Stockholm’s new Archipelago Hiking Trail will link 21 islands and is the first of its kind, and aims to make life more sustainable for the island residents.
Stockholm’s archipelago is a joy in summer but harder to get around at other times as ferries reduce their services. But that could change with the launch of this new trail. It opened earlier this month and is created by the Stockholm Archipelago Trail (SAT).
There are 30,000 islands in the Stockholm Archipelago, and about 1,000 of them have at least some seasonal residents. Of those, about 150 have year-round residents. And for those people, life can be tricky outside of the summer tourist season. The height of the tourist season only lasts about a couple of months.
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The Stockholm Archipelago Hiking Trail is a 167-mile (270km) path that has been gradually opening, section by section. The official launch was October 2024. The trail runs between Arholma in the north and Ort in the south. It came about thanks to a chance conversation between Marie Östblom, a project manager for the Stockholm Business Region, and Swimrun co-founder Michael Lemmel.
The archipelago has been long used for leisure by boaters and beachgoers, but now the message is clear that these islands are perfect for deeper exploration by foot. The trail represents the archipelago’s abundant natural beauty, and in so doing will also showcase the need to protect its fragile ecosystems.
“We want to encourage everyone to walk here to raise the profile of the islands,” said SAT creator Michael Lemme in a press release. “Many people already come, but often use the islands in particular ways. For example, it is popular to visit by private boat, but those who do so will likely travel no more than 50m inland from the boat dock. The SAT (will) spread visitors out over a wider area than just, say, a marina.”
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Some of the islands on the trail are a public ferry ride from the center of Stockholm, and others are just 30 minutes offshore from the city’s suburbs. The fact that few people enjoy the wonderful nature here is one of the reasons the trail has been developed. The archipelago’s tourist season is short, running mainly from mid-June to mid-August, the Swedish school holiday period. It’s hoped that the trail will help stretch the season, increase footfall and give local businesses reason to stay open longer.
Lemmel and other proponents of the SAT believe the archipelago has huge potential to redistribute the Stockholm region’s influx of tourists more evenly. “The archipelago tourism window is very specific: an eight-week boom from late June to August and almost nothing the rest of the year,” Lemmel said – but the walking season extends from May to September or October, meaning the route will take pressure off hotspots and peak visiting times.
“If an island-to-island hiking trail becomes popular, it would make good business sense to expand ferry offerings, or even to create new ‘micro’ transit companies,” Lemmel says. Think Uber, but for boats. And while this would be good for hikers, it would be great for residents, for whom life would become much easier almost overnight.
For more information on the Stockholm Archipelago Trail, see stockholmarchipelagotrail.com.
Stockholm’s New Hiking Trai, written by Tor Kjolberg
Feature image (on top) © Visit Sweden