Now you can hike from island to island in Sweden

Sweden, one of the world’s greenest countries, with a serious ongoing dedication to lowering its environmental footprint, has enshrined the right of public access. “Allemansratten” is a law that gives everyone – both residents and visitors – permission to hike and camp in nature for free, as long as the activity is respectful and non-intrusive.

For visitors to the capital, exercising that right has become a lot easier with the opening of the new Stockholm Archipelago Trail, which connects 225 kilometres of new and existing trails across 22 islands, from Arholma in the north to Landsort in the south.

The trail is linked by ferries with sections varying in length, difficulty and the kind of terrain crossed.

You might pass quaint villages and summer houses, through pine forest, past islets and along dramatic rocky shores.

The development of the trail is a response to the shortness of the tourism season in the region, running mainly across the Swedish school holiday period, June until mid-August.

While that means those venturing out into the archipelago outside those times will encounter few other travellers, amenities diminish as well. The ferries are less frequent and a lot of accommodation and eateries close.

It’s hoped the trail will give those operators more reason to stay open by encouraging visits out of peak periods.

It’s also hoped the trail will encourage visitors to these often car-less islands to delve deeper.

The archipelago has traditionally been the playground for boat and beach lovers, and now with exploration by foot a signposted (digitally mapped for some islands) possibility, it’s hoped word will spread about the unique beauty these islands hold.

The wider Stockholm Archipelago comprises more than 30,000 islands in the Baltic Sea covering almost 1700 square kilometres.

See stockholmarchipelagotrail.com