Byamossarna, Naturreservat

In the Byamossarnas nature reserve, the feeling of desolate wilderness comes really close. Here you can stroll along the Duke and Duchess's hiking trail around Stenstjärnet and rest in beautiful spots overlooking the mosaic of forest and marshes. If you're lucky, you might hear black grouse playing in late winter and spring.

Photos in the slideshow: Värmland County Administrative Board, unless otherwise stated.

Before your visit

Byamossarna is Arvika municipality's largest contiguous bog area. Here is nature without accessibility adaptation and with poor mobile coverage. The nature is beautiful and it is close to the feeling of being in the middle of the wilderness.

The Duke and Duchess hiking trail

An approximately 3.5 kilometer long hiking trail runs from the parking lot around Stenstjärnet. There is a beautifully situated picnic area by the pond. From the parking lot it is 400 meters to the rest area.

The trail is part of the gift from the Värmland County Administrative Board in connection with HRH Prince Carl Philip and HRH Princess Sofia's marriage on June 13, 2015 and is called "The Duke and Duchess's Hiking Trail".

In winter, there are also several ski trails in the area and snowmobiling is permitted on marked snowmobile trails.

**Note: The hiking trail on Byamossarna

Since 2024, the hiking trail has been wet and difficult to navigate at times. Conditions have now improved, and the trail is no longer waterlogged, but some parts are still uneven and not fully prepared. Planning is underway to lay a new footbridge in 2025.

Great habitat for endangered species

The large marsh area provides rare and endangered species with a better chance of survival in the long term.

Several of the species found in the reserve depend on high and even humidity. Other species benefit from the dead wood in the area. There are, among other things, rough fire stumps of pine with traces of several fires, known as fire sound. Fire blight is mainly found on pine trees, which can survive fires thanks to their thick bark.

Characteristic plants for Byamossarna include rosling, dwarf birch, tuvsäv and vitag. Rosling is a small shrub with evergreen leaves and pink flowers.

Cranes nest here

Little grebe, mallard and goldeneye nest by the ponds, and out on the moors, ringed plover, curlew and crane look for food.

Why the nature reserve was formed

The Byamossarna nature reserve was established to preserve a large area with a mosaic of forests and bogs, but also to make the area accessible for outdoor recreation. The reserve is protected by HRH Prince Carl Philip and HRH Princess Sofia. Part of the area is part of the EU's ecological network of protected areas, Natura 2000.