Göstorp skog, Naturreservat

In Göstorp forest, deciduous natural forests coexist with marshland, swamps and lakes. The forest has an untouched character and here you can enjoy the silence. There are two hiking trails and along the paths there are small information signs that tell you about both the nature in Göstorp and the history of the area.

Göstorp forest is located on the southern Swedish highlands at the very edge of the Laholm plain. From the parking lot in the northern part of the reserve, there are two hiking trails of 1.4 (blue markings) and 2.6 kilometers (red markings). Waterproof shoes or boots are recommended if it has rained a lot before your visit. There are paths at the wettest parts, but there are also areas where you have to cross the wet ground on your own. You may therefore have to jump between grass tufts and rocks.

A forest of oak and beech

The reserve can be divided into two sections, Göstorp forest itself, which is classified as a natural forest, and a kilometer-long slope bog south of the access road. A natural forest is a forest that has arisen through natural regeneration, that is, the forest has managed itself. The forest consists mainly of broadleaf forest. A power line cuts through the area and to the west of this the mountain oak dominates. Beech, however, has the upper hand in the east. Some of the bird species found in the reserve are buzzard, capercaillie, lesser spotted woodpecker, stone curlew, goshawk, black-tailed godwit and raven.

Exciting variety

Nature is constantly changing in the reserve. In several places, wet streaks of birch and swamp forest break through the deciduous forest. In the beech forest, there is little vegetation on the ground, but in the oak forest there is plenty of bilberry and creeping thistle. Elsewhere, large blocks of moraine can dramatically disappear into bogs and fens. A larger and a smaller water mirror, Sandbergs sjö (partly within the reserve) and Kolken, are located within the area.

Halland's largest slope bog

The slope bog was formed when the land ice once retreated. It consists of forested end moraine ridges across the sloping ground. The ridges prevent the water from draining away and the spaces between them therefore become very wet. The slope is therefore made up of alternating dry and wet, cross-cutting strips. The kilometer-long slope bog in Göstorp forest, with a drop of 50 meters, is considered to be the largest and most visible slope bog in Halland County.