Gässlösa, Naturreservat

A hike on winding paths through Gässlösa offers wonderful experiences of both greenery and birdsong. If you walk up Böstesberget in Gässlösa, a breathtaking view of the Himledalen valley awaits. On a clear day, you can see Kattegat about 15 kilometers away.

Gässlösa is an area of deciduous forest where beech is most common. But on Bösteberg's cliffs and mountain dome, the deciduous forest is dominated by oak. Among the fallen boulders on the slope grows the conspicuous grass piperör, which got its Swedish name from the fact that its blades were used as pipe cleaners. The winding honeysuckle also grows here, as well as plenty of lily of the valley.

Unusual lichens and mosses

Mosses and lichens thrive on the oak trunks. Several of the lichens are rare. If you are an expert in the area, you can find unusual species such as lung lichen and scribble lichen at a closer look. The environment up here is much brighter than when you go down into the dark beech forest that borders the winding stream gorge where Stenån flows. The river is surrounded by an ash-dominated swamp forest and here too there are exciting mosses and lichens such as rich-fruited bladder lichen, jaguar lichen and mussel lichen.

Ferns and wood anemones

The beech forest is perhaps at its most beautiful in the spring, when the leaves burst open and the delicate greenery spreads through the tree crowns. The ground is then covered with white wood anemone, sorrel and squirrelberry. In summer, the dense canopy of leaves prevents light from reaching the ground, so not many plants can survive here. One exception is the ferns, which have developed large and magnificent stands in various shades of green.

A rich wildlife

A variety of bird species thrive in the deciduous forest. The number one characteristic bird in the beech forest is the green warbler, whose characteristic sound, which has been likened to a spinning coin on a stone disk, echoes in the forest during spring and early summer. Nesting birds such as black and white flycatchers, nuthatches and woodpeckers can find a home in the reserve's dead trees, and the Stenån river is home to both the white-tailed godwit and the common tern. The river is an important spawning and nursery ground for salmon and sea trout, and stationary brook trout also live here.

Mammals have also found a home in Gässlösa. Moose and deer come to the water to drink, and the oaks up on Bösteberg have had to endure being grazed. There are badgers, mink, stoats and even dormice. The abundance of dead wood provides good conditions for a rich insect life. An inventory in 2001 found around ten red-listed beetles here.

The salmon are finding their way back

Just a few years ago there was a pond at Gässlösa. From here the water was led through a dug canal, further through a wooden tube to Hovgårdskvarn. However, the dam was an obstacle to fish migration in the river, so it was demolished at the same time as the old river channel was recreated in 2006. This has meant that sea-migrating fish can once again pass through the upper parts of Stenån. Already in the fall after the demolition, salmon were found to be spawning on their old spawning grounds for the first time in a couple of hundred years!

Table and toilet

Toilets are located at the parking lot. There are also benches and tables at the parking lot. The trails in the reserve are described in the leaflet about Gässlösa in the gray box below.

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