Tiveden

Little hiking adventure through Tiveden Nationalpark including two unique shelters and a journey, to be continued…

Day 1 Stockholm -> Skövde -> Undenäs -> Stenkällesgården

This trip started with a ride in the brandnew Flixtrain, taking me from Stockholm to Skövde. From there, the journey continued on with local transportation all the way up to ‘Undenäs kyrka’ and is followed by a quite exhausting 16km walk on mostly asphalt. I decided to start in Stenkällesgården, since it entails a little café and camping area. During off-season however, the only way to reach it (except for cars) is by foot and for most of the time you’ll be walking on the side of the main road.

I was happy when I finally saw the campsite as the beautiful sunshine quickly turned into a downpour. I reached it around 19:00 and was so grateful, when the owner offered me a roof for the night. My original plan included another 12km of hiking to reach a windshelter since I am bivy-camping, but I felt quite exhausted and headachy - probably due to the lack of fluids. All cabins and bookable rooms were taken, but luckily the conference room, which acts as an emergency indoor shelter, was completely empty. For 250kr, I got the whole ‘Värmestuga’ to myself!

Day 2 Stenkällesgården -> Tivedstorp, 12km, 4h

I had a wonderful rest and woke up very energetic the next day. Todays route was the first stage from the ‘Signaturled Tiveden’, which follows along the longer ‘Bergslagsleden’, and I was excited to finally hike on softer ground. The trail crosses through the Tiveden Nationalpark, which is one of Swedens wildest nationalparks and located between the lakes ‘Vänern’ and ‘Vättern’. It took me about 5 hours to get to my lunch break location - the beautiful Tivedstorp. I instantly fell in love with this charmy old village (nowadays run by STF) and decided to stay here for a night. That however meant, that I wouldn’t make it to my train 2 days later in time, if I continued with my orginal hiking route. I reviewed my old plans over a nice cold beer and eventually opted to go eastwards to Sannerud instead of heading north to Laxå. From Sannerud, I could grab the schoolbus in the morning and would be in Laxå 4h before my train leaves.

The rest of the day was mostly spent relaxing on the grass and enjoying the sunshine.

Every cabin here was fully booked as well but I was offered a place in the recently constructed second floor for half the price. It was inside the ‘Party Loft’ which I loved as a concept and had everything a hiker can wish for - a lot of space, comfortable couches and a shower next door.

The cabins however looked absolutely adorable and I recommend everyone to come visit this adorable village, maybe on a weekend trip.

Day 3 Tivedstorp -> Tived, 5km, 1.5h

Today was a very short and sweet hiking day. After a nice cup of coffee, I followed along the ‘Kyrkstigen’ for 5km to Sannerud, also known as Tived.

I stopped by the ‘Tiveds Lanthandel’ and had the BEST meal of my life!! During off-seasons, the bigger café is closed, but there are a few seats in the entrance area to the supermarket, where you can treat yourself to a delicious meal. Mine was a fairly Swedish dish: Sautéed perch filet, finely draped on top of a egg/shrimp composition with roasted potatoes and a creamy sauce to top it off! This little town even offered me a free spot to stay for the night. It was a turist office, that needed some renovation and had therefore been open for hikers as an emergancy shelter. It was a super cute Tiny House!!

Day 4 Tived -> Göteborg

Last day of this trip! Took the bus to Laxå and later jumped on a train to Göterborg. To be continued…

Tiveden, thanks for having me!

My tips/thoughts:

• Tiveden National Park has a lot of snakes. Sadly I’ve only seen dead ones next to the road…

• There’s nothing better than a good, fresh meal after a hike! Honestly one of the best meals I’ve ever had :)

Until next time!
Love, Karin