Sweden is a very cool country, where nature is some of the best in the world. You can find fantastic wildlife and gorgeous forests throughout the country. As I was mostly in central Sweden, the highlights are mostly in that area, with an extra addition. Of course, there are more possibilities in the central area. Keep reading if you want to find some unique highlights and hidden gems in Sweden:

1. Find ancient forests at Tyresta National Park

South of Stockholm, you can find the gorgeous Tyresta National Park. This park has some cool lakes and some very rocky areas. The coolest thing about the park is that it is an ancient forest, so for centuries this forest has not been disturbed by humans, which makes it a very cool forest. There are several hikes to do around the forest.

Price: Free, but there are parking costs.

Tourist occurrence: Medium

How to get here: 20 minutes drive from Stockholm

How much time needed: 1-5 hours, depending on the hike.

2. Have a swim in one of the gorgeous lakes

Sweden has around 100,000 lakes or bodies of water and that makes it one of the most densed country if you take a look at lakes. Especially in summer, it is very cool to have a swim in nature. It is unique to see nature from a different angle. It was here in May, so it was very cold, and I was not in for long, unfortunately.

Tourist occurrence: Very low

How much time needed: Normally like an hour or so, but now 2 minutes as it was cold.

3. Have different hikes in Bergslagen Forest

Bergslagen Forest has a lot of hiking opportunities, and that is lovely. The forests are very cool with a lot of moss, trees, lakes, and wildlife. We mostly did hikes from Ostra Löa and Kopparberg, and we never saw other people. The hikes can be very different, but they are all enjoyable, and we saw deers, foxes, birds, and more (see below).

Tourist occurrence: Very low

How to get here: 3 hours from Stockholm by car

How much time needed: Normally a couple of hours per hike

4. Find moose in their natural environment (mostly in Bergslagen)

Our goal was trying to find the biggest land animal in Europe: the moose (or elk). We were so lucky to say that we found 15 individuals, almost all in and around Bergslagen, both on foot and while driving. They are very skittish, as 100,000 are being killed every year in Sweden, but almost the same amount are being born annually. These giants are very cool to find, and they are big. These are herbivores and mostly graze and browse. Finding those animals was the highlight of the trip.

5. Be impressed at the Murstensdalens Naturreservat

The best hike we did was, by distance, the Murstendalls Naturreservat. The environment was very cool with some cool rocky parts, gorgeous lakes, cool elevation, and amazing flora. You felt alone in the world. Although we only found birds for wildlife, this is a unique place which should be on your bucket list. It is a 9 or 5 kilometre hike, but you will not go fast.

Price: Free

Tourist occurrence: Very low

How to get here: 4 hours drive from Stockholm

How much time needed: 3-5 hours, depending on the hike and the time you want to enjoy this great nature.

6. Have a stroll through a village like Mora

Mora is a very nice village surrounded by a lot of nature. The village is nice to visit, but there are way more villages to discover. It is very nice to see the local life of the Swedish people. In the case of Mora, you can have a lovely stroll past some restaurants, lovely buildings, a lake, and a train.

Tourist occurrence: Very low

How to get here: 4 hours drive from Stockholm

How much time needed: 2 hours

7. Walk through snow in Norra Mora

There was a little surprise when we went to Norra Mora in the middle of May. Suddenly there was more and more snow, and when we arrived here, there was a lot of snow. We wanted to do a hike of around 10 kilometres, but sometimes we stepped into the snow up to our knees, so it was difficult, and after 2 kilometres we turned around. The nature was still very gorgeous and so cool. This was a different experience, but it is absolutely worth visiting. 

Price: Free

Tourist occurrence: Very low

How to get here: 4-5 hours drive from Stockholm

How much time needed: 3-5 hours, depending on the hike and amount of snow.

8. Experience Lapland in Abisko National Park

On a different trip I went to the north of Sweden, where I was in the fantastic Abisko National Park, which has some great hiking opportunities. I did a hike of around 6-7 hours, and we first went up by a cable car, and then we mostly hiked down after one hour uphill. The views are absolutely stunning, and the gorgeous lake with snowy mountains made this such a cool area in Swedish Lapland. There are chances of wildlife, but it is mostly about the scenery, and besides birds, I did not see wildlife except reindeer.

Price: Free

Tourist occurrence: Low

How to get here: 2 hours from Kiruna

How much time needed: 2 days

9. Have a relaxed walk in Hamra National Park

The Hamra National Park is a more easygoing park to visit. The park is a bit more commercial, with multiple hiking options, man-made hiking paths and toilets at the beginning. We went here for a short stop, so we did a 3-kilometre hike. There were some cool lakes with many birds, also inside the forest. There are also chances of other wildlife, but we went in the middle of the day, which did not give us the best options. 

Price: Free

Tourist occurrence: Very low

How to get here: 4-5 hours from Stockholm

How much time needed: 1 hour to a day, depending on the hike you want to do.

10. Walk through the streets of Stockholm

A totally different experience to most of the previous highlights is the mighty city of Stockholm. The famous capital of Sweden has a lot of water, which is a very cool sight. The city consists of many islands, where Gamla Stan is the most famous one. The city has a very unique vibe with around 1.6 million inhabitants. If you visit one city in Sweden, make sure it will be Stockholm.

Tourist occurrence: Very high

How to get here: It has a good international airport, so from many places, you can head to the Swedish capital. 

How much time needed: 2-3 days

If you want to know more about Stockholm, check out:

11. Have an overnight in a bear hide

A very unique activity is sleeping in a bear hide, which is in the middle of nowhere. In the case where we were at, we had a private room, some stretchers and a place to cook some food. About 10-20 metres from the hide there were some seeds to get some bears or wolverines towards the hide. Although we did not find any wolverines or bears, we found some birds like a crane; this experience was so cool and also very exciting. I want to do it again to give it another chance. Bear hides are in several locations in Sweden, mostly in the central part of the country.

Price: Depending on the organisation. Except to pay around 1,500-3,000 SEK per person for a night.

Tourist occurrence: Very low

How much time needed: One evening/night

12. Make a stop in an Ikea

Ok, this is a weird thing to do in Sweden, but Sweden is partly famous because of Ikea. That is the reason that we thought it would be funny to go to this company. We had a local breakfast with surprisingly good croissants, some lovely Swedish meatballs, coffee, and garlic bread. This is not a must-do but a fun stop.

Tourist occurrence: Very low

How much time needed: One breakfast

13. Try to find cool beavers

One of my absolute highlights during my trip in Sweden was finding beavers. We were surprised by finding those great rodents as a surprise. The biggest chance of finding them is in central Sweden at dusk or dawn. During the day you know that they are in the area because of beaver dams and trees being bitten. Beavers are pretty shy, and you need luck, but as I show you, it is not impossible!

14. Enjoy a lovely fika or knäckebrod

Fika is a typical Swedish moment to have some coffee and maybe a slice of pie and just relax for a moment. I would recommend doing this at least once while being in Sweden. In my opinion you should miss the pie or cake, as they taste fantastically in Sweden. Another typical 'dish' you should eat in Sweden is knäckebrod.

15. Stay in a traditional Swedish house in a forest

You could go camping (which is great as well), but it is perfect to stay in a typical Swedish red-coloured house in the middle of the forest. We stayed at two different ones, and we saw a fox and several deer during our lunch. It is great to enjoy nature while having a nice space for yourself. I enjoyed having everything for myself and the possibility of walking into the forest straight away. Pricing for renting a house is relatively cheap in comparison to other things in the country and in comparison to Western Europe. 

The number correspond with the highlights. Number 1 is located below number 10. 

Things I have not done, but could be cool

As I mentioned before, I did not visit the whole country of Sweden, so there are many highlights I have not done. These are my highlights, which I have done, but there are many other hiking options and good cities. This is a country with so much great nature, so find yourself your favourite things to do! If you want to find moose/elk, I recommend going to Bergslagen Forest, as it has the highest densities in Sweden.

Final thoughts

Sweden has one of the best natures in Europe, and you can find it throughout the country. The forests, lakes, wildlife, rocks, and so much more make this country a lovely place to go to, where you can stay for a while. If you end your trip in a city like Stockholm, you would have a fantastic holiday. If you are not into nature, I do not think Sweden is the perfect country for you.

If you want to know more about Sweden, check out the following: