6 amzing hikes in Hemavan in Vindelfjällen Nature Reserve

Five years ago, when I finished the hike Ammarnäs – Hemavan on Kungsleden, I said: “one day I want to live here”. Unfortunately, houses in Hemavan are unaffordable as it is a winter sports village where the rich elite of Sweden has a second home. Or a third. But … I’m lucky that my partner (not a rich elite haha) lives in Hemavan and that I now spend about half of my time there. So over the past summers, I have been on several adventures in the amazing Vindelfjällen Nature Reserve, the largest nature reserve in Europe. In this article I share 6 beautiful hikes in Hemavan with you!

The STF Viterskalet is the first mountain hut on the Kungsleden trail when you start from Hemavan. From Naturum Hemavan it is an 11 kilometer walk, you will take about three to four hours, depending on your walking pace. From Naturum you climb considerably above the tree line, from where you will have beautiful views, even all the way to the glaciers in Norway. Once at the mountain station of the gondola you go into the Viterskalet valley and you’re surrounded by beautiful mountains. The way back goes over the same track.

Read my blog about the Kungsleden trail Ammarnäs – Hemavan here.

A relatively easy summit you can reach near​ ​Hemavan is Gurkfjället. This hiking trail is relatively unknown with tourists and you will most likely only encounter Swedes and perhaps a few Norwegians. The hiking trail starts in the settlement of Solberg between Hemavan and Tärnaby. You climb about three hundred meters in three kilometers, so the walk is quite gradual. Gurkfjället is at 895 meters and from here you have beautiful views over Vindelfjällen Nature Reserve.

Drottningleden (“Queens Trail”) is an 8 km long hiking trail between Hemavan and Laisaliden. You walk along the side of the mountains with beautiful views of the peaks on the other side of the valley. You climb and descend considerably and cross beautiful rivers and waterfalls. Unfortunately, it’s a linear hike and you will have to arrange your own transport back or walk back along the same trail.

Murtsertoppen consists of two mountain peaks: Lilla Murtsertoppen (1.225m) and Murtsertoppen (1.413m). I decided to start this hike quite last minute and halfway realized that I didn’t have enough time to do the whole hike before it got dark (I walked in September). So I went to Lilla Murtsertoppen. First follow the Drottningleden for about three kilometers to the junction, from here the path continues to rise and you start the climb. It is not technical, but sometimes steep, and in total it takes you another three kilometers from the junction to reach the top of Lilla Murtsertoppen. If you want to continue to the real summit, count on an extra hour of walking. I did this earlier this year and it was an amazing hike, not too hard but quite steep in a few sections.

Kobåset is a valley between the Viterskalet valley and the Murtsertoppen valley. This trail is not marked, but there is a path you can follow. From Naturum Hemavan you follow the Kungsleden until you see a turnoff to the right towards a shelter. Follow this path into the valley, on your right you will see a lavvu (a Sámi hut) on a hill, a great place for a stop. The trail to Kobåset is clear, but sometimes goes through a bit of swamp. Eventually you come to a river that you have to cross or wade through. A little further on you are at a beautiful waterfall, where you can swim. This is where this trail ends, you will go back the same way.

Because this trail isn’t marked, I advise you to download an app with a hiking map, for example Gaia GPS or Naturkartan.

A few valleys further along the E12 lies a beautiful, deserted valley where hardly any hikers ever go. You can spend the night here in two huts, of which the Jirestugan is the first. At first the trail is still clear and you gradually climb above the tree line. When you have to go through a swamp, the path is not marked and you have to find the best way yourself. You cross several streams so wet feet are guaranteed.

From Jirestugan you can continue to Glimmerstugan, there is no trail to this hut and you should have excellent navigation skills. You can spend the night in both huts, first come, first serve. Please note: the red crosses indicate the winter trail and you should therefore not follow them as they will take you across lakes and mires. The trail to Glimmerstugan is only suitable for experienced hikers who know how to navigate in the backcountry.

The best time to hike in Hemavan, a high-altitude village, is in July and August. Most of the snow has disappeared from the trail and the rivers are easy to wade through. In June, there’s still a lot of snow in the mountains and it is not unthinkable that you will have to cross snowfields. The huts on Kungsleden only open from 20 June.

September is also a great time to hike and as you can see above, you already have a chance of seeing the Northern Lights. However, the days are also considerably cooler and shorter than in July and August. From October onwards, it usually starts to snow and if it stays on the ground, most hikes are no longer safe.

Hemavan is located on the E12 between Umeå and Norway. From Storuman it’s about a two hour drive. If you travel by public transport, there are several buses a day from Umeå to Hemavan. It is best to buy your ticket in advance in the TA buses app of Länstrafik Västerbotten. Hemavan also has an airport, airline PopulAir has flights between Stockholm Arlanda and Hemavan six days a week (not on Saturdays).

There’s no campsite in Hemavan (just a winter camping) but a good place to stay is Hemavan Fjällcenter, here they have private rooms and rooms with shared facilities. If you have a bigger budget, then Tunet is a good option. In Hemavan there’s a big supermarket and an outdoor shop in the same shopping center. All the small necessities for your hike you can buy here. For a good day lunch or a cup of coffee you can go to FICA. Good burgers can be found at Fjällkitchen.

To me, Hemavan one of the most beautiful places in Sweden and I’m grateful that I can spend so much of my time here. The chalet construction may scare you off at first, but as soon as you step into the beautiful nature of the Vindelfjällen Nature Reserve you will quickly forget that. Want to read more about Sweden? Then you will probably also like the following blogs:

• Drottningleden: an amazing day hike in Hemavan
• Freedom camping in Sweden: this is what you should know
• Or my Sweden page with more than 50 articles about active travel in Sweden

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