In Svenljunga, lake scenery and cultural history come together in very tangible places. In the southeastern part of the municipality, the Fegen area lies on the border with Halland and Småland. Old mining traces, cultural trails and historic buildings offer further perspectives on the area – without requiring you to discover nature and history in the same way.

Lakes, coves and paddling areas

Fegen and the neighbouring lakes Spaden, Svansjön and Kalvsjön shape a varied shoreline landscape, with many small sheltered coves, projecting headlands and around seventy islands and skerries. Fegen and the neighbouring lakes are suitable for canoeing. Ätran and the Fegen area are also designated paddling areas for canoe or kayak trips; together they include several kilometres of waterways and numerous lakes.

There are designated camping sites for overnight stays by the water. Clear rules apply in Fegen Nature Reserve: camping, pitching tents and lighting fires are permitted only at designated sites. You need to pay a camping-site fee or have a camping-site coupon for an overnight stay. Factor these requirements into your plans if you want to combine a paddling trip with a night in the area.

Cultural trails and traces of mining

Near Örsås, the easy, roughly two-kilometre Röstorp cultural trail passes settlements, graves and fields belonging to Iron Age farmers, as well as the sites of 19th-century crofts. Several rest stops offer opportunities to take a break, and twelve information boards stand along the trail. The approximately one-kilometre Strömsfors Story Trail has a different focus: it runs by the water and has information boards in three languages. Their different lengths and themes can help you choose a trail to suit your available time and interests.

At Gräne Gruva, a short footpath leads from the car park to the still-visible open pit. Mica and feldspar were mined there from 1899 to 1932. The minerals were then transported mainly by lake and railway to Germany. There are four marked trails at Gräne Gruva: Trollstigen, Toppleden, Järnvägsleden and Geologileden. If you plan to walk one of them, check the route conditions before setting out.

Industrial history and preserved everyday culture

Strömsfors also tells the story of harnessing hydropower. Anders-Josef Larsson founded Strömsfors Bruk in the late 1850s with the aim of using the power of the Assman to establish a textile industry. You can combine learning about this history with the Story Trail, without mistaking its roughly one-kilometre route for a longer hike.

In Sexdrega, the Åkersta Vin & Spirituosa Museum preserves a well-kept liquor shop and an apartment dating from around the turn of the century. Visits are by prior arrangement. While the shop was in operation, mousserande punsch was a local speciality.

The Hammarlind Museum is digital and focuses on the Hammarlind donation, which comprises more than 3,000 objects. Online, the museum guides visitors through different rooms, people and related topics. If you are interested in preserved collections, this offers a different way to explore the area from its cultural trails and traces of earlier industry.

Natural landscapes and historic places

Klevs Nature and Cultural Reserve combines a park and garden landscape with broad-crowned oaks and beeches, a wooded steep slope, remains of a fortification and a boulder-strewn scree slope. The site is also home to Klevs gästgiveri, whose origins date back to the 1650s. Its buildings were protected as historic buildings in 1988. The landscape and architectural history are both in focus here, while the trails at Röstorp mainly reveal archaeological and agricultural-history traces.

The landscape in Bjällermossen Nature Reserve is a mosaic of bog, swamp forest and mixed coniferous forest. Cloudberry blossoms, black grouse and old, slow-growing pines can be found there. These natural features add another dimension to the municipality’s lakes and cultural sites; they are also a reason to consider the different protected areas as destinations in their own right.

Visitor information

The Orrvägen and Solvik bus stops are on Route 153 towards Fegen and very close to the nature reserve. As timetables can change, check your connection before travelling. The Ätranbaneleden ends at the nature reserve in the village of Fegen; here too, it is worth checking the route conditions in advance.

Svenljunga’s in-person tourist information office is located in the central library, right by the market square. The digital destination portal brings together information on attractions, activities, accommodation and dining. If you plan to visit the tourist information office in person, check its current opening details beforehand.

Discover more destinations: Holsljunga, Håcksvik, Mjöbäck, Mårdaklev, Svenljunga, Örsås, Östra Frölunda, Överlida, Sexdrega, Kalv, Hillared.

Back to the main travel overview: Västra Götaland.