Tyresta
Just 20 km south of Stockholm and reached by public transport, Tyresta National Park feels like a completely different world, an ancient landscape of old trees, secluded lakes and a tranquility that makes the city feel distant both in time and place. More than 800 types of moss and lichens create a natural carpet in varying shades of green and brown dotted with mushrooms, berries and flowers. Gnarled pines, tall spruces and an abundance of dead and rotting trees create a rich environment where a variety of wildlife thrives, including wild boar, beavers, deer and many birds.
The Koster Sea
The Koster Sea is a marine national park that protects a unique underwater environment with a deep underground canyon and Sweden’s only coral reef. About 6,000 marine species live in the park’s waters, including more than 200 that are not found anywhere else in Sweden. Two marked snorkeling trails have been laid out on the seabed to guide underwater exploration. Kayaking and hiking are popular activities above the surface.
Only two percent of the Kosterhavet National Park consists of land. Although largely protected as a nature reserve, the two main islands, Nord- and Sydkoster, are not part of the national park, but they are an excellent base for exploration, with a visitor center, accommodation and regular passenger ferry traffic from Strömstad.
Tiveden
Tiveden is located between Sweden’s two largest lakes, Lake Vänern and Lake Vättern, and is another biological transition zone that attracts a rich wildlife. Although the forest feels timeless, it has actually burned repeatedly over the centuries, sometimes naturally and sometimes due to human activity.
The national park allows the landscape to develop naturally into something very close to what existed here more than 400 years ago. There is a sense of magic in this hilly, mossy forest with its secluded lakes, atmospheric bogs and randomly scattered giant rocks that seem as if they could have been set aside by trolls rather than glaciers.
Store Mosse
The word “moss” means bog, and that’s what you find in it this national park in Småland: the largest bog in southern Sweden, 78 square kilometers of it. Similar environments that are more common in the far north, but without the mosquitoes, the landscape includes marshes, lakes, swamp forests and wooded dunes that rise like islands from the marshes. In spring and summer, wild flowers give bright colors to the landscape.
Moose are common throughout the year, and otters, deer, foxes and badgers are also present, as are many bird species. One of the best places for bird watching is Kävsjön, where there is a lookout tower. Bats can often be seen hunting around Södra Svanö on summer evenings.
Söderåsen
About 40 km (25 mi) east of Helsingborg is located Söderåsen, which contains one of northern Europe’s largest expanses of deciduous forest and one of Skåne’s most dramatic landscapes, the 8 km long Skäralid rift valley. Here, Skärån has carved itself deep into an ancient ridge formed by the collision of tectonic plates 400 million years ago and formed by the freezing and melting of water that seeps through the rock. More than 50 km (30 mi) of trails, most of them relatively unpretentious, meander through the park, around small lakes and up to scenic views with stunning views of deep valleys and densely wooded slopes.
Stone head
Stenshuvud is located on the east coast of Skåne and is Sweden’s southernmost national park and also one of the smallest. Its center is a mountain with three peaks, with the northern one the highest at 97 meters (318 feet). Hiking to the top provides panoramic views of Hanö Bay, with the Danish island of Bornholm visible on clear days. The park is also known for its fine-grained white sandy beach, sand moors, beech forests and meadows that bloom in summer with many types of orchids and other flowers. Luckily, you can see a deer, fox, badger or marten, as well as a variety of birds.