Stockholm Archipelago Trail Voyage Tips and guide

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The Stockholm Archipelago Trail is a network of hiking trails on the major islands of Stockholm archipelago, connected by ferries (see Public transport in Stockholm County).

The Stockholm Archipelago trail is a network of twenty trails throughout islands in Stockholm's archipelago (Swedish: Stockholms skärgård). The trails are mostly around 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) long, but some outliers can be as short as a single kilometre (0.6 mi) or as long as 34.1 kilometres (21.2 mi). The hiking trail network was opened in 2024 and has gained international recognition quickly, being recommended as one of National Geographic's world's 25 best destinations for 2025.

The trails serve to protect the archipelago's fragile ecosystem and promotes sustainable tourism. The trail network also highlights the archipelago's cultural heritage. Hikers can customise their trails of choice by using dedicated campsites and hotels on the islands and along the trails. Availability of restaurants however, vary based on the time of year. Ferry schedules also change throughout the year based on tourism-induced demand. Accessibility of the islands therefore becomes one of the more limiting factors of the trail.

The trail sections have a difficulty classification, where the easy ones follow hard-top or gravel roads in easy terrain, the intermediate ones have roots and rocks, and may have somewhat steeper parts, and the difficult ones may follow steep narrow paths with roots and slippery rocks – have shoes with a sole that does not slip, perhaps proper hiking boots. Some sections are accessible to strollers and terrain-capable wheel chairs.

Water is essential when travelling along the Stockholm Archipelago Trail. Depending on whether you are doing day trips or planning to travel for several days, you will need to ensure access to drinking water. Especially during the low season, there may be nothing open on the islands, so you must carry your own water or confirm in advance that there are water sources available.

Your transport may have sparse schedules. If using your own boat, you need to get charts and check whether there are any issues with the fairways you need to use, such as tricky navigation or risk of rough seas. For getting a boat or kayak locally, you probably should make a reservation in time.

Being located on islands, most of the trails are access by ferry, though some sections are accessible by bus as well. As ferry services fluctuate between the islands over the span of the year based on demand, influenced mostly by tourism, planning the hike might be difficult. If ferries are particularly difficult, you could consider to rent a boat instead. For boats less than 12 metres (39 ft) long and 4 metres (13 ft) wide, no skippers' license is required, unless the boat is fast (30 knots) – although some experience or a lot of common sense is needed.

Most ferry stops are accessible by car as well as by public transit. It's not uncommon however, to have a bus line from a larger town or city take over an hour to reach the ferry stop. Considering the limited service patterns, it could be worth considering renting a car during your stay in Sweden, to afford for more flexibility when accessing the islands. Mainland ferry stops tend to have a decent amount of parking spaces available, so using a private car would forego the need to rely on public transit.

Ferries are operated by Waxholmsbolaget. Transport information and operation patterns are well-documented in third-party services such as Google Maps, which includes all the ferry stations and their schedules. Waxholmsbolaget also provides its own route planner. A full ferry network map can be found here. Line 40, the North-South line (Swedish: Nord/Sydlinjen), is particularly useful when hiking multiple islands. The line operates between 23 June and 17 August 2025.

Many ferry stops are operated based on request. To request a ferry to stop and pick you up, use the semaphore at the bridge, putting it in an upright position. In some cases, semaphores may not be provided, and in other cases a ferry pick-up should be arranged by phone or through Waxholmsbolaget's app even if there is a semaphore. Whether this is the case is generally indicated in the timetable with a letter listed alongside the timetabled departure time. This should be done two hours (indicated with "b") or prior to 19:00 the day before departure (indicated with "C"), to arrange for a ferry to make a stop at the request pier.

When arriving at a pier, be sure to check the departure times for your return journey so as to not run into issues with it. Ferries might change piers or use a different boat than initially conveyed, and it is generally useful to know when your last chance to leave the island that day will be.

See also: Boating on the Baltic Sea#Stockholm Archipelago

Boats can be rented from several marinas in the archipelago, for example Dyvik near Åkersberga. Third-party offers can be found through Click&Boat and Skipperi. Unfortunately, these websites are largely Swedish-only as they cater to Swedes primarily. Costs of rentals tend to be priced around 8000 kr per week. Using your own boat in some cases also allows you to use starting points that differ from the recommended directions, and gives you more flexibility in combining different hiking trails around the archipelago as you're not dependent on the operating schedules of Waxholmsbolaget. Without a license, you may operate boats no more than 12 metres (39 ft) in length and 4 metres (13 ft) in width. Experience with operating a boat is recommended, however. Proper rental agencies may offer a brief crash course on operating the boat along with your rental.

You have a trail "Båtluffarleden" (solid blue on the map) that connects Ingmarsö and Finnhamn see instructions at stockholmarchipelagotrail.com.

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Sections of the Stockholm Archipelago Trail

All of the twenty sections of the trail are independent of one another. This means that you're free to choose which trails you want to hike, and in which order you wish to hike them.

To hike the entire trail, start at either Landsort or Arholma. The easiest time to do this is midsummer when the North-South Line ferries operate. This ferry service runs from the week before Midsummer until mid-August. To minimise impact on the islands, it is recommended to hike before Midsummer or after August 5.

• 59.8519.1166671 Arholma.   — A medium-difficulty, 12.7 kilometres (7.9 mi) trail at the north-most extent of the archipelago.
• 59.77972219.0777782 Lidö.   — A medium-difficulty, 11.9 kilometres (7.4 mi) trail.
• 59.66045618.9069573 Furusund.   — An easy trail of 7.2 kilometres (4.5 mi).
• 59.61666718.854 Yxlan.   — A medium trail of 24 kilometres (15 mi), making it the second-longest archipelago trail.
• 59.4789418.820185 Finnhamn.   — A 10.1 kilometres (6.3 mi) trail of medium difficulty.
• 59.47518.7666676 Ingmarsö.   — A medium-length, easy difficulty trail of 10.6 kilometres (6.6 mi).
• 59.4518.6833337 Svartsö.   — The longest easy difficulty trail, totalling 17.9 kilometres (11.1 mi) in length.
• 59.46583318.7244448 Brottö.   — An easy trail, by far the shortest one, coming in at 1 kilometre (0.62 mi).
• 59.40972218.5666679 Grinda.   — The shortest medium-difficulty trail of just under 10 kilometres (6.2 mi).
• 59.41666718.88333310 Möja.   — A 10.4 kilometres (6.5 mi) trail of easy difficulty.
• 59.28735918.91154911 Sandhamn.   — An easy trail of 8.1 kilometres (5.0 mi).
• 59.28333318.76666712 Runmarö.   — The third-longest medium difficulty and overall trail at 18.5 kilometres (11.5 mi), being slightly longer than the longest easy trail.
• 59.218.713 Nämdö.   — A 13.1 kilometres (8.1 mi)-long trail of medium difficulty.
• 59.06666718.41666714 Ornö.   — The longest medium difficulty trail, as well as the longest trail overall, its 34.1 kilometres (21.2 mi) route being about 40% longer than the runner-up, Yxlan.
• 59.04166718.52361115 Fjärdlång.   — A medium difficulty trail of 11.7 kilometres (7.3 mi).
• 58.93333318.2516 Utö.   — The longest difficult trail, coming in at a length of 16.7 kilometres (10.4 mi).
• 58.91666718.20833317 Ålö.   — One of the three difficult trails, counting a route of 12.4 kilometres (7.7 mi).
• 58.92972218.18166718 Rånö.   — The second-longest easy difficulty trail of 12 kilometres (7.5 mi).
• 58.87303318.1187219 Nåttarö.   — The third difficult trail, being the shortest at 10.3 kilometres (6.4 mi).
• 58.73960317.865820 Landsort.   — Medium difficulty and medium length, being 13.8 kilometres (8.6 mi) long.

Beware of ticks, cold weather and slippery rocks.

Stockholm Archipelago Trail sections - Getting in

Alphabetical Arholma • Brottö • Finnhamn • Fjärdlång • Furusund • Grinda • Ingmarsö • Landsort • Lidö • Möja • Nåttarö • Nämdö • Ornö • Runmarö • Rånö • Sandhamn • Svartsö • Utö • Yxlan • Ålö North → South Arholma • Lidö • Furusund • Yxlan • Finnhamn • Svartsö • Ingmarsö • Brottö • Grinda • Möja • Sandhamn • Runmarö • Nämdö • Ornö • Fjärdlång • Utö • Ålö • Rånö • Nåttarö • Landsort