Is Björnlandet suitable for children?

The short loops are. Urskogsrundan, 2.6 kilometres, runs on boardwalks and a well-trodden path from the Angsjö entrance, and the ramp from the entrance is about 200 metres long. Angsjöleden, 3.7 kilometres, reaches the cabin after a good kilometre, so families can turn back there. The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency describes Guldbäcksleden and Rönnlandsrundan as bouldery and hard in places, so save those for children who are used to walking.

Can you camp in the national park?

Yes, in most of the park. Close to the entrance you may only camp at the Angsjökojan cabin and on the stretch between the cabin and the Angsjö entrance. Along the trails there is a no-camping band of 100 metres on either side; beyond it camping is allowed. Fires follow the same rules, and only with wood you have brought yourself or wood the County Administrative Board has put out.

Yes, on a lead. The regulations forbid dogs off the lead and other loose pets throughout the park. Dogs are welcome inside the cabins, but not on the mattresses and blankets.

Do the cabins cost anything, and can you book them?

No and no. Angsjökojan and Svärmorskojan are unlocked, free and cannot be booked. Each has sleeping places for six people with blankets and pillows, a wood stove, cooking pots and paraffin lamps. If it is full, anyone who has already slept a night is expected to make room for new guests.

Can you fish and pick berries?

Berries and edible mushrooms may be picked. Fishing is forbidden for visitors, as is collecting other plants, lichens, mosses and insects without a permit from the County Administrative Board.

National park since 1991

Björnlandet National Park

Västerbotten's only national park lies in Åsele municipality, about 20 km south-west of Fredrika. 2 369 hectares of hilly forest with boulders and crags, where the pines have been left standing for centuries and the fires have left their marks. Two entrances, six marked trails and two cabins that are open to everyone.

The forest

What the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency calls one of the country's most valuable old-growth forests is really several forests in one: pine heath on the bare rock, spruce forest in the stream valleys, patches of broadleaf and wetland in between. What they share is that nobody has ever worked them. The oldest pines are over 450 years old; in the core area along Guldbäcksleden the agency speaks of five-hundred-year-old trees among giant boulders and boulder hollows.

Fire is part of the forest's history. The last great fire came in 1831, and the traces show as charred stumps and healed-over wounds, fire scars, in the living pines. A younger burn from 1970 is passed on Guldbäcksleden. That the forest has been allowed to burn and then stand untouched is the reason for its richness: 1,100 insect species and 195 lichen species, 31 of them red-listed have been recorded in the park. In early summer, lake Angsjön, the Ansjöbäcken and Björkbäcken streams and the bogs are the best places for birds, with a chance of capercaillie and Siberian jay.

The classic goal is Björnbergsutsikten, the viewpoint at the top of Björnberget, about 2.5 kilometres from the Angsjö entrance, with benches and a barbecue spot. The national park was established in 1991 and grew in 2017 to its present size. The County Administrative Board of Västerbotten manages it.

Getting here

Car is the only way. The main entrance, Angsjö, is reached from national road 92 between Åsele and Fredrika; from the main road it is signposted along gravel roads, and the County Administrative Board describes the route as a turning southwards towards Fjälltuna and on towards Flärkån. Search for Björnlandets nationalpark in your satnav or enter 63.99110, 18.05809. At the entrance there is a turning circle, information boards, a rest area with a fireplace, a service building with an accessible dry toilet, a spring to fill your bottle at and an audio station with stories. A wooden ramp of about 200 metres leads into the forest and takes larger electric wheelchairs.

The second entrance, Häggsjö, is on the west side of the park and is reached via county road AC 557, signposted to Häggsjö, coordinates 63.98037, 17.95048. Here there is a service building with a dry toilet, a rest area and a short ramp up to the information boards. The road to Angsjö is ploughed in winter, the road to Häggsjö not always. Mobile coverage in the park is poor; there is some coverage at the Angsjö entrance and up on the hills.

The trails

Six marked trails that can be combined freely. Expect a forest kilometre to take longer than one on a road; climbs and boulders set the pace.

Urskogsrundan 2.6 km, purple markers: Starts at the Angsjö entrance. Boardwalks for the first hundred metres, then a well-trodden path through boulder fields and old pine.
Angsjöleden 3.7 km, red markers: Starts at the Angsjö entrance. Around lake Angsjön via the Angsjökojan cabin, across bogs and through old-growth forest, back over an old log-driving dam and the arched bridge over the Angsjöbäcken stream. One steep stretch on the hillside.
Rönnlandsrundan 4 km, yellow markers: Starts at the Häggsjö entrance. Up the hill to a viewpoint over Råtjärn and the bogs. Rest area with a fireplace by the tarn. Very bouldery in places.
Björnlandsleden 6.3 km, blue markers: Starts at Angsjö or Häggsjö. Straight through the park between the two entrances, easy to moderate. Connects with Svärmorsleden and Angsjöleden.
Guldbäcksleden 7 km, orange markers: Starts at the Angsjö entrance. The bare rock of Björnberget, the forest that burned in 1970, down along the Guldbäcken stream through spruce forest and into the core area with the oldest pines and the giant boulders. Moderate to hard.
Svärmorsleden 12 km, green markers: Starts at the Angsjö entrance. The park's longest, laid out as a weekend walk: a good six kilometres from the entrance to the Svärmorskojan cabin, over Björnberget on the way.

Lengths and colours from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency's trail pages. Maps on naturkartan.se and as a free leaflet from the County Administrative Board.

Staying overnight

Angsjökojan stands by lake Angsjön, a good kilometre along Angsjöleden from the Angsjö entrance. Svärmorskojan lies by the tarn Svärmorstjärn, about six kilometres along Svärmorsleden if you walk anticlockwise from the same entrance. Both are timber-built, unlocked and free, and there is no booking. Inside are sleeping places for six people with blankets and pillows, extra mattresses, a wood stove, a frying pan, a coffee pot, saucepans and paraffin lamps. Candles, matches and everything else you bring yourself. Both cabins have an outdoor toilet.

The cabin rules are simple: clean up after yourself, carry in wood from the woodshed for the next guest and split kindling so the fire will catch. The water in the lakes and streams is yellow-brown but drinkable; otherwise fill up at the spring at Angsjö or melt snow. The County Administrative Board also lists lean-to shelters among the facilities in the park.

Seasons

Summer begins when the road has dried out after the spring thaw; drive carefully on the gravel roads in the first weeks. Early summer belongs to the birds, then the cloudberries flower and the berry season takes over. Autumn colours the broadleaves between the pines, the mosquitoes are gone, and during the moose hunt walkers share the forest with hunting parties. Winter calls for wide skis across the bogs around Angsjön and along the Björkbäcken; no tracks are prepared, but snowmobile tracks from the firewood runs often lead to the cabins. The spring crust is the best skiing snow. Watch out for open streams and hollows when the light is short.

Rules in the park

The right of public access applies, but the national park regulations (NFS 2017:4) tighten it. This is what matters most to an ordinary visitor:

Near the entrance and within 100 metres of trails, rest areas, viewpoints and cabins you may only light fires at the prepared fireplaces, and everywhere only with wood you have brought or wood that has been provided.
Do not camp within 100 metres of a trail, rest area, viewpoint or cabin, except at the designated spots by Angsjökojan.
Keep your dog on a lead.
No fishing. Berries and edible mushrooms may be picked, nothing else.
Do not break off branches, do not damage trees, living or dead, and do not take stones with you.
Motor vehicles only on roads and in car parks, no motorboats, and neither drones nor other aircraft may take off or land.
Competitions, signs and collecting insects or plants require a permit from the County Administrative Board.

Reindeer herding is exempt in the regulations: members of the Sami village may drive reindeer and use vehicles off-road for that purpose. If you meet reindeer, keep your distance.

Björnlandet at a glance

Area: 2 369 hectares
Established: 1991, enlarged 2017
Location: Åsele municipality, about 20 km south-west of Fredrika
Entrances: Angsjö (main entrance, from national road 92) and Häggsjö (county road AC 557)
Trails: Six marked, 2.6 to 12 kilometres
Overnight: Angsjökojan and Svärmorskojan, unlocked and free
Managed by: County Administrative Board of Västerbotten, 010-225 40 00
Nearest village: Fredrika, with a hotel, campsite and cabins

Common questions

Is Björnlandet suitable for children?: The short loops are. Urskogsrundan, 2.6 kilometres, runs on boardwalks and a well-trodden path from the Angsjö entrance, and the ramp from the entrance is about 200 metres long. Angsjöleden, 3.7 kilometres, reaches the cabin after a good kilometre, so families can turn back there. The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency describes Guldbäcksleden and Rönnlandsrundan as bouldery and hard in places, so save those for children who are used to walking.
Can you camp in the national park?: Yes, in most of the park. Close to the entrance you may only camp at the Angsjökojan cabin and on the stretch between the cabin and the Angsjö entrance. Along the trails there is a no-camping band of 100 metres on either side; beyond it camping is allowed. Fires follow the same rules, and only with wood you have brought yourself or wood the County Administrative Board has put out.
Can you bring a dog?: Yes, on a lead. The regulations forbid dogs off the lead and other loose pets throughout the park. Dogs are welcome inside the cabins, but not on the mattresses and blankets.
Do the cabins cost anything, and can you book them?: No and no. Angsjökojan and Svärmorskojan are unlocked, free and cannot be booked. Each has sleeping places for six people with blankets and pillows, a wood stove, cooking pots and paraffin lamps. If it is full, anyone who has already slept a night is expected to make room for new guests.
Can you fish and pick berries?: Berries and edible mushrooms may be picked. Fishing is forbidden for visitors, as is collecting other plants, lichens, mosses and insects without a permit from the County Administrative Board.

The information was checked on 22 October 2026 against sverigesnationalparker.se (the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency), the County Administrative Board of Västerbotten's page on the park and the regulations NFS 2017:4. Area and years are the County Administrative Board's; the age of the trees is given differently, over 450 years on Wikipedia and five hundred years on the agency's trail page, and Wikipedia has otherwise only been used to find the sources. The condition of roads and cabins changes, so check with the County Administrative Board before you travel.