The square
of Vålådalen
This tour starts in Vålådalen, follow the cross markings towards Stensdalen – Vålåstugan – Lunndörren and then back to Vålådalen. The tour can be completed in any direction.
Total length: 55-59 kilometers (depending on route chosen)
Number of stages: 4 hiking or skiing days
Number of nights: 3 in a mountain cabin or tent
Length of the stages: 12–16 km (3–8 hours hiking /skiing per day)
Water/food along the way: The trail passes watercourses, read more about drinking the water here. Shop is in mountain cabins, check opening times.
Vålådal square is a fantastic tour for both the experienced skier/hiker and the beginner. The tour goes between 3 mountain cabins in Vålådalen nature reserve and is nice to do in both the directions, on skis or on foot. The most enthusiastic get around on randonee gear to do peak rides and get in some nice but short rides in untouched snow. Mobile coverage is missing on large parts of the tour, so be sure to download mountain maps, if necessary. audio books or music before your journey and inform your relatives that you will not be reachable during the journey.
Vålådal square begins in the ancient and species-rich old-growth forest, whose preservation was the main reason for that the Vålådalen nature reserve was formed. The trail meanders through conifer and mountain birch forest and runs largely in the borderland between calf mountain and woodland and crosses reindeer herding areas. Here there are ponds, streams, marshes and flower meadows during summer and autumn. In several places, the ice sheet has affected land with ridges, plateaus and fissure valleys, and the nature resembles a fairytale landscape.
The hike can be done in both directions and the daily stages are between 12 and 16 kilometers, and you pass both birch forest and calf mountain during your journey. The tour is described below on anti-clockwise skis.
Overnight in a mountain cabin or tent
In our description, we suggest living in mountain cabins, specifically STF Stensdalen, Vålåstugan and Lunndörren. =”https://www.svenskaturistforeningen.se/app/uploads/2021/04/butikssortiment-2021-04-09-large.pdf”>simpler provisions. In Stensdalen and Lunndörren there is a sauna that is warm in the evening (however closed at the request of the authorities during the Corona pandemic) and there is the possibility of swimming in the stream.
This is how a mountain cabin works
In a mountain cabin you live comfortably and simply with self-catering in multi-bed rooms. During the pandemic, it has been mandatory to book a place in advance, but at other times, everyone who comes is welcome. This may mean that you get to sleep in the sauna or under the dining table.
As a guest, you chop wood yourself, fetch water from the stream or lake, cook your own food and do the dishes and clean up after you. There is no electricity. The rooms are of different sizes and have stoves as a heat source and bunk beds. Blanket and pillow are provided, but you need to bring your own sheets. In the mountain cabins there is accommodation for guests with dogs.
Tent when the weather permits
If you prefer to sleep in a tent, there are lightweight tents for rent as well as sleeping bags and sleeping mats. Keep in mind that there are many miles to carry, so carefully consider which option suits you best.
Guide
If you would rather hike with a guide, we will be happy to help you with our experienced guides, contact us at booking@ aretravel.se
- Stage 1: Vålådalen - Stensdalen
- Stage 2: Stensdalen - Vålåstugan
- Stage 3: Vålåstugan - Lunndörren
- Stage 4: Lunndörren - Vålådalen
Stage 1: Vålådalen – Stensdalen
14 kilometers, 3–5 hour ski tour
The trail to Stensdalen starts at the trailhead in Vålådalen, where you follow the signs to Stensdalen directly to the right, in a westerly direction. The terrain is easy and is mostly in forest that protects against strong winds. The more hilly part of the route is between 10-12 km, before the trail flattens out again in mountain birch forest with occasional open sections and bogs. 2 kilometers before the Stensdalen cabins you reach a bridge that crosses the Tvärån.
Stensdalsstugan is located just below the characteristic “nose” of Lillstensdalsfjället and is one of the most beautiful cabin sites in Jämtlandsfjällen. The cabin is located at 750 m above sea level and is beautifully embedded in birch forest. The river runs right outside the houses and the wood-burning sauna increases the cozy factor.
STENSDALEN MOUNTAIN HOUSING – after the fire
It was a great loss when the old mountain cabin burned to the ground in May 2010. Instead of building a similar cabin, STF took the opportunity to to develop a modern mountain cabin that meets the needs of today’s and future mountain tourists. The sauna is also newly renovated.
The Stensdal cabins are located by the Stensån at an altitude of 800 m just below the tree line in the Vålådalen nature reserve. The mountain hut has 34 beds. In the large cabin, which was inaugurated in June 2014, there are 22 beds. The intermediate cabin has 12 beds. Here there is also a cottage host’s cabin, a sauna, a wood shed, a garbage house, an outhouse and a storage room.
The large cabin contains four 4-bed rooms and one 6-bed room, beds in bunk beds. In the large cabin’s public space, there is a cozy corner with space for beds on the sofas. The cottage has a store with a large range, a drying room, a cold hallway and a kitchen island with four gas stoves. There is also something as modern as a gray water drain in the kitchen. In the middle cabin there are two rooms with six wide beds each. One room is a security room and dog room. The rooms have kitchen equipment and a gas stove. There is also a helpline in the hall.
Mobile coverage If you gor to the garbage house or down to the sauna, you get decent coverage with a Telia subscription. If you have Telenor, you can go a bit towards Vålåstugorna to get coverage.
From Stensdalen there are paths to Vålåstugarna and Gåsen, in our turn we choose Vålåstugan.
FAST FACTS
MOUNTAIN MAP
Land Survey Z6, 1:100,000
Landmäteriet Z7, 1: 100,000
Landmäteriet Z53, 1:50,000
Calazo’s “Vålådalen & Lunndörren” 1:50 000
LENGTH / TIME OF THE STAGE
14 km / 4-5 hours
ALTITUDE DIFFERENCE
750 – 902 m above sea level (309 m in altitude)
The landscape on this tour changes from the birch forests below before the beautiful Lill-Stensdalsfjället to flat calf mountains and upland bogs.
From Stensdalen’s mountain hut, you walk in mountain birch forest and pass Stensån, and pass a varied terrain to Smällhögsskaftet, whereupon an almost flat section along Kroktjärnarna and marshland follows until you round Vålåvalen. The last 9 to 10 kilometers are just above the tree line.
Vålåstugan/ Vålåstugan
In the middle of the mountain on the other side of Vålåvalen is the Vålåstugan or Vålåstugar, where the views from the sun-drenched veranda are hard to beat. The cabin site is 900 m above sea level and has a total of 50 beds.
MORE ABOUT STF VÅLÅSTUGAN FJÄLLSTUGA
Fjällstugan has two guest cabins with a total of 44 guest beds.
The large cabin is a corridor cabin with 24 beds in six 4-bed rooms, in bunk beds. One of the rooms is a shop with an assortment of food, drinks, sweets and hygiene items (assortment small).
The old cabin has two guest rooms with a total of 20 beds. Both guest rooms have kitchens and wood-burning stoves. Adjacent to the respective kitchens are two sleeping alcoves. One of the kitchens is a dog room and a security room including an emergency telephone. Behind the cabin there is room for several dog teams.
Nice tent pitches are available around the cottages. Sauna missing. In summer, the Sturebadet is used in a stream about 100 m below the large cabin.
There is poor mobile coverage at the cottage site. Coverage for Telia is just above the cabin.
Experience Vålåstugan
From the mountain hut, hiking trails go in five directions towards Stensdalen, Gåsen, Helags, Lunndörren and Vålådalen,, our tour continues to Lunndörren.
From here you can also choose between different types of shorter mountain tours and south of the bridge over the Härjångsån you can enjoy rich stands of orchids and other mountain flowers. Those interested in fishing like to go to Kroktjärnarna and around Vålåsjön there are traces of Stone Age settlements and prehistoric graves. On Gruvsmällen’s southern slope, copper was mined for a period in the 19th century and the traces are still there. Three kilometers west of the mountain cabin there are smaller water-filled mine holes and the remains of a stone mining cabin.
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Bild på norrskenvålådalsstugorna under vålådalsfyrkanten
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Utsikt från terass Vålåstugan under Vålådalsfyrkanten
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Stensdalsstugan-Stensdalen-Vålåfyrkanten-Vinter
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Bild på nya Stensdalsstugan under vålådalsfyrkanten
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Nattbild på Vålåstugorna-Vålådalsfyrkanten-Vålådalsstugan
