Färnebofjärden nature reserve in Gysinge

We suddenly had a gap in the calendar and what to do? Since we like hiking, we took a look at Sweden's national parks to see if there were any that we had missed.

National parks are always a nice experience as they are a bit more of a nature museum which adds an interesting dimension. In other words, they put a lot of effort into education and you always learn something new about our beautiful nature. In many of the national parks there is also a Nature Centre which further enhances the experience.

Believe it or not, there were a couple we hadn't visited and one of them was at a reasonably manageable distance. As an added bonus, we discovered a small manor house and mill nearby.

On the left you can see a map with all the parks but keep in mind that this also changes from year to year, some disappear while others are added.

Gysinge in Sandviken municipality was once Gästrikland's largest ironworks, which is noticeable as the small village has an unusually large number of grand buildings and sights.

Perhaps the best known is Gysinge Manor, pictured above. The facility is primarily intended for conferences, but during the summer and Christmas holidays it is also a popular tourist destination. Around the house there is also a well-kept park that is nice to walk in.

We had booked the pitch next to the mansion but when the opportunity arose we moved to the much more cosy pitch on the other side of the road. There was nothing wrong with the first one either but it was a bit boring as it was just one big paved area without any green areas or views. You can read more about them on our other site, or click here and here.

In addition to the manor house, there are a number of other buildings in the area. Naturum, Café Udden, Restaurant Orangeriet, Benedick's interior design and a number of small shops and craft stalls. There are also guided tours and rentals of kayaks, bicycles, drinks, etc.

A stone's throw away is the small village with, among other things, a small general store and a fire brigade museum.

As we mentioned in the title, we had an unexpected and very positive experience. A little hidden behind the stables is a hostel run by STF. We didn't think much about it as we already had the accommodation arranged but by chance we stumbled into their website and it turned out that they run a gourmet restaurant in the cosy inn you see above. Who would have thought it? My image of STF is simple accommodations and at best a tôrr cheese roll for breakfast. The experience we had could not be further from that.

For starters we had a fantastic raw steak with a perfect balance of sweetness, acidity and saltiness. For the main course we chose different dishes, I got an excellent flank steak from Vinnersjö Angus, and my better half chose something they called "local on the plate" which was a collaboration between a number of restaurants in the area. Here, it resulted in an exciting dish based on creamy cultured grain, poached egg, crispy sourdough, smoked egg yolk, seasonal vegetables and Gulla, a local cheese from Hansjö dairy. It may not have looked very pretty but it was certainly a taste experience of rank. Finally, we had a rhubarb dessert with roasted fennel cream.

Everything was delicious and a pleasant surprise. The wines and service may not have quite matched the level of the food but that was certainly not a matter of will but rather of the staff being a little inexperienced.

We ate the first courses inside the inn but chose to have dessert outside in their cosy garden. This part of the Dalälven is known for its large amount of mosquitoes but on this particular occasion there were unusually few which is still preferable. In any case, it was pleasant in the late summer heat.

After dinner we took a walk in the beautiful area. The river has been diverted to the forge, which in practice means that the park is surrounded by water. Near the Naturum there is also a small sculpture park that you can see a little further up in the post.

Opposite the manor is a small exhibition centre where local artists exhibit their work. There is also a wilderness village with glamping tents and various adventure equipment for hire.

The next day we headed for the nature reserve. We had taken a short tour that started from the mansion but it was so flooded that we had to cancel and go back. When I say flooded, I don't mean that it was unsuitable for low shoes but rather that you would have needed wading trousers to get through. We also learnt that there is a type of terrain we did not know about, flood meadows. This type of terrain creates a unique habitat that favours certain species, and this is what they are trying to preserve in the area.

However, it went much better when we started from the main entrance. Here the trails were better signposted, well maintained and had the information boards that you are used to in the national parks. This is admittedly a small park but still very nice with nice nature and beautiful views.

On the way home we took a small detour to Skekarsbo viewing tower. I might not recommend the road that goes directly from Gysinge as it's more of a logging road rather than a car road but if you instead turn off directly from the main road, it's no problem to get there. Once there, there is a proper car park, a small short hiking trail and the tower itself. It was a nice view and well worth the detour.

We really had no expectations at all when we went to Gysinge but it turned out to be a very nice destination. Lots to experience both in terms of hiking, activities, food and beautiful views. This is certainly a place we will return to and something we recommend to everyone else.