Tyresta National Park

I am so in love with forest. Walking in it get me a little happier and I can think about lot of stuff. In Sweden, forests are everywhere. Even in big city like Stockholm, we can easily find it. Sweden actually made me realize that a developed country should preserve nature. And I finally get to write about my most favorite national park in Sweden: The Tyresta National Park.

I have walked inside it like 9 or 10 times. During winter to see it turns white and to see the lake got frozen, during summer and enjoy the sunshine and green grass, also during autumn and watch the leaves turn red and yellow. I been to most of the trails inside the park. The round track of 5 kilometers, the longer 12 kilometers, the long lake, the big lake, the burned forest. I even lost my house key in it and have to return the next day (I found the key under some snow layers, really lucky!).

About Tyresta

According to Wikipedia, Tyresta was established on 1993. It is really close to Stockholm, only 20 kilometers away. The park area is 20 square kilometers wide. Consist of 8 lakes and dams. Tyresta is more like a big round forest, where the entrance begin in the south west, and there are several exits. I like the one in the north, so that got me like 12 kilometers of walk. In August 1999, 10% of the area got burned and the source of fire was unknown. But it creates a scenery when walking on the burned area.

There are few cabins inside the park for people to rest and enjoy the nature, since most of them located by the lake. There are also spot to start a bonfire. In summer people always come here to make grill with family and friends. Near the main entrance, there are one main building and gallery if you want to buy map or souvenirs.

Some animals we might encounter are horses (in the ranch and fields), squirrels, rabbits, and birds. I have not seen any dear so far.

Trails in Tyresta

One of the best thing in forest in Sweden: they have marked trails. You wouldn’t worry getting lost, unless you are doing random trail. In Tyresta, there are some circular trails ranging from 3 kilometers to 6 kilometers. And also few longer trail that ends up in other exit. One famous local hiking association Sormlandsleden have one walking trail in Tyresta and that is the 12 kilometers path that I like.

Getting there

If you go by car, I believe the only car park is located in the main entrance. If you go by bus, search for a bus that goes to bus stop “Tyresta By”. There should be one bus from Gullmarsplan station and one more from Handen station. It will take you to the main entrance. The last bus leaving Tyresta back to those station on weekend is around 6pm. But if you plan to exit to the north, the bus from Nyfors (the name of bus stop) leave until 9pm-ish.

Best time to visit Tyresta

I think most of the time will do. I mean, in summer the weather is so nice and you can swim in the lake. In winter, I call it White Forest, because everything is covered with snow and you can find stalactites and stalagmites. During autumn, find a high ground and you will see the colorful leaves.

I will close this blog with a video of me and my Indonesian student friends hanging out in Tyresta. What I have told them is that Tyresta is beautiful and there are cool lakes and stuff. However when they asked, “How far is the trail?”, I answered with, “Well, not that far”. That is the day I realized that my “not that far” can be “really far” to other people.

Oh and here is more pictures of our trip that day