Askersund Outdoor and hiking in wild Tiveden

This post is the second part about our trip to Tiveden. You can read the first part here.

We are often asked why we don't book a hotel or cabin instead of camping. They may partly ask because we prefer to be a bit comfortable, which in the long run means that we often lug quite a lot of stuff on our camping trips. There is probably no simple answer, but I think a large part is close to nature.

As you can see in the pictures, all times of the day are something of an experience, which I think you often miss when you live indoors. We rarely choose large campsites but try to find small, simple wilderness campsites where the focus is on nature rather than entertainment. In other words, birdsong instead of a dance band and the sound of the wind instead of a teddy bear club.

When we started planning the trip to Tiveden, the idea was that we would stay at Camping Tiveden, but we misjudged the demand in these holiday periods so it was fully booked. Maybe it was lucky in a way, because otherwise we probably wouldn't have found the unusual and cozy thing Askersund Outdoor. They started as a fair for wilderness people but have since a number of years ago become a permanent summer activity. The camp is located on Borgmästareholmen, a small island in the middle of the entrance to Askersund. The island is connected to the mainland via a long boat jetty, which you can see in the pictures below. The location also means that you only have a five-minute walk to the center of Askersund, which opens up interesting opportunities for variety in the wilderness life.

Once out on the island, there are various different activities. You can e.g. eat freshly grilled prime rib burgers in the restaurant, swim on the small sandy beach, rent kayaks, use the tent sauna, take a spin on the dance floor or why not have a picnic in the green. As far as accommodation is concerned, you can choose from a few different variants. There are glamping tents, a kind of suspended balls in the trees or you simply rent your own tent site. If you can't bring a tent with you, there are slightly simpler options to rent. Incidentally, the tent pitches are not fixed, but you can choose any spot on the island. After a proper reconnaissance, we chose a place out on a headland a stone's throw from the restaurant and other facilities. All the mood pictures at the beginning of the post were taken from our tent site and they are just a small selection of all the amazing views that the place had to offer.

I mentioned earlier that we tend to drag some stuff with us and that was the case this year as well. It may not be something you take with you on a long hike, but if you have the chance, we think you should make it as comfortable and cozy as possible. An inflatable futon, real sheets, tables, chairs and of course a spacious tent. If there is electricity, a small fridge is nice and if you expect cold weather, bring the stove. Another advantage of the stove is that you can also bake bread on it, which really enhances breakfast. You can see some pictures of it here.

We always try to improve a little from year to year and this year's improvement was a real carpet on the floor. On the way to the tent site, it may not have felt completely thought out, but once the carpet was in place, it was really well worth the extra effort. The only mistake we made was that the champagne glasses didn't come with us, but as a consolation we got our prime rib burgers served to the tent, which made us quickly forget our fatal mistake... 😉

Tiveden National Park is clearly something out of the ordinary. They call it a "forest landscape with a wilderness feel", but I still think they should be able to describe it with slightly bigger words than that. The park is truly wild, not least because there has never been any forestry here. In other words, nature has been allowed to develop in its own way and this has resulted in something reminiscent of a fairy tale by John Bauer. It is also unusually hilly for these latitudes, which one might not expect. However, all trails are extremely well maintained and unusually well marked so there is no risk of getting lost despite the wild nature. At the main entrance there are detailed descriptions of all the joints where you can e.g. can see the elevation distributed over the route and estimated walking time. Now in the summer, there are also guides who answer questions and offer tips. Another thing that may be worth mentioning is that due to the hilly terrain, it never feels overcrowded. When we were there, the parking lot and surrounding roads were packed, but despite this, it never felt crowded out on the trails. The park consists of a total of 2030 hectares, of which 1800 are forest. There are currently nine fine trails that all stretch through the western and central part of the national park. In the eastern part we find, among other things, parts of Bergslagsleden as well as various cycling and riding routes.

On the first day, we chose the Stigmans round of 4.2 km and which has an estimated walking time of three hours. It stretches mostly through forest, but along the trail there are also a number of small ponds. After about half of the distance, you have the option to take a small detour along the Stora Trehörningen lake, which we chose to do. It was a nice change to all the forest and a beautiful ride along the lake. Earlier this year we walked the second route that goes through the forest. You can read about it here.

On the second day, we chose the Oxögabergsrundan of 6.7km and an estimated hiking time of four hours. It was very hot this day, but as we had no time pressure and also plenty of water, there were no major problems. The first stop was at Metesjön to look at the water lilies. There was also an excellent rest area with both tent sites, a toilet and a fireplace. We hiked on to Trollkyrkesjön where we also prepared a good and strengthening lunch. It was a very pleasant trip and our clear favorite among the trails we tried in Tiveden. Varied and beautiful nature but also fairly challenging as it was up and down all the time.

When we got back to the main entrance we heard some Brits going out for a walk and they laughed at all the lazy Swedes who needed three hours to walk four kilometers. They had indeed walked in the forest before and were fully convinced that they would be back in less than an hour. The fact that one of them was also dressed to go to a nightclub rather than a walk in the woods made it all extra comical. We considered sitting back and seeing how long it took for them but in the end our hunger overcame our malice. 🙂

In conclusion, we can only say that Tiveden never disappoints us. Beautiful trails but also a lot of other things to do both in terms of food, coffee and other pleasant experiences. We will definitely come back to both Tiveden and Askersund.