Strömsund: Nature, Culture and the Wilderness Road

In Strömsund, different kinds of nature experiences come together: a long road circuit, trails through peatland and karst landscapes, caves and waterfalls. There are also opportunities for paddling, fishing and wildlife watching, as well as an open-air museum in the town of Strömsund. When planning, consider whether you want to get to know the landscape on a longer drive or focus on individual trails and sights.

The Wilderness Road as a grand circuit

The Wilderness Road is Sweden’s highest paved road. Its southern starting point is on the E45 in Strömsund. The full circuit is 500 kilometres long and passes through the municipalities of Strömsund, Vilhelmina and Dorotea. This makes the road a distinctive feature of a trip that goes beyond a single attraction. If you plan to drive the circuit, consider it as one continuous route and choose places along the way according to your interests.

Even for a stay with a narrower focus, this distinction is useful: the Wilderness Road is a grand road circuit, while hiking trails and natural areas offer specific destinations for outings on foot.

Karst, peatland, caves and a gorge

The Bjurälven Nature Reserve contains Scandinavia’s largest karst area. There, the Bjurälven River flows underground in places—a distinctive feature of this landscape. From the car park at Leipikvattnet farm, a three-kilometre hiking trail leads through lush alpine vegetation to the karst area. The route connects a clearly named starting point with a specific natural destination.

A different type of landscape defines Vackermyren Nature Reserve, which consists of four calcareous wetlands and peatlands. A 450-metre boardwalk runs through the area and is suitable for wheelchairs, rollators and prams. There is an accessible dry toilet at the entrance, and a rest area with benches is located on the peatland. The trails therefore differ not only in length, but also in their surfaces and the visitor facilities available.

At Hällingsåfallet, the waterfall plunges into a gorge more than 40 metres deep. A five-kilometre hiking route starts downstream from the car park at Hällingsån and Hällarna. Guided visits to Korallgrottan are available. Its five-kilometre passages make it Sweden’s longest cave. The cave and the waterfall represent two very different aspects of nature: underground passages on one hand and a deep gorge with a waterfall on the other.

If you would like to explore geology in another way, the Geologiska trädgården features maps of the region’s geology. Cross-sections of the Earth also illustrate the history of the mountain range. This complements the view of individual landscape features with an explanation of their geological context.

Trails, wildlife and activities in the municipality

You can watch wildlife independently along Björnvägen, including bears, moose, roe deer and birds of prey. For hiking, there is also an easy seven-kilometre boardwalk between Strömsund campsite and the bird lake with its observation tower at Tullingsås. The length, surface and two endpoints help distinguish this trail from the shorter routes in the nature reserves.

The waterways offer a variety of options, too: in Strömsund municipality, you can fish in mountain waters, large lakes and forest lakes. You can paddle on Ströms Vattudal. In winter, kilometres of groomed snowmobile trails add to the municipality’s activities. The options range from quiet wildlife watching to outings on the water or along designated winter trails.

Culture and a visit to Strömsund

Strömsunds hembygdsgård is an open-air museum with around thirty buildings, exhibitions and historic settings. It is easily accessible by bus and car, and large parts of the grounds have been adapted for accessibility. A Christmas market is held there every year on the first Sunday of Advent. The grounds are also home to Jätten Jorm, a six-metre-high statue. The museum, market and statue offer different opportunities to explore the town’s history and traditions.

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Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Hammerdal, Rossön, Stora Blåsjön, Norråker, Strömsund, Lidsjöberg, Gäddede, Hoting, Backe.

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