Söderåsen National Park is small on the map – 1,625 hectares – but big in feeling. Deep fissure valleys, steep scree slopes, babbling streams and one of the largest continuous protected broadleaf forests in northern Europe. I live in Röstånga and walk here almost every week. Here are my favourite hikes, from easy walks to loops that get your pulse up.
How Söderåsen fits together
Söderåsen is a horst – a ridge of bedrock pushed up along the Scanian diagonal, a fault zone running from the Bjäre peninsula to Österlen. The bedrock has cracked, and the ice sheet later shaped the cracks into the valleys we hike in today. The deepest is Skäralidsdalen in the north, where the Skärån stream runs along the bottom between vertical cliffs. In the south lies the more open and gentler Nackarpsdalen with Odensjön.
The park has two main entrances: Skäralid (with naturum Söderåsen, parking, toilets and drinking water) and Röstånga (with parking and tourist information). Most trails start from one of them.
1. The Kopparhatten loop – the classic (4 km)
Start: Skäralid · Length: 4 km · Time: approx. 1.5 h · Difficulty: fairly easy
If you only have time for one loop, make it this one. You walk about two kilometres into the fissure valley, climb up onto the northern plateau and come out at Kopparhatten – the view that graces half of Skåne’s postcards. Expect 90 metres of elevation gain. The long staircase by the naturum has been temporarily removed and is being rebuilt, so follow the signs for the temporary route. Not for pushchairs, but fine for most people. If you just want to see the view, you can drive all the way; Kopparhatten is a kilometre from naturum and is accessible.
2. The Hjortsprånget loop – the big challenge (7.7 km)
Start: Skäralid · Length: 7.7 km · Time: approx. 3 h · Difficulty: demanding
The park’s longest and perhaps toughest loop. You walk deep into Skäralidsdalen and climb up onto the southern plateau, passing the viewpoints Lierna and Hjortsprånget before heading back down towards Skäralid. Part of the path is paved with large boulders, so wear good shoes. This is my favourite on an early autumn morning, when the mist still lingers in the valley.
3. Around Skärdammen – short and accessible (0.9 km)
Start: Skäralid · Length: 0.9 km · Time: approx. 20 min
A short loop around the pond in Skäralid that works for pushchairs and wheelchairs. Perfect as a warm-up, for the little ones or when you just want to feel the atmosphere of the valley without walking far.
4. The Odensjön path – to the lake of legends (1.2 km one way)
Start: the tourist information in Röstånga · Length: 1.2 km one way · Time: approx. 20–30 min
An easy path through Nackarpsdalen to the circular lake Odensjön, surrounded by scree slopes up to 30 metres high. Suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs (a short slope at the start). By the lake there is a shelter and a floating jetty. Read more in my guide to Odensjön.
5. The Nackarp loop and the Odensjön viewpoint
Start: Röstånga · Nackarp loop: 4.3 km, approx. 1.5 h · Odensjön viewpoint: 2.6 km, approx. 45 min
If you want to see Odensjön from above, these are the ones to choose. The Nackarp loop (Nackarpsrundan) takes you around the open valley with grassland and wooded slopes, and from the edge you see the lake lying like a dark eye down in the cliffs. The Odensjön viewpoint trail (Odensjöutsikten) is the shorter option when you just want the view. There are barbecue sites here – bring your own firewood, as collecting wood is not allowed in the park.
6. Skåneleden Röstånga–Skäralid (7 km)
Length: 7 km one way · Time: approx. 2 h · Difficulty: easy
This is the stretch that links the park’s two hearts. You start in Röstånga, pass Odensjön and continue north to Skäralid and naturum. If you carry on towards Klåveröd, there are another 5.7 km of much hillier and more difficult terrain. Remember that you will need to arrange transport back – or walk the same way again and see everything from the other direction.
My best advice for a good hike
- Go early. On a fine weekend day the car parks in Skäralid fill up fast. Before ten o’clock you often have the trails almost to yourself.
- Wear good shoes. Stones and roots get slippery when the beech forest is wet, and it often is.
- Download beforehand. Mobile coverage is weak down in the valleys.
- Dogs on a lead. This applies throughout the national park.
- Best season? May, when the beech forest bursts into delicate green, and October, when it blazes in gold.
Hike with a guide
The trails above are lovely on your own, but the national park also has paths and places that are not on the signs. As a certified guide living in Röstånga, I take you on a guided hike or trail run in Söderåsen – in a small group, at your pace and with fika at a viewpoint. Want to go on your own but still bring the stories along? Try the audio guide from Röstånga towards Odensjön. The first two stops are free, the full tour costs 49 SEK.