Femundsmarka National Park

Femundsmarka covers about six hundred square kilometres east of Lake Femund on the Swedish border, and it is a different Norway from the fjords: flat to gently rolling, covered in old pine forest and bog, scattered with thousands of lakes and with glacial boulders left standing on bare rock. Musk ox occasionally wander in from Dovre and a herd of wild horses grazes in the north. The classic way through is by canoe, portaging between lakes on routes used for centuries, with self-service cabins along the way; the historic boat Fæmund II crosses the lake and drops walkers and paddlers at the jetties. Roros, the old copper-mining town on the UNESCO list, is the usual gateway.

What you actually see

• The lake chains - canoe routes linked by portages between waters.
• The old pine forest - ancient trees on dry glacial ground.
• The erratic boulders - large stones left standing by the retreating ice.
• The Fæmund II - a historic passenger boat serving the lake jetties.

When to go

July to September for paddling and walking, once the ice has gone and before the autumn storms; the boat runs in the same window. Winter is a ski-touring landscape with very few people.

Honest expectations

This is genuine wilderness with no marked services inside, no phone signal in much of it and long distances between cabins. Mosquitoes and horseflies in July are severe. Canoe portages are hard work, and weather on the big lakes can make paddling dangerous.

Nearby

Roros, the UNESCO mining town, lies northwest; Lake Femund and the Swedish border are alongside.