Reindeer Herding Land: Why Reindeer Have Right of Way in the North

The land you hike, ski and drive across in northern Sweden is also someone’s pasture, protected by a legal right that predates the Swedish state. Here is what that right covers, what it makes fineable, and how it changes your trip.

When you need this

You’re planning a hiking, skiing or fishing trip north of Dalarna, or reindeer are grazing next to your tent or cabin. You want to snowmobile in the mountains in spring, you’ve packed a drone for Lapland, or a herd is being moved across the road or trail in front of you. Or you’ve found a mountain area closed to snowmobiles in May and wonder why.

Half of Sweden is reindeer land

Sametinget, the Sámi Parliament, puts the reindeer herding right at about 50 percent of Sweden’s area, from northern Dalarna up through Jämtland, Västerbotten and Norrbotten. It is shared between 51 samebyar (Sámi reindeer-herding communities). A sameby is both a defined area and an association of herding businesses, not a village.

The law splits the land in two:

The practical point: from October to April you can meet herds far from any mountain, in the coastal forests and on the roads between them.

Why the herd goes first

The herding right isn’t a permit the state hands out. Under Rennäringslagen (the Reindeer Husbandry Act) it belongs to the Sámi people and rests on immemorial use (urminnes hävd). Sametinget stresses that it is not a right the state gave the Sámi. It applies whoever owns the ground, state or private.

Your own right of public access, allemansrätten, works differently. It’s a tolerance that lets you walk and camp on other people’s land as long as you don’t disturb or damage. Where the two meet, the herding right is the stronger legal claim, and the law backs it with fines.

That’s the honest meaning of “right of way.” No Swedish traffic rule gives reindeer formal priority. But the herd has a legal claim to the land you’re crossing, and you don’t have one to move it.

The law binds the herders too. They must take other interests into account, keep reindeer within their sameby’s area where possible, and move herds in gathered flocks along the route that does least damage. And since 2022 the state, and since 2024 regions and municipalities, must consult Sámi representatives before decisions of particular importance to the Sámi. That’s why roads, mines and wind farms in the north involve the samebyar.

What is fineable

Rennäringslagen lists the offences in one place. All are punished with fines, and negligence is enough; you don’t have to mean it.

A dog caught chasing reindeer may also be killed by the reindeer’s owner or keeper if it can’t be caught.

On roads

No traffic rule names reindeer as having priority, but the general speed rule does the work: you must drive at a speed that lets you stop before any obstacle that can be foreseen. A herd behind a reindeer warning sign is foreseeable. Police or road authorities can also set temporary speed limits on stretches with reindeer collisions.

Herders ask drivers to slow down at reindeer signs, fresh tracks and black bin bags hung by the roadside, their own warning. If reindeer are on the road, stop and wait; honking makes them run along the road ahead of you. You can report reindeer on the road to Trafikverket on 0771-921 921. If you hit one, the traffic rules require you to notify the owner or the police, and the police ask drivers to call 112. The full routine is in what to do after a wildlife collision, and how to read the animals themselves is in reindeer in Sweden.

Hiking, camping and dogs

Allemansrätten applies in herding land as everywhere else, with the herd taking precedence. Naturvårdsverket’s advice:

• Keep your distance. If the herd moves off, you’ve come too close.
• Avoid reindeer pastures during calving, April to June.
• Detour widely rather than walking or skiing through a herd.
• Ask locally where herds are: the sameby, local people or mountain-station staff.

Two consequences visitors rarely know. First, don’t shoo reindeer off your camp spot or cabin yard: in a herding area, driving them away without authority can be a fineable offence. Move your tent instead. Second, a herd being moved needs its route. Don’t park, camp or stand in a narrow passage while herders are bringing reindeer through; step aside and wait. Camp away from corrals, fences and narrow valleys in herding season.

Dogs must be on a lead or shut in whenever reindeer are in the area, in any month, unless the county board allows otherwise. More in dogs in Swedish nature.

Snowmobiles and spring closures

Snowmobiling is not part of allemansrätten. In the mountain regulation areas of Dalarna, Jämtland, Västerbotten and Norrbotten you may only ride public snowmobile trails, and anyone off-road must adapt route and speed so animals aren’t disturbed unnecessarily.

In spring, county boards and municipalities close areas, and sometimes trails, out of regard for reindeer herding. Norrbotten regulates snowmobiling in parts of Gällivare and Kiruna municipalities from 5 May to 10 June every year through 2028, to give reindeer quiet before and during calving. Västerbotten publishes its regulation areas and temporary bans on its Skoterwebben service. Check the current closures before you ride. Herders at work may still drive in closed areas, legally. The snowmobile tours guide covers licences and trail rules.

Drones

No drone rule names reindeer, but Rennäringslagen does the work. In a 2025 consultation response, Sametinget warned that drones can frighten or drive away reindeer in a way that breaches 94 § 2–3, and that fell walkers carrying drones could become a major disturbance. A single pass over a herd can scatter it, and in spring that can cost calves.

Keep the drone in the bag near reindeer and photograph them from the ground with a long lens. National parks and nature reserves may also ban drone take-off and landing; see Sweden’s drone rules.

Hunting, fishing and the Girjas ruling

Sameby members may hunt and fish on outlying land within their grazing area in the reindeer-grazing mountains and the Lapland districts. On state land above the cultivation line, the state may only let hunting, fishing and other use rights if this causes no considerable inconvenience to herding.

In January 2020 the Supreme Court ruled in the Girjas case that in Girjas sameby’s area above the cultivation line in Norrbotten, the sameby, not the state, may grant small-game hunting and fishing rights, on the basis of immemorial use. The ruling concerns Girjas only. For a visitor it means: buy your licence from whoever holds the right for that area. Hunting in Sweden explains the mountain small-game system.

Mistakes to avoid

• Assuming allemansrätten lets you go anywhere, whatever the herd is doing.
• Thinking reindeer have no claim on private land. The herding right applies on private and state land alike.
• Treating the herding area as only the mountains. From October to April herds reach the coastal forests.
• Following a marked trail straight through a herd in May.
• Flying a drone for “just one shot” of a herd.
• Assuming spring snowmobile closures are about safety. They’re mostly about calving reindeer.

Practical information

FAQ

Do reindeer have right of way on Swedish roads?

Not by any traffic rule: no Swedish road regulation gives reindeer formal priority. But you must drive at a speed that lets you stop before any foreseeable obstacle, and a herd behind a reindeer sign is foreseeable. Herders ask you to slow down, stop and wait without honking. Hitting a reindeer must be reported; the police ask drivers to call 112.

How much of Sweden is reindeer herding land?

About half. Sametinget puts the herding right at roughly 50 percent of Sweden’s area, from northern Dalarna through Jämtland, Västerbotten and Norrbotten, shared by 51 samebyar. The mountains and land above the cultivation line are year-round land; forests further east and toward the coast are winter land, used from 1 October to 30 April.

Can I hike and camp in reindeer herding land?

Yes. Allemansrätten applies there as everywhere in Sweden, but the herding right is the stronger claim. Keep your distance from herds, detour rather than walk through, avoid reindeer pastures during April–June calving, and do not pitch your tent in a corral or a narrow passage herders use. If a herd moves off, you have come too close.

Can I fly a drone near reindeer?

Avoid it. No drone rule names reindeer, but Rennäringslagen makes frightening or driving away reindeer fineable even by negligence, and Sametinget has warned that drones can do exactly that. A drone over a herd in spring can cost calves. National parks and nature reserves may also ban drone take-off and landing. Photograph reindeer from the ground with a long lens instead.

Can I ride a snowmobile in reindeer areas?

On marked trails, yes. Snowmobiling is not part of allemansrätten, and in the mountain regulation areas you may only ride public snowmobile trails. In spring, county boards close areas and sometimes trails so pregnant reindeer get quiet before calving. Check the county board’s current closures before you go, and stop or reroute if you meet reindeer.

Can I chase reindeer away from my tent or cabin?

No. In an area where herding is allowed, driving reindeer away without authority or stopping them grazing is fineable, and negligence is enough. They graze there by legal right. Move your tent, close your car or wait; if reindeer cause real damage to a garden or field, compensation rules exist under the Reindeer Husbandry Act.

Can I bring a dog into reindeer herding land?

Yes, on a lead. When reindeer are in the area, a dog not used in herding must be kept on a lead or shut in, in any month, unless the county board allows otherwise. A dog caught chasing reindeer may be killed by the owner if it cannot be caught, and the dog owner can be fined.

Related guides

• Reindeer in Sweden — the animals themselves: owners, ear marks and Sámi-run visits
• Sámi culture guide — how to visit Sápmi respectfully
• Snowmobile tours — licences, trails and spring closures
• Dogs in Swedish nature — the full leash rules, reindeer areas included
• After a wildlife collision — the exact steps, reindeer included

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Facts verified 2026-10-05. Sources: Riksdagen (Rennäringslagen, trafikförordningen, terrängkörningsförordningen, the Sámi consultation act), Sametinget, Länsstyrelsen Norrbotten and Västerbotten, Naturvårdsverket, Högsta domstolen, Transportstyrelsen, Polisen, Trafikverket and Sámiid Riikkasearvi — full register in this topic’s source file. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.