36 Hours in Hyltebygden

“We spent 36 hours in the Hylte region, focusing onhiking, good food, and outdoor activities. We hope our story inspiresadventures where consideration and responsibility go hand in hand with freedom and joy in nature.Do as we did—read up on the Right of Public Access and the Off-Road Driving Act before you set outon similar adventures”!

A child-free weekend in Hylte focused on the great outdoors

When I decided to surprise my husband with a child-free weekend getaway,I chose Hylte. The plan for the weekend was to spend time together, hike, enjoythe outdoors, and—for the first time—test the car-camping capabilities of ourrelatively new electric car. We wanted the convenience of not having to carry a tent andpacking gear, but still be free to choose our own spot for the night. That’s why we choseto camp freely in the car—a convenient way to travel, as long as it’s done withcare.

Wild camping always comes with responsibility, and it’s important torespect nature and landowners. This means, for example, sticking toareas where parking is permitted, never blocking roads or driveways, stayingonly one night, and leaving the site untouched. These are small things, but crucial toensuring that nature remains accessible to everyone.

With that mindset, we packed our electric car and set off tohike, swim, enjoy coffee and pastries, and eat well—and discover Hylte from its verymost beautiful side.

Coffee and History in Rydöbruk

We entered Hylte Municipality via Route 150, which runs betweenFalkenberg and Torup. Our first stop was at Stephanie’s café andbakery, Fika by Steph, in Rydöbruk. A few years ago, Stephanie won “HelaSverige bakar” and now runs her business in the old switchhouse, a beautifulbrick building that once housed the essential infrastructure for the oldmill that stood on the site.

The remnants of the mill and the industries still characterize“Konstnärsbyn,” and a certain mystique surrounds its ruins. There issomething almost bohemian about this place, where creators of all kinds have sought refugeafter the industry left—first artists and now culinary creators. In addition to Fikaby Steph, there’s Knystaforsen, an exciting fine-dining restaurant with one star inthe Michelin Guide. Unfortunately, Knystaforsen wasn’t on our agenda that day, butwe gazed enviously at their garden, which was completely sprinkled withstring lights and looked incredibly cozy.

Hunting for Views on Ramnåsberget

In any case, we each picked up a sourdough roll anda chocolate ball. I’d emailed ahead since we follow a vegan diet and know fromexperience that it can be trickier to find food andsnacks on the fly. However, there weren’t any problems at all; the roll was filled with a variety of freshand pickled vegetables, sprouts, and a spread, and it was exactly what we neededbefore we tackled the weekend’s first challenge: the climb up to the observation toweron Ramnåsberget.

On Ramnåsberget, between Torup and Rydöbruk, stands a five-story-tall wooden tower. From the top, the view stretching for miles over the treetops was absolutely fantastic.In addition to Torup, you can see the Nissan valley. On this particular day,the clouds were so low that we could see them from above. The tower is on private property andvisitors enter at their own risk, but it was definitely one of the day’s highlights (bothfiguratively and literally). The trail up to the tower isn’t well-marked, so youhave to know where you’re going. From Nissadalsvägen, we followed the sign toward Ramnås andparked at the road barrier after about 300 meters. Then we took the trail to the right ofthe road, up the hill, just before Ramnås Farm.

The hike up to the tower itself isn’t very long andis fairly easy, but it does, well, go uphill.

Varied scenery along the Jälluntoftaleden trail

After the observation tower, we set off toward Jälluntofta inthe northeastern part of the municipality. We were going to hike the Jälluntoftaleden trail. Parking is available,well-marked, at the Furniture Museum in Jälluntofta—just a stone’s throw from the slightly over 100-year-old shooting pavilion, which is an attraction in itself. The architecture brings to mindthe American Midwest, and the pavilion resembles a cross betweena saloon and a miniature social club. From their pasture on the other side of the road,the calves watched us curiously as we walked around the building.

The Jälluntoft Trail was easy to hike, though somewhat wet on thisparticular day, and easy to follow with clear markings all the way. The trail windsthrough very varied scenery; one moment you’re walking through knee-high fernsor blueberry bushes, the next across a meadow, and soon through a spruce forest that suddenlygives way to a beech forest. Along the way, there were more benches and rest areas than weneeded, but we stopped for lunch at the wind shelter located roughly at the 6km mark. We had tacos and fried apples with oatmeal crumble and vanilla sauce. A little whilelater, we also stopped for a drink and a chocolate ball on the lakeshore.The hike took us just over three hours, including breaks.

Evening swim, ice cream, and dinner at Tiraholm

Once back in the car, we changed into dry shoes and pantsbefore driving on to Tiraholms Fisk, where we had a table reserved for dinner.Since we had plenty of time, we made a spontaneous detour out to the peninsula inLake Unnen, where Vallsnäs Campground is located, for a salted caramel ice cream.

Before dinner, we also managed to take a (cold, butmuch-needed) dip in Lake Bolmen. Bolmen is a large lake, and next timewe’d also love to take the ferry over to Bolmsö. Right next to Tiraholm there’s aswimming area with a sandy beach, and the water is shallow enough there that I would have dared to letthe kids (ages 4 and 1.5) play freely without any concerns. They would also haveloved the small sculptures of various fish species scattered around the farm,as well as the swing with a view of the lake, suspended from a tree right where the grassmeets the sand.

We spent a while gazing at the sauna raft anchoreda few meters out in the lake, but were disappointed to realize we wouldn’t have time forit before dinner. That’ll have to wait for another time…

Tiraholm’s Fishwww.tiraholm.sealso provided an excellent vegan main course forus, and we even enjoyed local strawberry and rhubarb-orange sodas.

In the middle of nowhere—and yet so alive

We then headed toward a spot we’d been tipped off about forspending the night—there was supposed to be parking, a restroom, a place to swim, and tablesto sit at. But on the way there, we discovered another beautiful spot that feltright according to our free-camping principles. With a clear conscience and nature all around usas our company, we stayed there overnight and enjoyed the peace and quiet.

Hylte is, after all, truly a place of forests and lakes.At the same time, it strikes me how vibrant the Hylte region is, despite the feeling of beingin the middle of nowhere. We pass farms where people are tending to their gardens andfields; a red cat lies like a lion on the front steps outside ared-painted farmhouse, keeping watch. Cows, goats, and sheep watch us curiously,and it’s rare for more than a few minutes to go by without us encountering a car or moped, even on thewindingest country roads. People often raise a hand in greeting as wedrive by at a slow pace to admire the intricate woodwork on their beautiful cottages, farmhouses,and farms. Hylte is very much alive here.

We parked the car in a pull-off by the side of the road, a fewmeters from the water. From the trunk of the car, where we unfolded the mattress andmade up the bed for the night, we had a lovely view of the lake. We carefully hung the clotheslineand temporarily strung between two trees so that our wet pants and socks coulddry in the breeze. The water jug was placed on a makeshift stand made of a couple of largerocks, and we fell asleep to the sound of the wind in the treetops above the car’ssunroof.

The Skärshult Trail and Lunch at Bosgårdsfallet

In the morning, we ate the breakfast we’d brought along and made coffeeusing the car’s “vehicle-to-load” adapter—a device that allows you touse the electric car’s large battery to power a standard230V outlet. So we plugged in the coffee maker we’d brought along and even gotfreshly brewed coffee to go with the roll we’d bought the day before.

After packing up the campsite and picking up all the trash,we headed toward Skärshult Campground, where we had twohiking trails to choose from: the Long and Short Skärshult Trails. We settledfor the short loop, which is 6 km long. The Large Skärshults Trail is 12 km and runspartly parallel to the Small one. The small loop was lovely—quite hilly inplaces but with incredible views of the lake and many exciting sections. At one spot,we had to use a rope to climb up a steep slope, and at another, the path betweentwo lakes was so narrow that it was barely more than a footbridge to walk on. Almost as closeas you can get to walking on water… Along much of the trail, there were plenty ofblueberry bushes already heavy with ripe blueberries. We picked and ate severalhandfuls and wished we’d brought a jar to fill.

After our morning hike, it was time for a lunch breakbefore we headed back home. We stopped at Bosgårdsfallet in Torup and cookedmacaroni and vegetarian meat sauce on our Trangia stove. At Bosgårdsfallet, an 11-meter-high waterfall between Lake Ivesjön and the Nissan River, there are barbecue areas and severalpicnic tables—both covered and uncovered—scattered throughout the area. There are also threeshorter trails to walk in the surrounding area; we strolled leisurely without followingany specific one and were struck by how much there was to see. In addition to the water,whose powerful movement is fascinating, there are remnants of the old milland several other businesses that once operated on the site.

Thanks for this trip, Hylte!

Afterward, we headed back home, satisfied and pleasantlysurprised by how much we’d managed to do in just over a day. On our way out ofJälluntofta during yesterday’s hike, we saw a sign that read, “You’llbe back!” and yes, we definitely will!

This text isbased on a personal experience and has been editorially revised withthe help of AI.