Åkersmyra, Naturreservat

You can visit here in the summer for hiking and in the winter for snowmobiling and skiing. It’s close to both Borlänge and Djurås. The area features cultural relics from the era of mountain pasture life and charcoal burning. The forest, which is over 100 years old, is home to a rich variety of lichens, mushrooms, birds, and flowers.

A Diverse Forest Supports Great Biodiversity​

This mixed deciduous and coniferous forest is between 100 and 150 years old. Here you’ll find mossy, damp areas with the small flower known as knee-root, as well as drier, higher elevations with old, gnarled pines and marshes. Adjacent to the Åkersmyra mountain pasture is a section of natural forest where there are many fallen trees and the old standing spruce trees are rich in hanging lichens.

The varied forest landscape with its rich structures provides ideal conditions for many different species to thrive, including old-growth forest species such as the three-toed woodpecker, the nutcracker, the hazel grouse, the black grouse, and the capercaillie. The nutcracker can be seen in one of the photos above.

The forest bears the marks of past land use

Even today, remnants remain from the charcoal-burning era and the mountain pasture culture that once prevailed in the area. Remains of house foundations and mountain pasture trails can be found in several places. For a long time, the forest has been subject to logging of various types and scales, including timber harvesting, thinning, charcoal production, timber for domestic use at mountain pastures, and forest grazing. In several areas, the forest has remained relatively untouched since the charcoal-burning and mountain pasture eras.

Visitor Information

The Åkermyra and Reptjärnsberget nature reserves are located right next to each other. All roads near the reserves are blocked by gates, so you’ll need to get here on foot. For example, you can follow the Friluftsfrämjandet Borlänge hiking trail from Plättbacken via Tjärnaberget. A circular hike starts at Plättbacken, crosses Tjärnaberget, passes through both nature reserves, and then heads back via Muskboberget and Bjusan. This hike is about 15 km. The trails mainly follow old mountain pasture paths. A snowmobile trail also runs through the nature reserves.

Reserve signs are posted where the hiking trail enters the reserve.

Feel free to take a break at the open meadow near the Forsbygge mountain pastures and reflect on the fact that when the land redistribution map was drawn up around 1840, there were at least 25 different mountain pasture buildings surrounding the meadow.