11. VADVETJÅKKA – Sweden’s northernmost national park is a mountain with deep caves. HAMRA 12. BLÅ JUNGFRUN – An island of legends, with smooth rocks, deciduous trees and beautiful views. NATIONAL PARK 13. NORRA KVILL – One of the few old growth woodlands in southern Sweden. ANCIENT WOOD- 14. TÖFSINGDALEN – Valley with ancient pine woodlands, rich in boulders and rushing waters. 15. MUDDUS – The land of vast LANDS, QUIET wetlands and old growth woodlands. 16. PADJELANTA – Rolling mountain heaths and big lakes, far from the WETLANDS AND nearest road. 17. STORE MOSSE – The largest wet- land area in Sweden south of Lapland. WILD RAPIDS 18. TIVEDEN – A wooded landscape with a sense of wilderness. 19. SKULESKOGEN – Coast with magnifi cent views and the world’s most rapid isostatic lift. 20. STENSHUVUD – Coastal hills, broadleaved woodlands, inviting heathlands and beaches. 21. BJÖRNLANDET – Mountains, cliff s and woodlands with traces of old wood land fi res. 22. DJURÖ – Archipelago in western Europe’s biggest inland sea. 1. ABISKO – An easily accessible 23. TYRESTA – Pristine woodland just mountain valley with unusually rich south of Stockholm. fl ora. 24. HAPARANDA SKÄRGÅRD 2. GARPHYTTAN – Old agricultural Archipelago with sandy beaches and landscape that is a sanctuary for the shallow waters. dormouse and spotted nutcracker. 25. TRESTICKLAN – Roadless wilder- 3. GOTSKA SANDÖN – Unique, ness with expansive views from pine- beautiful island with miles of sandy covered ridges. beaches. 26. FÄRNEBOFJÄRDEN – A mosaic of 4. HAMRA – A rare complex of natural broadleaved woodlands and water in woodland, wetland and watercourses. Nedre Dalälven. 5. PIELJEKAISE – Expansive, pristine 27. SÖDERÅSEN – Deciduous wood- woodlands of mountain . land, scree slopes, running water and 6. SAREK – Magnifi cent, demanding a rich fl ora and fauna. wilderness in a unique mountainous 28. FULUFJÄLLET – By Sweden’s landscape. highest waterfall, old growth wood- 7. STORA SJÖFALLET – Impressive land meets mountainside that is white peaks, glaciers and ancient pine with lichen. wood lands. 29. KOSTERHAVET – Species-rich 8. SÅNFJÄLLET – A low mountain area of sea and archipelago with with natural woodland and plenty Sweden’s only coral reef. of bears. 9. ÄNGSÖ – Genuine agricultural landscape with grazing and naturvardsverket.se haymaking. Responsible for 10. DALBY SÖDERSKOG – Leafy Sweden’s national woodland on the plains of Skåne. parks. Old trees and snags often look as if a giant has twisted them. The cells in the wood are slightly skewed as they grow and the older the tree becomes, the more this twisting is apparent. The spiral shape makes the tree stronger, in the same way as spider silk, rope and oil pipelines.

AS THINGS USED TO BE

“The most remarkable of woodland, one that should still be found in Sweden’s woodlands.” This is how Hamra’s woodlands were described by a researcher in 1903. Unmanage woodland was unusual even back then.

Since Hamra National Park was founded in 1909, unmanage woodland has become increasingly rare. Walking between the old pines is a journey back in time, to the woodland as it once was. Around the woodland, a large area of wetland opens out, where the cranes dance in magnifi cent tranquillity in the spring. Areas of unbroken wetland are now uncommon, as are untamed rapids, the freshwater pearl mussel and truly undisturbed dark and starry skies.

Printed 2011 Printed Welcome! Wood- Wetland Water- THREE ENTRANCES land 45% courses 54% 1% SIX POINTS OF INTEREST THE NATIONAL PARK IN BRIEF AREA: Around 1 400hectares (after expansion in 2011) Moving between the three entrances of the National FOUNDING YEAR: 1909 (then 28hectares) Park is quickly done by car. Each entrance has a pic- CLOSEST VILLAGES: Fågelsjö, Los and Hamra COUNTY: Gävleborg nic area, toilets and signed trails. There are walking LANDSCAPE: Dalarna trails of varying diffi culty, from the wide boardwalk HABITATS: Woodland, wetland and watercourses. to the lake of Svansjön, which is suitable for prams and wheelchairs, to the much longer Hamraleden on MOSQUITO NON-BITING MIDGE BITING MIDGE Culicidae Chironomidae Ceratopogonidae which you will have to clamber over logs and stones.

HUVUDENTRÉN This is the start of the old growth woodland path (Urskogsslingan) that passes through the older part of the National Park, where the woodland is oldest. OLD GROWTH WOODLAND MYRENTRÉN There is a fi ne view across the IN A WETLAND wetland from the look-out tower. This is also the start of the long wetland path (långa myrslingan) LANDSCAPE that passes through areas inhab- ited by black grouse, crane and sphagnum moss. Hamra National Park lies in an undulating landscape of softly rounded bedrock. It is actually a relic of Scandinavia’s once dramatic mountain chain, which SVARTÅENTRÉN has been eroded over millions of years. Wetlands The polished rock along the river is stretch out between the hills. perfect for picnics, or for watching for otters or white-throated dippers in the whirling water. Hamra is most famed for its woodlands. The oldest area of the National Park is one of very few areas of central Sweden that is untouched by axe or chainsaw. Even at a distance, it is obvious that there is something special about this small old growth island. Flat-crowned pines, sprawling spruces and snags distinguish the old growth woodland’s silhouette. There are pines that are over CONTACT INFORMATION/GETTING HERE 400 years old and which bear traces of fi ve woodland fi res. Much of the old growth woodland’s fl ora and fauna live in old and dead trees. www.hamranationalpark.se Hamra National Park is accessible [email protected] from Road 45 between Orsa and Almost half of the National Park is wetland, where you can walk for Sveg, via a turnoff to the east from Telephone: +46 (0)26 17 10 00 Fågelsjö. Follow the signs and you hours over bogs, fens, streams, tarns, quaking bog and pine-covered www.lansstyrelsen.se will be there after 5 km. islands. Such large areas of wetland, unbroken by roads and ditches, Address: are now rare. The wetland is popular with and walkers because Länsstyrelsen Gävleborg it is so large and pristine. 801 70 Gävle LEGEND

MIXED AND CONIFEROUS ENTRANCE WOODLAND POINT OF INTEREST OLD GROWTH WOODLAND INFORMATION POINT AND NATURAL WOODLAND MARSH, WETLAND PICNIC SITE WETLAND WITH OPEN WATER DRY TOILET CAR PARK BEAR TREACHEROUS QUAKING BOG BLACK GROUSE DISPLAY LAKES AND WATERCOURSES Hamra National Park has one of A quaking bog (or schwingmoor) The wetland’s most dramatic CONTOUR LINE, 5 M INTERVAL FIREPLACE the densest bear populations in is a fl oating carpet of mosses and episode begins in April: the male Sweden, but very few visitors ever other plants. It is held together by black grouse display. They gather WASTE DISPOSAL see one. Make sure that you can be the plants’ roots, so more moss in open areas where they are safe VIEWPOINT heard if you want to avoid meeting and dead plants collect and the from predators. When the females HUVUDENTRÉN TIP! a bear, for example by talking or carpet becomes fi rmer. A quaking arrive, the males have been train- LOOK-OUT TOWER AN humming a bit now and then. bog may look stable but, if you are ing for several weeks. The females March is the best month SVANSJÖN URSKOGSLING not careful, you may tread right look at the display and then choose for enjoying the wetland WIND SHELTER HAM RAL through into the water. the male they wish to mate with. on skis. ED 1 EN

M WALKING TRAILS Y R S L IN G RN A 2 MTJÄ EN WHITE-THROATED DIPPER N OR HAMRALEDEN ( ) The white-throated dipper’s 10km/6hours white bib is visible like a lamp when the is submerged URSKOGSLINGAN ( ) in the running water. It moves 2 or 3km/40 or 60min HAMRA LED EN along the bottom and catches Entrance to the MYRSLINGAN ( ) caddisfl y larvae. very fi rst National 2,5km/60min Park of Hamra. SVARTÅSLINGAN ( ) 1 or 2km/40 or 60min Approximate time LTJÄRNEN HÄL LÅNGA MYRSLINGAN ( ) to walk along a trail 3km/90min or path. 3 TO SVARTÅENTRÉN

HAMRAL 4 ED E N 5 Whooper swan Mute swan LÅNG A MYRSL IN G A SVART N ÅN

MYRENTRÉN

SVAR TÅN SVARTÅENTRÉN

H V A O M Hamra National Park R X A N L A An area of 180 hectares around the E D 6 N E original national park at Svansjön N is part of the EU nature protection 0 500 1 000 1 500 m OTTER N network, Natura 2000. A number SV A ART G In the winter, you can see the tracks of species are particularly priori- ÅSLIN of something that has made a slide tised within the network and one SMOOTH ROCKS along the River Svartån; this where of them is a predaceous diving The meltwater from several ice an otter has slid on its stomach. It is beetle, Dytiscus latissimus, which ages has rushed along Svartån and 0 500m good way of moving through deep is found in Svansjön. The National polished the rock slabs clean and snow if you have short legs, and is Park is home to around 450 diff er- smooth. Just here, they are lovely 1:11:1

also a way of scent-marking territory. DIVING BEETLE PREDACEOUS Dytiscus latissimus ent species of beetle. to sit on and watch the river. SCALE: 1:30000 1 VIEWPOINT AT SVANSJÖN DEAD WOOD THAT A visit to the viewpoint provides a good overview of the lake’s history and its IS FULL OF LIFE inhabitants. Eating live wood is not very easy, only a few species are able to do so, but once the wood is dead, thou- sands of species are ready to chew, peck and suck 2 FOREST FIRE the nutrients from it. Around a third of the wood- Tracks bored by a beetle, AREA land’s species are dependent on dead wood. Callidium coriaceum. This is where there was a woodland fi re in 2009, which Life can continue to thrive in a fallen tree for a long time. As time attracted many new species. passes, different fungi, animals and plants take their turn to extract What does the woodland look like now? the nutrients in which they are specialised. Finally, everything has taken its share and the tree is gone. Walking through Hamra National Park, you will see snags and fallen trees at every stage of decay. This is why many specialist species can fi nd food and shelter here. There 3 SVARTÅVALLEN are more than 450 different species of beetle. You may not see so many of those, but the Eurasian three-toed is often OLD GROWTH visible as it searches for beetle larvae in old spruce trees. You may WOODLAND also hear the soft whistles of a Eurasian pygmy that has moved Step into a small but magical into an abandoned woodpecker hole. EURASIAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER woodland, with thick carpets Picoides tridactylus of moss and huge spruce Dead trees are trees. one of the secrets of the old growth woodland. Old trees are another; trees on which the bark has become rough and hanging lichen has grown long. On these, Calicium lichens fi nd protective niches and the Siberian jay hides its food stores in the 4 RUINED tangled li chens. CHARCOAL KILN FRESHWATER PEARL MUSSEL Once upon a time, smoke Margaritifera margaritifera rose from a charcoal kiln here.

5 THE ORIGIN OF SVARTÅDALEN STONES THAT Svartån’s river valley was created by the ice ages, the eff ects of which are still BRING LIFE TO visible as tarns and smooth rock slabs along the river. THE WATER

River Svartån is one of few watercourses that have not been used 6 THE BEDROCK for log driving, so the stones have been left in jumbled disarray. This BASIN is one of the reasons why the river is home to plenty of fi sh and small Svartån’s largest basin, aquatic animals. This is because the stones provide good shelter and gouged out of the bedrock mating grounds, as well as causing the water to rush and bubble so by ice, is by the footbridge. that it is aerated. The longest-lived in Sweden is found where Svartån fl ows into Voxnan: the freshwater pearl mussel. Normally, they live about as long as people, but sometimes they can be much older – the Swedish record is 280 years. OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES FIVE THINGS YOU FOR EVERY SEASON SHOULDN’T MISS

The coming of spring is celebrated by the birds and the sun long before the snow has melted in May. There are drumming and the woodland is full of humming, peeping, stirring life. It is a wonderful time to walk in the woodlands or to camp beside Svartån and go fi shing in Voxnan. The National Park may seem endless to people Summer is when the National Park has the most visitors. who don’t have several Early marsh-orchids fl ower in the small fens along Svartån in June, but this is when the insects are at their peak, so a days to spend here. Here mosquito hat is a good idea. In August, the cloudberries are fi ve suggestions for a ripen in the wetlands. visit to Hamra. (3)

Birches brighten the autumn landscape with small ex- plosions of bright yellow. The hum of mosquitoes has silenced and the air is clean and sharp. The dark evenings BEAR/BEAR TRACKS are great for sitting around a campfi re. Spotting a bear is not very easy, but if you look around you can almost always fi nd their tracks. There may be claw In the winter, the snow is often very deep and the marks in the trees, excavated anthills National Park is soft and sparkling. There are few visitors or even an old den. in the winter, but it is a splendid time to experience the landscape, and it is also easy to ski over the streams and wetland. LOOK-OUT TOWER ON SVARTÅMYRAN From the tower at the entrance to the wetland, you can see the black grouse display in April, or the cranes arriving with wild spring calls. REGULATIONS CARNIVOROUS PLANTS The sundew’s small rosettes look harm- Special rules apply within the National Park. The less, but the red tentacles ensnare insects complete set of regulations regarding your rights that they then dissolve and digest. This provides the plant with extra nutrition to travel through and visit the National Park can be so it can grow on nutrient-poor soils. found on separate signs at each entrance.

You may pick berries, fl owers and mushrooms for your own use. BEDROCK BASINS You are allowed to camp for two nights in the same place, how- Meltwater from the ice ages has eroded ever not within the original national park. The tent should deep basins in the rock along Svartån. always be pitched where it cannot be seen from the entrance The biggest of them is located a few hundred metres upstream of the Svartå points or from the footpaths. River Entrance. You may only light fi res at the designated places with wood you have brought with you or which is provided. You may only drive motor vehicles on public roads. A FALLEN TREE You must not damage or remove either living or dead plants, A fallen tree is the basic food for many species in the old growth woodland. mosses, liverworts, lichens and trees. A beetle larva may have bored through Keep your dog on a lead. the wood in curling patterns. You may only fi sh in Voxnan and a fi shing permit is required.