Idefjorden Runt, 12-13/9 2026
Idefjorden is a fjord in northern Bohuslän, Sweden, where Sweden meets with Norway. The border runs in the middle of the fjord. My father and I have had the idea of hiking around the fjord, by connecting three trails, Kustleden (or Kystleden in Norwegian), Bohusleden, and Olavsleden, for some time now. It has been low priority, but now is the time to do it. With a total of 6 pictures taken, I was not much of a photographer this time.
12 September – Saturday
We parked the car at Idefjorsvallen, a football field in the small town of Krokstrand. From there we started hiking south on Bohusleden, following dirt roads into Norway until we reached the south part of the fjord and crossed the river Berbyelva. After which we ate a late nut, blueberry, the forest was completely filled with blueberries, and cheese breakfast, the very cheeses I bought in Vielha after finishing hiking in the pyrenees. It was the best cheese I have ever eaten. We also found some apple and pear trees along the trail.
After the small feast, we followed a partly overgrown trail along the coast till we reached Brekka. From Brekka we followed some dirt road to connect with Olavsleden. At this point the weather cleared up, it had rained a bit on and off since we started hiking but now it became rather pleasant, not too warm, not too cold, just right.
Olavsleden then took us through the classic Bohuslän nature (okey, technically we are in Norway and not Bohuslän) that I absolutely love. I’m not sure exactly how to describe it, in Sweden we would say sprickdalslandskap. It is like big open bare rock patches with long cracks that are filled with trees and bogs, and the occasional pristine lakes. It is a very open landscape, but it is still a forest. You know what, google it!
We followed Olavsleden until the Lille Erte lake at which we left Olavsleden, heading west towards Halden. A closed train track crossing forced us to take a long detour on the main road instead of the small trails we had planned to hike. We stopped and ate some more cheese at a very nice rest stop just next to the river Tista, before walking the last stretch to Grand Hotel Halden. Contrary to the name, it was not very grand. We are staying at a hotel, yes, no camping this time. My father is injured and that is why we have not hiked in the mountains this summer. To keep it simple and hike with less weight, we opted for a hotel this time. But mark my words, this time only.
13 September – Sunday
After a good night’s sleep we left bright and early, starting hiking in complete darkness. We started hiking along the coast and then followed a river until we reached Kyststien, which follows the main road for a while. After diverting from the main road, we again had some cheese for breakfast, before continuing on the dirt road and trails till we reached Gamla Svinesundsbron, the old bridge between Norway and Sweden, taking us back into Sweden.
After a rather technical walk along the coast later we are once again hiking in the classical, lovely sprickdalslandskap that for me is synonymous with Bohuslän, and now the trail is not only lined with blueberries but also mushrooms, specifically the yellow gold of the forests, chanterelles. With the backpack full of mushrooms, we continued. For Christmas I will be making mushroom stew. We also found blackberries and raspberries. I thought they would be out of season by now, but nope. I’m definitely not complaining.
The weather can be summarized as periodic low intensity rain. But for hiking it is quite nice. We meet almost no one along the trails. Sweden at its finest, lovely terrain and complete peace of mind.
We followed Kuststigen to Bohuslan’s highest peak, Björnerödspiggen, where we joined Bohusleden and followed it back to the car. That was it, a short but good 2-day adventure in Sweden. It is good to be home.
Our Route
Or this was the intended route, then we made several changes on the fly, of which I do not remember the details, for example the train track detour is not included.