In-depth guide · CampingSpirit
From Östersund on Storsjön via Åre and Storlien into Vålådalen, over Sweden's highest road to Funäsdalen and back through the forests of Lofsdalen and Sveg: around 1,000 kilometres of Swedish fell country, where a reindeer on the road is more common than a traffic jam.
The spirit of the route
Jämtland and Härjedalen are the Sweden of wide uplands: rounded, bare fell ridges instead of jagged peaks, birch forest that thins out higher up into dwarf birch and lichen heath, and in between lakes whose water lies so still in the evening that every summit appears twice. Beyond Östersund the traffic thins out; beyond Ljungdalen the tarmac ends. On the Flatruet you roll across a high plateau where reindeer calmly cross the road and the wind smells of moss and snow, even in August. From the sliding door you see Helags with its glacier, the water of Tännforsen or simply fells to the horizon. Part of the deal: mosquitoes in July, dust trails behind every vehicle on the gravel, long evenings with light until almost midnight in early summer, and a silence you can hardly find in Central Europe any more.
Stage-by-stage plan
1Stage 1: Östersund to Frösön (approx. 15 km)
- The drive
- A town day on the eastern shore of Storsjön: from Östersund across the Frösöbron bridge to the island of Frösön; the roads are wide and well built. If you want to park in the centre, look for a large outer car park; motorhomes over 7 m are hard to fit in the town centre. Pure driving time is a quarter of an hour.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Jamtli: open-air museum with farmsteads, fäbodar (summer farms) and crafts from Jämtland; in the museum building, the Överhogdal tapestries from the Viking Age.
- Frösöstenen at the bridgehead on Frösön – Sweden's northernmost runestone, which tells of the Christianisation of Jämtland.
- Frösö kyrka with its freestanding bell tower and a view across Storsjön to the chain of fells in the west – most beautiful in the evening.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Frösö Camping (First Camp Frösön) on the island: electricity, sanitary facilities, service point, water; a large site with cabins and pitches. On the town side are Östersunds Camping in the south-east and the Ställplats Storsjöstrand near the shore – check facilities and season in advance.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): Within Östersund, the right of public access is no basis for spending the night in a motorhome: park only where parking is allowed, and watch for time limits and no-parking signs at the lakeside car parks. For a night in town, a campsite or ställplats is the relaxed solution.
- Insider tip for campers
- Östersund is the last large supply town on the loop: do your big shop, get gas and visit Systembolaget here. In summer, excursion boats run across Storsjön from the harbour (check what's on and the timetable in advance with Visit Östersund) – if you believe in the lake monster Storsjöodjuret, keep a lookout from the deck.
2Stage 2: Frösön to Åre (approx. 105 km)
- The drive
- West on the E14 via Mattmar, Mörsil and Järpen through the valley of the Indalsälven. The European route is well built but often only two lanes with overtaking sections; wildlife fences are missing in places. From Järpen the fells rise on both sides, and before Åre the broad massif of Åreskutan appears. A good 1.5 hours' driving.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Ristafallet near Hallen: a wide waterfall on the Indalsälven with a riverside path, known as a film location for “Ronia, the Robber's Daughter”.
- Cable car from Åre up Åreskutan, running in summer; from the top station a short, stony climb to the summit at a good 1,400 m with views as far as Norway.
- Åre by with the old church on the slope and the shore of Åresjön – a quiet evening walk once the mountain bikers are off the mountain.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Ristafallet Camping right by the waterfall, a small site with electricity, sanitary facilities and disposal – quieter than Åre itself. Åre Camping lies around 6 km east of Åre on the E14, with cabins, pitches with electricity, sanitary facilities and disposal; check the season in advance. In the village, some car parks offer motorhome spaces, some with electricity and for a fee.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): Around Åre, many car parks charge a fee, are time-limited or signposted against motorhomes. Only stay overnight where no sign forbids it, and without camping behaviour. Car parks at trailheads in the fells are often private or part of nature reserves – read the signs on site.
- Insider tip for campers
- Åre is a winter sports resort and in summer a mountain-biking centre: in high season, parking in the centre is scarce and the lanes on the slope are narrow and steep. Leave the camper on the edge of the village. From Åre onwards, fuel stations become rarer – fill up before you continue towards Storlien.
3Stage 3: Åre to Storlien (via Tännforsen) (approx. 75 km)
- The drive
- West on the E14 via Duved, a short detour to the waterfall at Tännforsen, then through increasingly barren landscape via Enafors to Storlien on the Norwegian border. The road climbs gently to around 600 m, and the tree line comes right up to the carriageway. About an hour of pure driving; in wind and rain it is noticeably rougher up here than in the valley.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Tännforsen: one of Sweden's most powerful waterfalls, around 30 m high, with a viewing platform right above the spray – loudest in June during the snowmelt.
- Handölsforsen near Handöl: cascades in a small gorge; in the valley lies the Sámi settlement of Handöl.
- Hike from Storlien towards Blåhammaren with a view of Snasahögarna, the striking group of fells south of the E14.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: At Tännforsen there is a motorhome stopover with a good 20 spaces, electricity, water and disposal. In Storlien, the Storlien Högfjällshotell offers motorhome pitches with electricity. For both: check season and prices in advance on the operators' websites.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): Between Enafors and Storlien there are rest areas on the E14; one night without camping behaviour is possible there where nothing else is signposted. Do not drive along tracks into the terrain: driving off made-up roads is prohibited in Sweden under the off-road driving act (terrängkörningslagen), and the lichen heath here is reindeer pasture.
- Insider tip for campers
- From Enafors a narrow spur road leads to the Storulvån mountain station, a classic starting point for fell hikes; in large vehicles drive slowly and use the passing places. If you are continuing into Norway: electronic toll points (AutoPASS) and different speed limits apply there.
4Stage 4: Storlien to Vålådalen (via Ånn) (approx. 100 km)
- The drive
- Back east on the E14 to Ånn on the lake of the same name, on through the valley to Undersåker and there south on a narrow road into Vålådalen, the last kilometres a dead end between fells. About 1.5 hours.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Ånnsjön: a shallow fell lake with bogs and deltas, one of the most important breeding grounds for waders and waterfowl in the Swedish fells; observation points on the shore.
- Vålådalens naturreservat: waymarked paths into Vålådalen and to the mountain huts, flat short loops by the river for the evening hour.
- The drive up the valley from Undersåker with views of the rounded tops of the Vålådalsfjällen.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Vålågården in Vålådalen has a small campsite with sanitary facilities and electricity, right on the edge of the nature reserve; check season and facilities in advance on the operator's website. Alternatively, head back down the valley to Ristafallet.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): Vålådalen is a nature reserve: overnight stays in a vehicle only on designated areas, tent camping according to the reserve rules, fires only at prepared sites. At Ånnsjön, parts are closed to access during the breeding season – heed the information boards.
- Insider tip for campers
- July is mosquito month in the fells: in bogs and by the lake, mosquitoes and blackflies are dense, worst in the morning and evening. Close the fly screens on door and windows before the lights go on in the camper, and pack a head net for hikes.
5Stage 5: Vålådalen to Ljungdalen (approx. 255 km)
- The drive
- A long connecting day: back to Undersåker and east on the E14, then on country roads south along the western shore of Storsjön to the E45 (alternatively via Östersund) and via Svenstavik to Åsarna. There, west into the valley of the Ljungan, through forest and bog past Härjedalen's Storsjön to the end of the tarmac in Ljungdalen. Around 4 hours; on the last section lots of reindeer and hardly any traffic.
- Highlights & must-sees
- The Ljungan, which up here still meanders as a clear fell river through marshes and pine heath.
- Helags: at almost 1,800 m the highest mountain in Sweden south of the Arctic Circle, with the country's southernmost glacier; from the Kläppen car park, around 6 km from Ljungdalen, a waymarked path of around 12 km leads to the Helags mountain station.
- Evening light on Storsjön at Storsjö kapell, with the chapel on the shore.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Storsjö kapell camping och ställplats just under 20 km before Ljungdalen: hardstanding pitches near a fuel station, electricity, water, toilets and showers, grey water and cassette disposal. Check season and prices in advance.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): In the upper Ljungan valley there are hiking car parks and rest areas; one night without camping behaviour is possible there where nothing else is signposted and no private land is involved. In the Helags area and on the fells, reserve and reindeer protection rules apply – camp there with a tent according to the rules, not with the vehicle.
- Insider tip for campers
- Fill up in Åsarna or at the latest in Storsjö: there is no fuel station on the Flatruet the next day, and many stations inland are unstaffed machines that don't accept every foreign card. A little cash does no harm, but the Swedish krona is almost only paid by card these days.
6Stage 6: Ljungdalen to Funäsdalen (over the Flatruet) (approx. 45 km)
- The drive
- The Flatruet road: just under 40 km, mostly gravel, from Ljungdalen over the Flatruet high plateau and down through Mittådalen to Funäsdalen. At just under 1,000 m it is Sweden's highest public road; gradients of a good 12 %, washboard and potholes depending on maintenance, no crash barriers. Allow 1.5 hours plus stops. In winter the road is closed at times and can close at short notice at any time.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Ruändan rock paintings: several-thousand-year-old paintings in red ochre showing elk, reindeer and people on a rock face not far from the road, signposted.
- The bare plateau of the Flatruet with views of Helags to the north and the Funäsdalsfjällen to the south – in summer, Sámi reindeer graze here.
- Härjedalens Fjällmuseum in Funäsdalen on mining, summer-farm culture and the Sámi in the fells.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Funäsdalens Fjällcamping on the edge of Funäsdalen, a large site with electricity, sanitary facilities and disposal, open in summer and winter. Further west are Camping Tänndalen and Fjällnäs Camping & Lodges on Malmagen.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): On the Flatruet there are lay-bys and viewpoints; overnight stays there are not explicitly regulated, but uncomfortable and exposed in storms and fog. Never drive off the road into the terrain – tracks in fell vegetation remain for years. Do not disturb or feed reindeer.
- Insider tip for campers
- Check tyre pressure before the Flatruet and drive rather slowly on the gravel: gravel throws stones at the windscreen, and motorhome bodies suffer on washboard. Keep your distance from vehicles in front – dust and stone chips are a bigger risk than the gradient. In the wet, take the descents down into Mittådalen carefully.
7Stage 7: Funäsdalen to Lofsdalen (via Tännäs) (approx. 150 km)
- The drive
- A detour from Funäsdalen to the church village of Tännäs and back to road 84, then east via Hede to Linsell and there onto the road to Lofsdalen. The 84 is well built; the side roads are narrower, in places with bumps. Around 2.5 hours.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Tännäs with its church – from here a road leads around 20 km south to Käringsjövallen, car park and access to the Rogen nature reserve, whose moraine landscape gave its name to the “Rogen moraine” type.
- Hede on the Ljusnan with the slopes of the Vemdalsfjällen to the north.
- Lofssjön and Lofsdalsfjällen: swimming spots and hiking trails straight from the village, and in the evening a sunset over the lake.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Lofsdalsfjällen Camping (Lofsdalen Camping) in the middle of the village on Lofssjön, with sanitary facilities, sauna, washing machine and disposal; ICA and a café are within walking distance. On the way, Hede Camping is an alternative.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): In Härjedalen, rest areas and hiking car parks can often be used for one night if nothing else is signposted; however, the municipality's swimming spots and harbour areas are frequently closed to overnight stays in vehicles. The Rogen nature reserve has its own rules: caravans and the like only in designated places, tents allowed temporarily; from the car park you enter the reserve on foot only.
- Insider tip for campers
- Road 84 is the main axis between Sveg and Røros: there are supermarkets and fuel stations in Funäsdalen, Hede and Sveg, and long stretches without supplies in between. In Lofsdalen, use the ICA – the village is small and quiet in summer.
8Stage 8: Lofsdalen to Östersund (via Sveg) (approx. 260 km)
- The drive
- Back to Linsell and on the 84 to Sveg, then north on the E45, the Inlandsvägen, via Åsarna and Svenstavik back to Storsjön and Östersund. Forest, bog and lakes, many straight sections with elk and reindeer crossings. About 3.5 hours.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Sveg: the wooden bear in the centre, the municipality's landmark, and the Inlandsbanan station.
- Hoverberget near Svenstavik: a short detour up the hill with a view over Storsjön and a small cave.
- A last look across Storsjön to the fells in the west before you reach Östersund.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Svegs Camping on the Ljusnan for a stopover night in Sveg. Back in Östersund, Frösö Camping, Östersunds Camping or the Ställplats Storsjöstrand. Near Svenstavik, Hoverbergs Camping and the Ställplats Svenstavik offer alternatives.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): Along the E45 there are rest areas with toilets; one night without camping behaviour is possible there where nothing else is signposted. Don't block private forest roads – timber lorries need access at all times.
- Insider tip for campers
- Lots of timber lorries use the E45; let them pass at overtaking points and expect bits of bark on the road. Before moving on from Östersund, sort out cassette, grey water and fresh water at the campsite.
Camping practice & local rules
Wild camping & overnight parking
- The Swedish right of public access (allemansrätten) allows you to pitch a tent in the countryside for one or two nights, but does not apply across the board to motorhomes. With a vehicle you may only stand where parking is allowed – in many places one night is possible on public car parks and rest areas if no sign forbids it, but not on private land without permission or within sight of houses. Camping behaviour (chairs, awning, emptying tanks) is not part of it.
- The off-road driving act (terrängkörningslagen) prohibits driving motor vehicles off roads on bare ground. Don't use tracks across fell heath and bog, not even to look for a lakeside spot.
- Nature reserves are common in the fells (Vålådalen, Rogen, areas around Helags): they have their own rules for camping, fires and dogs, and overnight stays in a vehicle are only allowed on designated areas. The Länsstyrelse Jämtland provides information on the boards at the car park and on its website. In dry spells, the Länsstyrelse or the municipality issues fire bans (eldningsförbud).
- The fells are reindeer pasture of the Sámi communities: do not disturb or feed the herds, close gates, and keep your distance in spring during the calving season. You can stay legally at campsites and ställplatser; apps such as park4night and Campercontact help you find them – check current status in advance.
Waste disposal & supplies
- Waste disposal and water service is called “tömning”; stations are mainly at campsites and stopovers, public stations are rare in the fells. Never empty the cassette or grey water into the terrain or streams – the water here is often drinking water for people and animals.
- Tap water is drinkable everywhere in Sweden; fill up at sites or at fuel stations with a tap. Stream water in the fells is usually clear, but better boiled for drinking – reindeer pasture and settlements are often upstream.
- Gas: foreign exchange cylinders are generally not exchanged in Sweden, and Swedish Gasol cylinders have their own connections. Autogas (LPG) is rare in Sweden and not reliably available in Jämtland and Härjedalen – arrive with two full cylinders.
- Fuel stations: reliable in Östersund, Åre, Funäsdalen, Hede, Sveg and Åsarna, with long distances in between and none on the Flatruet. Many stations are card machines that don't accept every foreign card – top up whenever the tank is half empty.
- Alcohol over 3.5 % is sold only by Systembolaget, with branches in Östersund and some larger towns; closed on Sundays. Card payment is accepted almost everywhere.
Vehicle size & traffic rules
- Speed limits: motorhomes up to 3.5 t follow the signs like cars (outside built-up areas usually 70–100 km/h, on motorways up to 120 km/h; there is hardly any motorway on this route). With a braked trailer, 80 km/h applies according to Transportstyrelsen. For motorhomes over 3.5 t the limit depends on the classification in the registration document – if in doubt, no faster than 80 km/h. On gravel roads 70 km/h or less often applies; adjust your speed.
- Dipped headlights are compulsory in daytime too, the blood alcohol limit is 0.2, and phones at the wheel only with a hands-free kit.
- Wildlife crossings: elk, reindeer and deer cross the road in daytime too, and reindeer often simply stand still. Drive slowly, don't sound the horn, wait. You must report collisions with elk or reindeer to the police: in case of danger or injuries 112, otherwise 114 14. Carry a warning triangle and a hi-vis vest.
- Winter: from 1 December to 31 March, winter tyres are compulsory in wintry road conditions; for vehicles over 3.5 t, stricter periods apply according to Transportstyrelsen. Studded tyres are allowed from 1 October to 15 April. In the fells it can snow as early as September, and the Flatruet is closed at times in winter.
- Tolls: in Sweden there is neither a vignette nor a toll road on this route. If you cross into Norway at Storlien, you pay at electronic toll points (AutoPASS) there. Dimensions: as far as we know, width up to 2.6 m, no general height limit (low bridges signposted), length up to 12 m for single vehicles (check your registration document).
CampingSpirit packing & preparation checklist
- Mosquito protection: head net, repellent with DEET or icaridin and intact fly screens – in July, mosquitoes and blackflies by the water and in the bogs are the real challenge.
- Stone-chip protection and a repair kit for the windscreen: the Flatruet and other gravel roads fling stones, and a small crack grows quickly in the cold.
- Compressor and tyre pressure gauge, plus a working spare wheel – garages are far apart on this route.
- Binoculars for reindeer, elk and the birds at Ånnsjön.
- Waterproof hiking boots and rain gear: paths in the fells are wet and stony, and the weather changes within an hour.
- Two full gas cylinders and a spare jerrycan for diesel or petrol for the sections without fuel stations.
As of 2026-10. Closures, fees and booking rules change: check official sources before you go.
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