A mini-trekking in Grövelsjön, Sweden

A few weeks ago I told you about pretty Grövelsjön in Sweden and how we traveled there from the Netherlands. In this blog article I’ll tall you about a trekking we made here, through the mountains and in the midst of the reindeer. We crossed fjälls, crossed fast-flowing rivers and camped in the wild with a view of one of Sweden’s most inaccessible wilderness areas: the Töfsingdalen National Park. Here’s how we enjoyed our mini-trekking in Grövelsjön, Sweden.

We’re planning a hike

The great thing about Sweden is the Everyman’s Right: in other words, the freedom to roam where you like. During our hikes in Sweden we rarely make use of the possibility to sleep near and/or in a hut, but we often set up our tent in the middle of the wilderness, far away from other people and often with the most fabulous views. In many places in the Swedish fjälls you don’t actually have to walk a fixed route because you can often just pitch your tent anywhere.

After we have recovered from the long journey to Sweden in Grövelsjön Fjällstation, we decide that we would like to explore the area further on foot. There is a hiking map at the reception of the mountain hotel and we see that there is a large lake in the valley behind Grövelsjön: Hävlingen. On the shores of the lake is Hävlingensstugorna, a popular destination for hikers. A line is also marked on the map that indicates the area in which you are not allowed to camp in the wild: it is just above the tree line, so there is plenty of room to camp with a view. And so we pack our backpacks and go on an adventure!

Across Långfjället

The hike we have in mind takes us across the Långfjället, deep into the nature of the extreme northwest of Dalarna. This is also a section of the Södra Kungsleden, or the Southern Kungsleden hiking trail. I still have the GPX files of this on my vacation last year, when I hiked around the Sälen mountain region. Directly from the fjäll station, the trail ascends almost vertically. Sometimes over tundra, sometimes over a rocky patch. As quickly as we ascend, the view expands below and behind us. Although it has rained a lot in recent days, it looks like we are luck with the weather today as it seems to clear up.

On top of the mountain

It’s quite busy on the trail, most hikers are on their way to the 1.103m high Jakobshöjden. As soon as we get to the mountain pass, we decide to ignore this mountain peak and continue our way, away from the other people. And we succeed, because less than half an hour later the biggest crowds seem to have passed and it feels as if we are alone on the mountain. Meanwhile, the view gets wider and wider. On the left is Pråahta – a long flat mountain on the border with Norway. To our right is the Storvätteshågna, a peak of 1.203 meters high. When we have crossed the ‘mountain pass’, the trail flattens out and we walk over a wide quadbike track on the fjäll.

Looking for a place to camp

We want to camp just outside the boundaries of the marked area. Although we don’t expect anyone to check, we of course want to stick to the rules and invisible boundaries. Northwest of us, Hävlingen has revealed itself, with snowy peaks in Norway in the background. Here we should soon come across the snowmobile track, this is where we want to camp, preferably with a view of the lake. As soon as we get to the emergency shelter, we leave the trail and start looking for a good wild camping spot. We cross a fast-flowing river in a narrow spot (big jump!) and look for a ledge. Then suddenly we find it: our perfect camping spot.

Camping in full light

My friend sets up the tent while I sit down and enjoy the immense view I have from here. Far below me is Hävlingen, beyond snow-capped peaks. Right in front of me lies the wilderness of Töfsingdalen National Park. This nature reserve is not accessible by car and therefore hardly receives any visitors. As soon as the tent is up, we’re going on a micro-adventure: we’re going to look for antlers! My friend soon finds the first one and that invites us to explore even beyond where we are: we stroll around on the fjäll for hours, always looking for that one piece of white in all the green and brown shades. Eventually we find about six different (pieces of) antlers, scattered here and there in the landscape.

Since it doesn’t get dark, the sense of day and night is gone. However, we sense in our bodies that it is time to eat and finally: to go to sleep. We cook a meal and zip up our sleeping bags. It doesn’t get dark that night, but because we are very tired, we sleep like babies in complete peace and silence.

In search of the trail

The next morning we enjoy a cup of coffee in the full sun. Because there’s quite a bit of wind there are almost no mosquitoes and that’s nice! We decide not to walk back to the trail, but to set course with a map and compass to a hiking trail that should be about a kilometer away from us. My friend gives me a mini-course on navigation and with our compass in hands, we indeed arrive at the trail not much later. At the foot of Storvätteshågna are some small lakes, which a trail leads past. Our goal is to get on that trail and walk back to Grövelsjön from here. Not all rivers are bridged and here and there we have to cross a waterfall on foot. It doesn’t get more adventurous than this!

Back to Grövelsjön

We descend into the valley between the lakes. This appears to be a popular destination for tents: we count at least fifteen of them. Families in particular stay here on the waterfront, but we move on quickly. In the meantime our water supply is almost finished and so we set a a fast pace back to Grövelsjön. From the lakes we climb and finally we start the descent to Grövelsjön and the car. It is now a warm day and a pair of shorts would not have been an unnecessary luxury. The trails slowly but surely get busier and just before we get to the parking lot we reach the tree line. A few more steps and we are back at the car.

Conclusie en disclaimer

Our visit to Grövelsjön was made possible in part by Visit Dalarna. All opinions given are, of course, only our own. This article contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase or make a reservation through such links, we will receive a modest commission at no extra cost to you. Do you want to read more? Here you will find all hiking information about Grövelsjön. Enjoy!