The best hiking routes in Norrbotten County

Norrbotten County contains some of northern Europe's largest protected wilderness areas, but the terrain varies significantly between the eastern forests and the western high mountains. If you prefer low-lying, ancient coniferous forests and deep peat bogs, Muddus National Park offers relatively flat walking over thick moss and wooden boardwalks. This is a landscape shaped by slow-moving water and old forest fires, where you walk among giant pine trees rather than open summits.

Further west, the landscape rises into the high alpine zones of Sarek and Padjelanta. Sarek has no marked trails or cabins, requiring walkers to navigate rough scree, deep glacial valleys, and unbridged river crossings. In contrast, neighboring Padjelanta consists of vast, rolling alpine plateaus and large lakes, where the walking is generally less steep and follows established paths with regular trail huts.

For those seeking dramatic geology within a shorter distance, Abisko nationalpark offers accessible paths along a deep limestone canyon, where the birch forest dominates the valley floor before giving way to bare rock. In these northern valleys, snow often remains on the higher passes well into June, meaning early summer walkers will regularly encounter soft snow patches and meltwater streams underfoot.