Tiveden National Park

Tiveden is one of Sweden's wilder national parks, lying about 30 kilometres southwest of Askersund. The landscape is ancient: massive granite boulders tossed about by glaciers, deep ravines choked with old-growth forest, and dark lakes wedged between the rocks. Walking here feels genuinely remote, even though you are in the heart of Sweden.

The park has a good network of marked trails. The most popular route takes in the rock chaos at Stenkälla and the narrow gorge at Trollkyrka — a cleft in the rock used historically as a meeting place. Bring proper footwear; the terrain is rough. Wildlife includes elk, red deer, and osprey; the lakes hold pike and perch. The park is rewarding in any season but most atmospheric in spring (ice-out on the lakes) and autumn.

things to do sight wildlife
A story
Tiveden's deep ravines and boulder fields were considered so wild and lawless that Swedish law long recognised them as beyond the reach of ordinary society. The forest was a refuge for outlaws and vagabonds well into the 18th century — a reputation the dark, close woodland still earns on a grey day.