Fulufjället is Sweden’s southernmost mountain national park: a flat-topped plateau on the Norwegian border, a waterfall with a 70-metre free fall, and a spruce whose roots go back 9,550 years. Here is how to reach it and what the rules actually say.
When you need this
You want to see Njupeskär and need to know whether the trail is open in your month, or you plan to hike or ski on the plateau and want to know where a tent and a fire are allowed. Maybe you are coming without a car, or wondering whether the dog, the fishing rod, the drone or the ice axes can come. This page covers the park itself; for the region around it, see our Dalarna guide.
The park at a glance
Fulufjällets nationalpark was formed on 1 August 2002 and covers 38,483 hectares, about 385 km², in Älvdalen municipality. The state owns the land, and the county board, Länsstyrelsen Dalarna, manages it and calls it Dalarna’s most visited national park. It is one of Sweden’s 31 national parks, and it borders Norway’s Fulufjellet nasjonalpark.
The fell rises as a plateau with steep sides and a flat top, and no reindeer graze up there. That is why the heath is covered with thick mats of lichen, something you will not see on most Swedish fells. The park’s 2002 management plan explains it: tame reindeer herding last happened in the 1880s, the county board banned grazing in 1990, and the lichen heath is kept as a reference area for what grazing does elsewhere. The park counts 395 species of mosses and 421 of lichens.
The zones. Local opposition to the park was strong, so it was split into four zones with different rules:
| Zone | Where | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| I, untouched | The central plateau, about 60% of the park, with a trail-free wilderness core of about 6,000 ha | No hunting, fishing or snowmobiles; few trails |
| II, low activity | The forested south and east slopes | Few marked trails; moose hunting allowed |
| III, high activity | The north: Rörsjöarna, Harrsjöarna | Huts, fishing with a card, snowmobile trails |
| IV, facilities | About 1%: within roughly 200 m of the Njupeskär entrance and waterfall trail, the access roads to Brottbäcksstugan and Njupeskärsentrén, and lower Göljån | No tents outside winter; fires only at built fire places |
You may read that Fulufjället is a “PAN Park”. The 2002 management plan expected it to become one of Europe’s first, in a WWF-linked network pairing protection with tourism. The foundation behind that label went into liquidation in 2014, so treat it as history.
Njupeskär and the gorge
Njupeskär is 93 metres high, and 70 metres of that is free fall. Sweden’s national-parks site calls it the waterfall with the highest free fall in Sweden, and “one of the highest” overall. Many pages shorten that to “Sweden’s highest waterfall”; the official wording is the more careful one, and it is what we use.
Over thousands of years the water has cut a large gorge, Njupeskärsravinen. The yellow-marked Njupeskärsleden, 4 km of packed gravel and wide boardwalks with a few stiff climbs, takes you from the entrance to the foot of the fall. In the snow-free season it is an easy walk in low shoes, and the southern part is fully accessible, but it is steep in places, so ask at naturum, the park’s visitor centre, if you are unsure.
The last stretch into the gorge closes in winter and spring. The park site warns of a high risk of avalanches and falling ice, snow and rocks while snow lies on the slopes and the boardwalk, and snow can linger on parts of the trail into early June. You can still see the fall from above at Njupeskärsstugan, a rest hut with a grill place. Walkers who want the top view in summer take Jaktfalksleden, 6 km with orange markers, a stiff, blocky climb onto the plateau that gets slippery in rain.
The Göljån valley, another entrance, shows what water can do here. On 30 August 1997 a cloudburst dropped 400 mm of rain in twelve hours and scoured whole valleys; Göljån was the worst hit.
Getting there
The main entrance, Njupeskärsentrén, is about 25 km west of Särna — the county board says about 30 km. By car, follow riksväg 70 north from Särna, turn left after four kilometres towards Mörkret and Gördalen, then follow the signs from Mörkret.
| Mode | How it works |
|---|---|
| Car from Mora | About 120 km on riksväg 70 to Särna (about 1 hour 50 minutes of pure driving by our measurement), then the last stretch — roughly 2.5 hours in all. Winter tyres are required 1 December–31 March in winter road conditions |
| Bus Mora–Särna | Dalatrafik line 396, from Mora resecentrum via Älvdalen to Särna kyrkan and on towards Idre |
| Särna–park | Flex line 785 (flextrafik) to the stop Fulufjället Njupeskär and on to Gördalen. In the 17 August–12 December 2026 timetable it runs Mondays and Thursdays, and every trip must be booked by phone at least three hours before departure |
There are six other entrances. Brottbäcksstugan has a winter car park 0.5 km before the summer one and is where the winter trails to the huts start. Göljån norra and södra have summer parking only, as does Björnholmsstugan, where the road is ploughed only to Storbron in winter; Morbäcksätern is the sixth. Only Gördalen also has line 785; the rest need your own transport. Norway’s side has two more entrances, Storbekkåsen and Bråtafallet.
The rules
The park’s rules are a binding regulation, NFS 2002:21, in force since 1 August 2002. As in every national park, they limit allemansrätten, the right of public access. Fulufjället’s are looser than many parks’ except near the entrance.
| Activity | Rule | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Tent | Allowed in most of the park; banned in zone IV except 1 December–31 March at places the county board designates. The park site asks you not to pitch next to huts and trails | law; guidance |
| Fire | Open fires allowed outside zone IV; in zone IV only at built fire places. A county or municipal fire ban applies in the whole park | law |
| Car park overnight | No sleeping in cars, caravans, motorhomes or tents on the Njupeskärsentrén, Brottbäcksstugan or Göljån car parks | guidance |
| Dog | Always on a leash; hunting-rights holders may run a loose dog while hunting in season | law |
| Drone | No flying lower than 2,000 ft (610 m) over the park and no landing aircraft; the county board says this includes drones | law |
| Climbing | No rock climbing; ice climbing allowed 1 December–31 March | law |
| Fishing | Hand tackle only, in zone III waters, with the Dala Fjällfiskekort; season 1 January–31 August plus eight days at freeze-up in November | law; practice |
| Snowmobile | Marked trails on snow only, max 30 km/h | law |
| Plants and wildlife | No breaking twigs or damaging trees, no picking mosses, lichens or wood fungi, no disturbing wildlife or nesting raptors | law |
| Other | No riding or cycling off roads; no petrol-powered ice augers | law |
Moose hunting is allowed in zone II and parts of zones III and IV in autumn, so you share the forest with hunters then — see hiking during the hunting season. There are no bins on the fell: carry everything out to the sorting station at Njupeskärsentrén. For the drone rules that apply once you are outside the park, see drone rules in Sweden.
Trails, Old Tjikko and huts
Lavskrikeleden starts at naturum: 2 km, red-marked, on packed gravel and wide boardwalks without big height differences, and fully accessible. It is named after the Siberian jay (lavskrika), which often joins walkers. Both it and Njupeskärsleden pass Gammelfjällsloken, with an accessible grill place.
Old Tjikko stands on the plateau. The national-parks site calls it the world’s oldest tree: a clonal spruce whose whole tree, with its root system, is dated to 9,550 years, while the stem you see is only a few hundred years old. It survives by rooting new shoots from its branches. About a metre of its top snapped off in a February 2023 storm and is now on show at naturum. To find it, follow orange markers on stones and signs from Njupeskärsstugan, and stay on the path: the heath is fragile, and in early summer snow can hide the markers.
Huts come in three kinds, and the difference matters:
| Type | Examples | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Rental huts (uthyrningsstugor) | Rörsjöstugorna (six huts, 38 beds, a simple shop, sauna and boat when a warden is there; 3.5 km from Njupeskärsentrén in summer), Harrsjöstugan (4 beds; 7 km) | Booked through STF |
| Lilla Tangsjöstugan (4 beds, pets allowed, about 10 km from Brottbäcksstugan) | Booked through the county board | |
| Overnight huts (övernattningsstugor) | Björnholmsstugan 8 beds, Tangsjöstugan 8, Bergådalstugan 5, Rörsjöstugan 6 | Always open, cannot be booked; you may share |
| Rest huts (raststugor) and lean-tos | Along the trails | For breaks only, except in an emergency |
In winter the trail to Rörsjöstugorna and Harrsjöstugan starts at Brottbäcksstugan, 7 km and 10.5 km away, on skis, snowshoes or by snowmobile. One rest hut, Tangådalsstugan, is closed until further notice because carpenter ants have weakened it; its emergency phone has moved outside. The long-distance trail Södra Kungsleden crosses the whole park from south to north. For hut etiquette and what to pack, see STF mountain huts.
Season by season
| Season | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Winter (snow from October into May) | Skis, snowshoes, the marked snowmobile trail from Mörkret via Rösjöarna and Harrsjöarna to Gördalen, ice fishing, ice climbing on the frozen fall 1 December–31 March. Gorge trail closed |
| April | The park site’s pick for fine days on the fell |
| June | Best for birds, as migrants return; hiking starts around mid-June, with snow still on the fell |
| June–early July | Light nights, but frost is possible all summer |
| Summer | naturum and the summer servery open; hiking best until September |
| September | Autumn colours at their best, a quieter park; snow can arrive in October |
Weather changes fast on the fell and mobile coverage can be weak, so leave a trip plan — our mountain safety guide covers how.
Practical information
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Entry and naturum | No entry or admission fee mentioned on the official pages |
| Parking | No parking fee mentioned on the park’s pages |
| naturum hours (listed for the current year; checked 2026-09-25) | 1–3 and 8–11 April 10:00–15:00; 1–21 June daily 10:00–17:00; 22 June–16 August daily 9:00–18:00; 17 August–4 October daily 10:00–17:00; 24 October–1 November 10:00–15:00 |
| Toilets and water | Water toilets and drinking water at Njupeskärsentrén around the clock, all year; dry toilets at other entrances and huts |
| Overnight huts (checked 2026-09-25) | 200 SEK per bed, under 16 half price, day use 40 SEK; pay by bank transfer or Swish, or cash or card at naturum |
| Rental huts | STF’s prices (Rörsjöstugorna, Harrsjöstugan, Rörsjöstugan when staffed) |
| Line 785 | Mondays and Thursdays, 17 August–12 December 2026; book by phone at least 3 hours ahead |
| Staying outside | The park site names campsites in Mörkret, Gördalen and Särna |
FAQ
Is Njupeskär Sweden’s highest waterfall?
It depends on how you measure. Sweden’s national-parks site gives Njupeskär as 93 metres high, of which 70 metres is free fall, and calls it the waterfall with the highest free fall in Sweden. For total height it says only “one of the highest” in Sweden. So “highest free fall” is the accurate claim; “highest waterfall” overstates what the official page says.
Can you walk to Njupeskär in winter?
Not all the way. The last stretch of the trail into the Njupeskär gorge is closed in winter and spring because of the risk of avalanches and falling ice, snow and rocks, and snow can lie on parts of it into early June. You can still see the fall from above at Njupeskärsstugan, which has a rest hut and a grill place.
Can you camp in Fulufjället National Park?
Yes, in most of it. The park regulation bans tents only in zone IV, the busy areas around the Njupeskär entrance, the waterfall trail, the access roads and lower Göljån, except at designated places from 1 December to 31 March. The park site asks you not to pitch next to huts or trails. Sleeping on the entrance car parks is not allowed.
How do you get to Fulufjället without a car?
Take Dalatrafik line 396 from Mora via Älvdalen to Särna. From Särna, flex line 785 runs to the Fulufjället Njupeskär stop at the main entrance and on to Gördalen. In the timetable for 17 August to 12 December 2026 it runs on Mondays and Thursdays, and each trip must be booked by phone at least three hours before departure.
How old is Old Tjikko?
The national-parks site dates the whole tree, with its root system, to 9,550 years and calls it the world’s oldest tree. It is a clonal spruce: the visible stem is only a few hundred years old, and the tree has survived by rooting new shoots from its branches. About a metre of its top snapped off in a February 2023 storm and is on display at naturum.
Can I bring my dog to Fulufjället?
Yes, on a leash. The park regulation bans only unleashed dogs, with an exception for holders of hunting rights during hunting or training in the hunting season. Lilla Tangsjöstugan, a rental hut booked through the county board, allows pets. Naturvårdsverket’s general advice is the same for every Swedish national park: keep the dog leashed at all times.
Related guides
- Sweden’s national parks — all 31 parks and how their rules override allemansrätten
- Dalarna — the region around Särna, Mora and Älvdalen
- Söderåsen National Park — a forest park in Skåne with its own rules
- Abisko National Park — a stricter park regulation, read the same way
- Wild camping in Sweden — how tenting works outside the parks
Facts verified 2026-09-25. Sources: Naturvårdsverket (park regulation NFS 2002:21, management plan, Sveriges nationalparker), Länsstyrelsen Dalarna, Dalatrafik, Transportstyrelsen, European Wilderness Society, OSRM route measurements — full register in this topic’s source file. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.