Långberget, not just for skiing enthusiasts

Every year we try to get a camping trip where we pack the car full of way too much stuff and head off to camp for a few days. Inspired by our glamping trip with Happie Camp This year, for example, we tend to bring a soft mattress, string lights and a giant rug, because surely it's nice to have a soft rug on the floor? The fact that it is 4×4 meters and takes up most of the car's cargo space, we don't need to say more about here. 🙂

Well, with the car fully packed, we headed this year to Sysslebäck and Långbergets sports hotel. From Karlstad there are two routes to take, via Sunne or via Hagfors. We took the road via Sunne to be able to make a stop at Diner 45, yummy burgers in a fun retro setting.

Långberget is probably mostly associated with winter sports and it is apparently full here in winter. In the middle of the summer, it was not boring at all, but there was a lot to do here. You can hike, cycle, rent a canoe or why not go on safari? As Sweden's moose-dense area, Långberget offers moose safaris but also beaver safaris. You may be the only Swede on the tour as the places are mainly occupied by enthusiastic Germans and Dutch people who all hope to see the exotic animals.

The hotel itself is otherwise a fairly classic sports hotel from the 60s, with simple but functional rooms and for campers there was also access to a shower, toilet and a small kitchenette. We also felt that there was a good atmosphere here and everyone was very nice and accommodating.

The hotel has good information about the various hiking tours in the area. One of the tours that starts from the hotel goes around Tallknölen and Storberget, and we had planned this for our first hiking day. However, various mishaps meant that we had to cut the trip dangerously short and instead take a walk back and forth to Tallknölen. The whole trip is actually about 6 kilometers, but since the paths are quite uneven and there are some differences in height, it takes longer than you might think. The fact that we found a nice bench with a fantastic view also did its part to slow down the pace. But that's how you should be on holiday, sometimes things just have to take their time.

The first night in the tent we noticed that our thick and soft mattress was neither thick nor particularly soft, it had pee! Note to self is otherwise to check such things before you go, but sometimes it doesn't happen that way. So it was just a matter of jumping up once an hour all night to get air in the wretched mattress and then hoping for a short while of sleep before it was time to jump up again. The mood was therefore not at its best when the next morning we got into the car to drive down to Sysslebäck, only to discover instead that the car was stone dead. For a short while we considered pushing the car down the ski slope, but after a little help from good fellows, we were finally on our way a good while later.

På ett lämpligt ”batteriladdaravstånd” hittade vi The natural praline which really lifted our spirits. Just on the edge of Sysslebäck is the chocolate shop in an old school and in the summer they also have a summer cafe with homemade ice cream. The ice cream was incredibly good and to cheer us up even more we also tried a couple of pralines which were heavenly. You have to be careful when you visit an award-winning chocolatier, and it was a pity for us that day. If you are not in the mood, they also have both a webshop and a praline subscription.

By the way, Sysslebäck proved to deliver properly this day. Näckån's RadioEl didn't just sell radios and electrical gadgets. A quick google describes the store as northern Värmland's Clas Ohlson, and we can only agree, everything was here including a new mattress.

Strengthened by a good night's sleep, we set out on another hiking attempt, this time around Horstomyren. The tour is roughly 8 kilometers long and is described as demanding. However, it is a very beautiful tour that goes through both dense forest and open marsh. By the way, the bog was full of red deer, which was greatly appreciated by the hiking couple we met in the middle of the bog. They had their hands full of berries and smiles from ear to ear.

The hotel offers full board, but when we camp, we usually choose to grill or cook outside in the forest during the hike. We also think it's cozy to make coffee and bake bread for breakfast while slowly waking up in the morning. A tip is to prepare small doughs to take with you and then put them in the pan in the morning. A simple scone dough or breadstick dough works perfectly and if you replace the butter with oil, and milk with water or dry milk, the dough can do without a refrigerator.

The restaurant that serves both lunch and dinner had unfortunately received rather bad reviews so we didn't have very high expectations for the food, but here they really surprised. One of the evenings we tried the restaurant and the food may not have had fine dining finesse, but it was good and well prepared and we have absolutely nothing to complain about there. The bad reviews definitely felt undeserved and we were both happy. The view from the dining room was also fantastic, which also helped.

Since we drove via Sunne on the way up to Långberget, we took the route via Hagfors and Ekshärad when we were going home. The above-mentioned traffic jam, which also resulted in tow trucks, meant that we did not dare to stop at the places we had otherwise intended, but had to have short leg stretches along the road instead. As you can see from the pictures below, we hardly had any trouble, it is really beautiful along the Klarälven. The planned visit to Sunnemo ice cream cafe had to wait for another time, but if you pass by, you absolutely must not miss this cozy summer cafe.

Our trip to Långberget was a mix of highs and lows, but overall a fantastic trip. Nice people and beautiful weather make most things good and Långberget is definitely a place to visit in summer.