Nordmarka

Nordmarka is the reason Oslo works the way it does: a protected forest of roughly four hundred square kilometres beginning where the metro ends, with hundreds of lakes, gravel roads, marked footpaths and around two thousand kilometres of prepared ski trails in winter. Building is banned across it, so the interior holds only scattered farms, old logging cabins and a handful of served lodges, the best known being Ullevalseter and Kikutstua, where walkers stop for waffles and coffee. The right of public access lets anyone walk, camp and pick berries anywhere. The forest supplies Oslo's drinking water, which is why swimming is forbidden in several of the larger lakes, and it has been fought over politically for a century by people defending its boundaries.

What you actually see

• The lakes - hundreds of forest lakes, some closed for drinking water.
• The served cabins - lodges like Ullevalseter and Kikutstua selling food.
• The gravel roads - a network of forest roads for walking and cycling.
• The winter trails - around two thousand kilometres of prepared ski tracks.

When to go

June to September for hiking, cycling and berry picking, with cloudberries and blueberries in late summer; January to March for skiing, when the trails are groomed and lit near the city edge. Autumn brings colour and quiet.

Honest expectations

Distances are large and the interior has no phone signal in places, so a map matters. Swimming is banned in drinking-water lakes and signposted as such. Cabins keep limited hours and can be cash-light. Ticks are present in the lower forest in summer.

Nearby

Sognsvann and Holmenkollen are entry points; Maridalen valley and its church ruin lie on the southern edge.