I’ve been living in Stockholm for many a year now, way to many to tell the truth, that’s why I recently moved to Chamonix. But through the years I’ve discovered most of the trails and worth while paths this city has to offer. In this post I’ll share my favorites with you and all of these are easily accessible with public transport.
These are my smultronställen of trail running in Stockholm, do enjoy them in my absence.
Central Stockholm
Hammarbybacken
We’re starting out with the crown jewel of climbing in Stockholm. With the most vert you can get in one go this monster of a hill will get you a total of 85 vertical meters. If you manage to find the absolute bottom before heading up that is. Here you’ll find a lot of people trying to get their weekly vm’s in and soon you’ll get to know a lot of the faces.
You’ll find a lot of different paths going up and down the hill so you’ll be able to get some variation. There’s also a lot of fun competitions going on here, like Stockholms Brantaste which is a 3km course going up the hill three times and ending at the top.
Kungsholmen runt
This doesn’t really fall under the trail category except for a slightly technical part of maybe half a kilometer, but it’s a classic run in Stockholm and you won’t ever be alone going around this island.
Södermalm runt
Same goes for this one, it’s an extreme stretch of the trail category but it’s also a super classic run. You won’t ever be lonely on this one either, especially if you do it around lunch time, since a lot of Stockholms inhabitants like to spend their lunch hour (more like two) circumventing this island. If you do it in the height of summer watch out for the wall of people getting their daily dose of sun and water exposure at Tantolunden.
If you feel adventurous you can cross the bridge Årstabron, which happens to be my favorite bridge in Stockholm, and end up at Årsta Strand which also has a nice waterside trail, oh well, it’s more like a gravel path.
Hagaparken
Here you’ll find a lot of different paths and trails that can be connected in lots of ways. There’s also a small hill here, Haga kulle. Going around the lake Brunnsviken, located in the middle of the park, is a nice loop.
Alvik strand
This is a surprising little gem of an out and back trail close to central town. With a few small loops that can be added along the way. And if Kungsholmen runt doesn’t cut it for you distance wise you can tack this on as an extra and get twice the distance.
North of Stockholm
Ursvik
Home of the classic Ursvik Xtreme and Ursvik Ultra races, which are some of the best races around. There’s a lot of good trails and paths here and you can put the loops together making up a desired distance. You probably won’t be alone here but it’s also big enough to not be crowded.
Marked trails all the way from a lit and groomed 2k to a 15k semi technical trail.
Järvafältet and Upplandsleden
Järvafältet is just a big “field”with tons of gravel paths and small trails. Bring some cash when going here during summer and pop into one or several of the local farms for coffee and cake. Upplandsleden is actually a little known trail in Stockholm but well worth checking out.
South of Stockholm
Gömmaren
This might be Stockholms best kept trail secret. If you go here you’ll experience one of the best trails around and you usually won’t bump into a lot of people, especially if you’re doing either the 10k or 15k trail.
Has the same kind of prepped trails as Ursvik from 2k up to 15k, but more of a single track and off-the-beaten-track feel especially on the 10k and 15k loops.
Högdalstopparna - Högdalstoppen, Fagersjötoppen and Hökarängstoppen
I’ve spent a lot of time going up and down these hills and even though they’re literally old garbage piles, from the right angle, on the right day and with perfect weather it can be almost beautiful here. You can connect this with the lit trail in Fagersjöskogen which is close by and make a good loop.
Hellas, Tyresta and Sörmlandsleden
Sörmlandsleden is a trail system covering a lot of ground around the Stockholm area and it goes through both Hellas and Tyresta. Hellas offers a lot more than just running, including ice skating and ice baths in winter but also a lot of great trails. Tyresta is a big national park that’s a bit of actual nature just south of Stockholm and there’s a lot to discover here, I won’t spoil it for you, just go there and explore. Bring a map.
Sörmlands Ultra Marathon or SUM has its way with all of these places.
Vinterviken
I’ll leave this here as a bonus, I’ve run a lot of miles here and it’s a great area to run even though there aren’t actually any trails here. But with a little imagination I managed to put together a loop with almost 500 vertical and that’s not bad in Stockholm.
Did I miss any place good? Let me know!