Mountain hiking in autumn
Crisp autumn air, blazing colours, fewer visitors and no mosquitoes. There are many advantages to hiking in the mountains in autumn. Here we share tips on 7 fantastic mountain tours that are especially good in late summer and autumn!
Walk between the Vålådalen mountain cabins in autumn colours
The Vålådalsfyrkanten offers a magical autumn hike through varied terrain – through ancient old-growth forest, across mires, and past tarns and flower meadows. In places, the ice sheet has shaped the landscape with ridges, plateaus and rift valleys. At times it gives the feeling of being in a fairy-tale landscape. In September you often walk in peace and quiet with blazing colours all around you. In the evenings, cabin warmth and soft evening light await. Don’t miss the chance to relax with a sauna at STF Lunndörren and STF Stensdalen, a perfect end to a day on foot. This is an ideal tour for anyone who wants to experience autumn in the mountains for real.
Autumn hike through the Långfjället and Rogen nature reserves
The hike between Grövelsjön and Tänndalen passes through the Långfjället and Rogen nature reserves and offers a dramatic and varied landscape. From bare, rugged mountains and sparse conifer forest to a string of lakes in gloriously rolling countryside. You walk past Sweden’s least-visited national park, Töfsingdalen, with its wonderfully beautiful scenery. The tour starts at STF Grövelsjön mountain station and then continues via three of STF’s mountain cabins before you finish with a comfortable bed and delightful flavours at the historic mountain hotel STF Tänndalen/Skarvruet.
A classic tour across Jämtland’s mountain heaths and mighty massifs
A perfect shorter autumn hike with comfortable overnight stops along the way! The walk between Storulvån in the north and Ljungdalen in the south is a classic, easy-going tour that is especially good in late summer and autumn, when visitors are fewer and the mountains shift colour through thousands of shades of red, yellow and orange. Over three days you travel across broad mountain heaths and mighty massifs. At the end of each stage there is a mountain station where you enjoy tasty dinners and good sleep. Add a few extra days and you can try a fox safari or climb Helags.
Fantastic views in the borderlands of Sarek
The hike along Kungsleden between the mountain stations STF Saltoluokta and STF Kvikkjokk is just over 70 kilometres long, and takes you through an exciting borderland between Sarek’s high peaks to the west and the blazing forest landscape to the east. Open heaths, mountain birch, dense spruce forest, large lakes and bare mountain line the way. On one of the stages you walk in Sarek National Park, Sweden’s largest high-mountain area, offering true wilderness with tremendously dramatic scenery. Don’t miss a detour to Skierffe, a photographers’ favourite, with a fantastic view over the Rapa Valley and the Pårte massif.
Fascinating plants and animals along Kungsleden
The southernmost part of Kungsleden winds through the Vindelfjällen nature reserve, one of Europe’s largest protected reserves. You walk between the cabins STF Aigert, STF Serve, STF Tärnasjö, STF Syter and STF Viterskalet. Here, open mountain heaths, lush mountain-birch forests, wetlands and lichen-rich virgin spruce forest await. The varied environment creates the conditions for a great diversity of both plants and animals. The birdlife, for instance, is very rich, so don’t forget to bring a bird book. Another tip is to try your luck fishing in Tärnasjön. A truly wonderful nature experience awaits!
Sylarna round – dramatic peaks and magnificent views
On this hike, Norwegian mountain-pasture charm in a hytte meets Swedish mountain tradition at a mountain station. You walk across rolling bare mountain, always with the dramatic peaks, glaciers and precipices of Sylarna in view. The start goes from STF Sylarna mountain station to Nedalshytta and continues through the stately Ekorrpasset below Storsola, which at 1,728 metres above sea level is the highest Swedish peak in the Sylarna massif. From Nedalshytta the trail continues to Storerikvollen and then up towards Fiskåfjellet and Fiskåtjärnen along the Sylarna massif, before returning to Sylarna.
A colourful three-park meeting in the Laponia World Heritage Site
This tour takes you to the place where the Sarek, Padjelanta and Stora Sjöfallet national parks meet – hence the name Treparksmötet, the three-park meeting. The four-day round trip is 60 kilometres long and starts with a boat trip from STF Ritsem to Änonjalme, finishing with the same boat back from STF Vaisaluokta. During the tour you stay in mountain cabins and see magnificent wilderness. You pass the grand Áhkká massif, which forms a steep contrast to the flatter ground of Padjelanta. Blue-green glacier lakes, wild rapids and magnificent views alternate with intense autumn colours.