Rælingen: Cultural Trails, Østmarka and Øyeren

Discover Rælingen through its cultural trails, forest landscapes and waterways. The Nordby Cultural Heritage Trail is a circular route from Myrdammen to Nordby School, through the valley and back. Signs along the way tell the story of the region’s early industry; near Myrdammen, you can also see the remains of a dam. Other attractions include natural areas by Øyeren and traces of the area’s early sawmill and hunting history. When choosing a holiday rental, consider which of these types of excursions you would like to shape your stay.

Forest, hills and trails

Myrdammen lies on the eastern edge of Østmarka, on the western side of Øyeren. It is 500 metres from the main road at Nordby. Various trails also start at Nordby School: cycling routes and ski trails lead from there into Østmarka. Marikollen is the seventh-highest peak in Østmarka and has a network of trails spanning about 3.7 kilometres. Of these, 2.5 kilometres have an asphalt surface for roller skiing. If you are weighing up different ways to get active on an outing, you will find both ski trails and a section specifically asphalted for roller skiing here.

Another prominent landmark is Hektnerhøgåsen, a 378-metre-high hill immediately north of Ramstadsjøen in Rælingen municipality. These varied landscape features give your trip planning its own focus, from the Østmarka forest to hills and waterways. The destinations you want to prioritise may be more important when choosing a holiday rental in Rælingen than taking a general look at the municipality.

Cultural trails with visible traces of the past

The Nordby Cultural Heritage Trail is a circular route connecting the starting point at Myrdammen with Nordby School. Its signs provide information about the region’s early industry; the remains of a dam near Myrdammen are among the visible sights along the way. The trail is therefore well suited to anyone who would like to explore the landscape and local industrial history on the same outing. Nordby is a useful reference point for the sights described here and for the bus stop directly in front of the Nordby School car park.

The Byåa Cultural Trail also leads to traces of earlier work: the landscape contains the remains of three sawmills, as well as evidence of sawmilling activity spanning several hundred years. There are information boards, viewpoints and benches along the route. The trail runs from Byevegen down to Øyeren and passes through two pastures—one with goats and one with cows. This makes Byåa a different kind of cultural trail from the Nordby loop: sawmill remains, pastures and viewpoints are among the route’s distinctive features.

At Huldreheim, you can see the ruins of a former hunting lodge and an information board about Huldreheim’s history. Huldreheim is on Ramstadsjøen in Rælingen municipality. In 2019, DNT opened an unstaffed cabin there with eight beds. The ruins and information board give the site a historical focus; the cabin is also a separate, specifically described part of the site’s history.

Rælingsrunden and nature by Øyeren

The Rælingsrunden follows Rv 120 along the Nitelva and Øyeren, then returns via Øvre Rælingsveg. It passes through changing cultural landscapes, runs partly along the edge of Østmarka and also goes through built-up areas of the municipality. If you like to take different landscape types into account when planning an outing, you can compare this loop with the more history-focused trails at Nordby and Byåa.

A detour from the Rælingsrunden along Kirkevegen leads to Rælingen Church and the Bygdetun. Along the way, there is a beautiful view over the Nordre Øyeren Nature Reserve. Årnestangen is part of this nature reserve and is home to more than 260 recorded bird species. These details may also interest travellers who want to explore the landscape and wildlife as well as the cultural trails.

Which excursions suit your choice of accommodation?

If you are looking for a holiday rental in Rælingen, start by focusing on the experiences that interest you most: the loop and industrial history at Nordby, sawmill remains by Byåa, hills and ski trails at Marikollen, or the varied landscapes of the Rælingsrunden. The trails and destinations mentioned here each have a different focus, so you can choose based on the kind of excursions you want to take rather than planning all the sights as a single route. For other destinations in the same wider area, see Nannestad, Lørenskog, Bærum, Sørum, Ski, Ås and Ullensaker.

For an overview of the wider travel area: Akershus.