Tavelsjö is a walkers paradise. Around the lake there are hundreds of tracks and trails running through the forests and over the peaks. The area is rich with flora and fauna and the forests are full of stories to explore all year round.
The first thing you’ll realise when visiting the Tavelsjö outdoors is its beauty, a beauty that dates back 10,000 years to the last ice age. The area was heavilty glaciated and when the ice melted, the high water line sat just above where Tavelsjö now sits, just below the top of Tavelsjöberget. When you’re walking up on some of the tops, you can picture how it used to be the bottom of the sea bed.
In the intervening 10,000 years a rich ecosystem has developed and the forest and lakes are now full of life throughout the year. In the summer, the forest plays home to hundreds of species of birds with many staying throughout the year and on into the winter. Many of the forest around Tavelsjö is planted and forested but there still remains large parts of old growth forest with the scars of hundreds of years of fires giving away their age.
There are three main things to do when walking / hiking in Tavelsjö:
1) Tio Toppar Tavelsjö – ‘Ten Tops of Tavelsjö’
The ten tops of Tavelsjö are ten of the ‘best’ peaks around the village. Whilst there are many small peaks around the village, local nature enthusiast Anders Enetjarn and a group of villagers have developed a network of trails up ten of the tops, named Tio Toppar Tavelsjö.
All the trails are entry level in terms of difficulty and require no equipment throughout Spring, Summer and Autumn. The terrain is mostly forest trails with some gravel tracks.
The trails are all marked with small signs pictured across and there is a digital map you can follow here. There are also reflectors on the signs for those who are feeling adventurous enough to try them in the dark. Many of the top are suitable for children – generally, we would say if a child is old / strong enough to keep an adult pace they can make it up all the tops other than perhaps Selsknosen.
Those with young kids who you are carrying, both Krogberget and Hemberget are good starting points. It’s not suitable to get to any of the tops with rollers but there is a nice walk from Tavelsjöberget car park if you have one. There is a digital map for the ten tops here.
2) Tavelsjön Runt
Tavelsjön runt is a trail that runs all the way around the lake. It’s 23km in length and is made up of gravel tracks, forest trails and pathways. You can start and finish anywhere along the route and there are various places to sit and enjoy some the fantastic views from around the lake.
Wherever you get onto the Tavelsjön runt, look out for the signs pictured to the right. It’s pretty well signed posted all the way around. The only real tricky bit is on the south east of the lake between Haddingen and Långviken. Here the trail runs alongside the road in arguably the worst / most boring section of the runt. Going north, don’t be tempted to veer off, stay alongside the road until the road turns left down the hill towads Långviken – once you reach here the trail is beautiful again.
Our favourite spots around the lake as follows:-
- Sundlingska Gården, our home and the start and end of a day around the Tavelsjön runt
- IOGT-NTO
- Fantastic beach in the summer with a big car park. There is a café that runs during the summer months. For those with a kayak (or long distance swimmers), there is an awesome paddle / swim through the narrows into Ökvattnet from here
- Kammenbron
- This was the original highway north before the 363 was built. The bridge on the Kammen has a rest place to sit and relax with views over both Tavelsjön and Haddinsavan.
- Korpberget
- There are views here over both Tavelsjön and Trehörningen (the lake to the east of Tavelsjö). The top is just off the trail and there are benches to sit and relax.
- Knform
- This is a fantastic new ceramic shop housed in the old village store. Setup by the original owners of Blåeld, this has arguably the finest ceramics and other awesome things in the region. Click here for further info:-
- Lillberget
- One of the smaller peaks around Tavelsjö which the run runs straight through. Take a short detour to the top and you will find fantastic view towards both ends of the lake
3) Tavelsjöleden
The Tavelsjöleden is a fantastic 42km trail that runs from the riverside in central Umeå all the way up to Tavelsjö. The trail is a combination of forest and mountain trails, gravel tracks and small roads and is accessible throughout most of the year. In the winter months some of the trails get quite a strong covering of snow but those who are feeling adventurous can still access most of the trail. Click here for a map.
The trail is market out by the signs pictured across and orange markers have been painted onto the trees in sections where it’s tricker to navigate. The trails are entry level we highly recommend you give even just a short section a go.
The Tavelsjöleden passes through plenty of very interesting flora and fauna one of which are the many patches of ‘myra’ that are prevalent here in Västerbotten. These are essentially marshes that are home to hundreds of different species of insects and animals. In the summer and autumn these marshes are where some of the best berries can be found and the Tavelsjöleden has many small bridges that run over the marshes so you don’t have to get your feet wet.
Along the way there are many look out points and rest places. Here is a list of our favourite spots along the Tavelsjöleden:-
- Vorrmyran
- The section between Hissjö and Kvarnfors takes you through a valley that runs between Offerstensberget and Vorrmyrberget. This section very much feels like you’re in the wilderness and the views across the valley are fantastic.
- Kammenbron
- This was the original highway north before the 363 was built. The bridge on the Kammen has a rest place to sit and relax with views over both Tavelsjön and Haddinsavan.
- Vallberget
- One of the ten tops of Tavelsjö, Vallberget looks over the corner of the lake and has a tower on the top with fantastic views down both sides of the lake. There is a small cabin at the top with a fire place – wood is stocked for use during summer months.
- Between Vallberget & Tavelsjöberget
- On this stretch, if you head off the TAvelsjöleden to the east, there are plenty of spots where you can sit and lookout over the lake from the cliff edge. Fires are not recommened but these are fantastic spots to camp overnight under the stars.