Hamra National Park

Hamra was one of the nine parks declared in 1909 and was tiny - about twenty-eight hectares of forest that had escaped logging, which at the time was the whole point. In 2011 it was enlarged roughly fiftyfold to include Svartan river, bogs, wet forest and a bear-used area, giving it something like fourteen square kilometres. The old core still holds pines several hundred years old with fire scars, dead standing timber and thick lichen. Boardwalks cross the wetter ground and a marked trail circuit links the sections. The forest around is Orsa Finnmark, settled by Finnish burn-clearing farmers in the seventeenth century.

What you actually see

• A never-logged core from 1909 - pines several hundred years old.
• Fire scars and standing dead wood - the structure that follows.
• Bog and river added in 2011 - the park enlarged fiftyfold.
• Boardwalk and trail circuit - through both parts.

When to go

June to September. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The original core is very small. Mosquitoes are severe in summer here. Facilities amount to a car park and boardwalks. It is a long way out and a car is effectively required.

Nearby

Orsa is south-west; Los is north-east.