Grövelsjön: Fells, Lakes and Culture

Grövelsjön combines expansive mountain landscapes, lakes and unusual experiences with clearly defined starting points. The Långfjället rundt tour begins and ends at the STF Grövelsjön Mountain Station at an altitude of 816 metres in the border region between Sweden and Norway. If you are looking for an apartment or holiday home for your trip, it is therefore worth first asking what kind of holiday you are planning: long mountain tours, guided excursions, cross-country skiing, nature observation or historical discoveries.

Tours between the mountains and the national park

The Långfjället rundt tour is 33 kilometres long. If a boat trip is included, the distance is 23 kilometres. These two figures refer to different variants of the same tour and are important for planning your day. The Hävlingen entrance to Töfsingdalen National Park provides another point of orientation. It is 13 kilometres from the STF Grövelsjön Mountain Station and can be reached on foot or on skis. In the wider surrounding area, the national park is usually entered via Lake Hävlingen and the bridge over the Storån at Särsjön.

In Töfsingdalen, the national park preserves an area of boulder terrain and coniferous forest in the southern mountain regions. There, coniferous and deciduous forests can develop naturally. Långfjällets naturreservat also shapes the surroundings: it includes the Grövelsjön Mountain Station and the Södra Kungsleden, and covers 68,000 hectares. When choosing accommodation, you can compare these different approaches to your trip without planning every day in the same way.

Guided experiences and routes for different holiday days

STF offers a guided day tour to Storvätteshågna. At 1,204 metres above sea level, it is the highest peak of Långfjället; the tour begins at the STF Grövelsjön Mountain Station. For an excursion with a different structure, there is the STF experience “Grövelsjön – Fjällintro familj”: the approximately 4-kilometre guided hike provides an introduction to navigation and mountain safety.

During the summer season, various providers in the Grövelsjöfjällen area offer guided half-day and full-day mountain tours. In winter, Grövelsjön has 100 kilometres of prepared cross-country ski trails. Gröveltur 3 is a scenic circular route to the tranquil Silverfallet. One kilometre away is the Olåns vindskydd rest area, surrounded by old hay meadows and protective mountain forest; there is a barbecue area there. Gröveltur 4 leads to Valdalsbygget, a historic mountain farm that offers insights into traditional life in the mountains.

Sámi history and unusual lake experiences

Near Grövelsjön are the remains of Sámi settlements, including kåtor and other buildings from Sweden’s southernmost Sámi settlements. Another chapter of history is told by the wreck of a German Heinkel 111. The aircraft made an emergency landing on Grövelsjön in June 1940 during the Second World War; parts of the wreck extend above the surface of the water. Guided boat tours go to this Heinkel 111 wreck.

The connection by water also extends beyond the immediate surroundings: the M/S Sylöra operates from Sjöstugan on Grövelsjön to Sylen in Norway. Fly-fishing is the only type of fishing permitted in the Storån. When planning your trip, you can therefore choose between mountain trails, a boat tour, following historical traces and an expressly regulated fishing opportunity.

Practical guidance for finding accommodation

Grövelsjön is connected to Mora by daily bus services; the journey takes approximately three and a half hours. A free map of the Grövelsjöfjällen is also useful when planning your journey. It shows hiking trails, Gröveltur routes, car parks, points of interest, restaurants and other practical information. When choosing your apartment or holiday home, therefore consider which of the activities mentioned should be the focus of your stay and which points of orientation you would like to use for your personal planning. You can also find further travel ideas at Fjätervålen.

For the general travel overview: Älvdalen.