Facilities

Tourist facilities of various kinds can be found in many places in the fjelds, ranging from simple peat huts in the middle of nowhere to hotel-like establishments reachable by car. Most of these are made up of cottages and stations operated by the Swedish Tourist Association (STF), but there are also other kinds of places that merit inclusion under this heading, such as the cottages in Padjelanta National Park and the many shelters along the marked trails. In this section a selection of all of these has been collected into a searchable database with a number of data points for each entry.

View all Search  ⇓ Terms and functions  ⇓

Primarily the database consists of places I myself have visited (and photographed), with first-hand information, but for completeness I have also included a large number of other facilities, focusing on locations along the trails included in the Map section, in which case the information comes from public sources. A few Norwegian locations close to the border have been included as well. Note, however, that this is still not a full collection of sites one might expect to find in a list of this type, since there are regions I have yet to visit or do research on. Specifically, there are currently no entries south of Ramundberget in Härjedalen.

Should you spot any mistakes or erroneous data, or want to add something, please contact me!

Search

Use this form to search the database (see below for more information about what the various fields mean). The text fields perform a case-insensitive phrase match, so multiple keywords do not work. If you're unfamiliar with multi-select lists, Ctrl-click (or Cmd-click) allows you to choose more than one option, as well as to deselect an already selected option. Leaving a field or list empty – or cleared – will remove it as a search criterion, which as far as the lists are concerned is equal to selecting all options. In other words, to display all facilities in the database just click the List entries button.

Terms and functions

Here follow some general notes about the terms and functions employed in the search form and entries:

Name

This is, obviously, the name of the facility. Most of these are not subject to change, but in some cases new management or updated map versions introduce alternatives, and it may also be that the same place is known under several different names. In such cases one of the alternatives has been chosen as the primary name, while the others will also match the entry even if they are not displayed. For example, Sårjåsjaure is also known as Konsul Perssons stuga, and will show up in searches for ”stuga” in the name field. Tip: Try clicking the picture under the name on the entry page – in many cases this will switch to a photo from a season other than the current.

Class

The type of the facility in question. Places belonging to the same type share certain basic characteristics, which are often not written out in the individual entries, but exceptions are noted. The classes used are:

STF fjeld station

Typically larger structures with a high level of service. All fjeld stations sell provisions to some extent and most have at least one sauna and a restaurant. It is a good idea to bring linen or sleeping bags, but sheets can usually be rented if required. They are typically staffed from the end of February to early May in winter, and from the end of June to the middle of September in summer, but some are open around the year. Those that are situated ”in the middle of nowhere” also include an open compartment with an assistance phone during the off-season months, for visitors travelling at unusual times or people in distress.

STF cottage site

Cottages without electricity or modern comforts, usually situated far from the nearest road. Visitors fetch their own water and cut their own firewood, but there are gas-powered stoves. Linen or sleeping bags must be brought. Nearly all cottage sites are manned by one or more wardens in both summer and winter; the opening periods are about the same as for the fjeld stations, but they are typically shorter for cottages off the larger trails (refer to the STF website link in the entries for details). At other times the cottages are closed, but there is an open compartment in most of them, usually containing an assistance phone – should any of these be missing it is noted. Many sites have extra service of some kind when manned (see below). Payment with credit card is possible at most places these days, but due to connectivity issues it may be a good idea to bring cash or pay in advance via STF's website – the latter will also yield a better price.

BLT cottage site

The cottages in Padjelanta are nowadays run by Badjelánnda Laponia Turism, which is an association formed by the three Sámi villages that are active in the area. The standard and operation are akin to those of the STF cottage sites, but the BLT ones are heated with gas rather than firewood, and in winter they are only staffed around Easter. At all sites there is one cottage which is open around the year, and all have an assistance phone. The Sámi at or near some of the sites sell fish, bread and dried reindeer meat when available and all sites have some provisions for sale, but only in summer and both the selection and time of availability vary greatly, so be sure to check the individual entries (and the external links!) before making any plans involving mid-tour restocking. The lodging fee itself can be paid with credit card, but cash must be brought for anything else.

County administration cabin

The county administrations maintain cabins and huts in various places, intended for both their monitoring personnel, reindeer herders and the general public. Some are always open, while others are locked with a key one can request at select establishments, but there is typically an open compartment for those lacking said key as well. The overnight fee, which is significantly lower compared to those of the above, is either paid as rent for the key, or afterwards using bank forms available in the cabins.

DNT staffed lodge

This is the rough Norwegian equivalent of the Swedish fjeld stations, operated by the Norwegian Trekking Association (DNT). The main difference is that during the manned periods – which are more or less the same as those of the Padjelanta cottages – visitors do not have the option of cooking their own food inside, so one has to either make use of the full service of the facility or use a camping stove at a designated place. During the rest of the year there is usually a smaller accommodation building available – with stoves – which is locked with the standard DNT key that members of both STF and DNT can acquire.

DNT cottage site

Similarly, this corresponds to the Swedish cottages, but there is seldom a warden in place. Another key(!) difference is that nearly all of the DNT cottages are locked with their standard key as per above, making them available around the year. Do note, however, that some of the cottages have periods when they are completely closed, key or no key, so verify the opening periods on DNT's website before going. Like in STF's cottages, heating is done with firewood and cooking with gas stoves. There are two subcategories, self-service and no-service, where the former offers a range of provisions to visitors, whose responsibility it is to pay for what they consume. Here, this distinction is handled by way of the Provisions tag (see below). As for payment, it is done either by putting cash into a locked box, filling out an authorization form for credit card withdrawal placed in the same box, or by giro/bank payment later on – or by online reservation.

Shelter

Along many of the larger trails – especially in Jämtland – there are small buildings meant to offer temporary shelter to tired travellers. There is often a heater and a scant supply of firewood in case of emergency, but people are explicitly forbidden to make use of this at other times, and discouraged to spend the night unless in dire need – simply because doing so might very well drastically reduce the chances of survival for others when it actually is a matter of life and death for them. A few of these buildings are, however, intended for overnight stays, in which case a bed count other than zero is given.

Hut

At a good many places in the fjelds there are old huts of traditional Sámi make, and even though the majority of these are now deteriorated, some have been the subject of restoration projects and now offer shelter or even residence to anyone who finds them. Be sure to bring camping gear.

Private

Apart from the general types of places above, there are also a number of private facilities here and there – some offering accommodation or other services, some not.

Region/location

Since the Swedish fjelds constitute a very large area, the entries have been further classified according to geographical position. The Region field marks the general part of the country (when clicked it performs a new search for all facilities in that region), and the Location field defines a specific area within that region. The labels employed are completely arbitrary on my part and subject to change (your mileage may vary).

Coordinates

The coordinates to the place in question, given in WGS-84 (latitude/longitude) format with second precision. Positioning data have been extracted directly from the applicable maps where available (accuracy limited by map precision), or from satellite photos where not (accuracy limited by satellite mapping precision). This line is also a clickable link that locates the facility in question on the map.

Service

Quite a few facilities offer some kind of service beside simple accommodation, such as provisions or a sauna. Regarding the former the range of products varies greatly from place to place, and in the entries where I know the state of affairs I use the following notation:

¹ Limited range of basic products.
² Extended range, including different product lines and more "non-essential" things.

Also note that some items are liable to get sold out towards the end of the season, especially in summer.

Distances

Approximate distances to other facilities and in some cases townships or other natural roadside starting points, which are italicized. Included are stations, cottages etc. reachable by the marked summer trails (and in a few cases by unmarked but frequently utilized routes), as well as any shelters and the like along the way. If another major facility can be reached via an intermediate trail branch it has also been included, as long as taking that route is shorter than it would be to pass some other major facility. This system has been followed as consistently as possible, but total adherence is not guaranteed.

Shelters and similar places have been separated from the other facilities in the list. Distance figures have been taken straight from overview maps in most cases, even though some which are obviously faulty have been altered, and the rest have been calculated from detailed maps. The accuracy may not be top-notch, so these numbers are only meant as a general guide and should not be trusted in full without question. The distances given are the shortest ones available if one follows the marked summer trails only, which means that in winter – or if one finds one's own way, or utilizes other paths – other figures apply.

References

Links to specific parts of reports in the Tours section where the facility in question is visited or passed, plus links to external websites where available.