Claim your right to enjoy Sweden’s natural wonders
Enshrined in Sweden’s constitution and enjoyed by everyone who feels like it, the right of public access (‘Allemansrätt’ in Swedish) gives you the right to roam the countryside in Sweden in perfect peace and quiet without someone saying: “get off my land”, unless you clomp all over someone’s back garden or trample all over a farmer’s cultivated field that is. And why would you, given the natural wonders on offer and this unique right to enjoy them responsibly.
‘The freedom to roam’, ‘the right of public access’, ‘the right to roam’. There are many ways of expressing this right, and it basically means you have the right to walk, cycle, ride, ski and camp on any land with the exception of private gardens, in the immediate vicinity of a dwelling house or land under cultivation. There are also some restrictions on nature reserves and protected areas. Otherwise, Sweden’s natural wonders; mountains, lakes, Polar plains and glaciers, immense forests, rolling countryside, coastlines and archipelagos are waiting for you to come and discover them.
Of course, this right comes with a responsibility to look after the countryside and you should not disturb or destroy the environment around you. The right also gives you the right to pick wild flowers, mushrooms and berries as long as they are not protected and you can swim in any lake.