Right to access in the Nordic countries

Nordic countries
Denmark (Faroe Islands, Greenland), Finland (Åland), Iceland, Norway, Sami culture, Sweden
Boating • Cuisine • Folk culture • Hiking • Music • Nordic Noir • Right to access • Sauna • Winter
Nordic history: • Vikings & Old Norse • Danish Empire • Swedish Empire • Monarchies

The right to access in Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden allows people – foreigners as well as locals – to hike and camp more or less freely in the woods and in the mountains, regardless of land ownership. Outdoor life is therefore relatively inexpensive. In Denmark, with a higher population density, access rights are more limited (see primitive camping in Denmark). In Åland, the right is also limited. There is a right to access also in some other European countries, though this is usually much more restricted.

With camping equipment suited for the season, visitors can enjoy breathtaking sceneries, eat wild berries, swim in peaceful lakes, and listen to sounds of birds and the wind (or to the deep silence of Nordic nature).

Understand

“

Alla ska ha tillgång till naturen enligt allemansrätten oberoende av vad som föreskrivits ovan. "Everyone shall have access to nature according to the right to roam, regardless of what is prescribed above.

”

—Swedish Instrument of government, on the rights to property and its limitations

The right to access has important limitations and visitors should observe rules to preserve nature and respect locals; you are guests on the land. For organised events or commercial activity the rules may be somewhat stricter than for individual hikers – a large crowd or repeated visits can cause inconvenience where a single visit wouldn't. The right to access typically applies to wilderness as well as lakes and rivers.

Few of the rights are codified in law, but their spirit is well-known and usually respected by landowners, hikers and foragers alike; they seldom try to test the limits. This, rather than possibilities to enforce rights or limitations to them, is what make the system work. Litigations are in most cases unpractical – it is mostly an honour system. If you don't observe your duties, you will get scorn on you and those you are associated with, rather than any official sanctions (although e.g. careless handling of fire may get you huge damages).

The foremost rule is that you should be respectful and don't cause harm or trouble. Follow leave-no-trace principles where you don't have reason to believe it is unnecessary. When visiting protected areas, if you want to stray away from marked trails, camp wild or bring a dog, check the local rules.

The right to access, the freedom to roam or "Every Man's Right" (allemansrätten/allemannsretten/almannaréttur/jokamiehenoikeus) has traditions from the time when it was of fundamental importance for countryside people not owning land, and the commons important also for landowning farmers. In the early 20th century recreation outdoors was realised to be important for city dwellers, and the right became commonly understood to apply also for strangers.

The right to access has a long tradition and is usually well-understood by locals, but not well defined in all jurisdictions. It is mostly based on the tradition that landowners can not restrict access to the wilderness and on the principle that what isn't forbidden is allowed, as long as it doesn't cause harm. Keep in mind that when benefiting from the right of access as hiker or camper, you are a guest on somebody's land.

In Norway the "outdoors law", Friluftsloven, defines the right to access in some detail. Land in Norway, including wilderness, is mostly privately owned and right to roam applies equally to private and government land. Trails, roads, bridges, signs, and markings are maintained by landowners and volunteers or in some cases government agencies. The crucial distinction in Norway is between utmark (where the right applies) and innmark. Innmark includes farmland (fields, meadows), private gardens, church yards, car parks, industrial areas etc. Utmark is everything else. Utmark includes forests, barren mountain, lakes, beaches, bogs, and uncultivated moorland. Skiing slopes and trails are regarded as utmark. If in doubt visitors are advised to regard an area as innmark. The use of motor vehicles is at the same time explicitly forbidden in areas defined as utmark. It is generally permitted to walk on trails and roads through innmark to get to utmark.

In Sweden allemansrätten is explicitly recognised by the law, but not defined. In Finland some of the freedoms are recognised in the law, but the concept is not defined.

As the right to access is based on allowing what is not forbidden, it does not give permission to break any laws or regulations. It also does not allow harming nature, causing damage or disturbing people. The right does not apply to any event or activity that would cause non-negligible disturbance or damage. In some cases the landowner or local authorities may impose restrictions if there is a large number of hikers and campers that together and over time cause disturbances or damage the land.

The right to access does not apply in nature reserves. While some similar rights may be granted, they are usually restricted at least parts of the year, and visitors must be particularly considerate regardless. Collecting anything, or disturbing the soil, may be forbidden. There may be trails and minimal other services, some of which (typically campsites) may be placed along the trails but outside the protected area.

The right to access applies in full in Norwegian national parks (regarded as utmark). It does not in national parks of the other countries, where instead some similar rights are explicitly granted (with details varying from one area to another), and services may partly compensate for the rest. Camping and making fires are often restricted. In especially popular or fragile parts of national parks you may have to follow marked trails.

Pets may not roam freely. Dogs mostly need to be on a leash, and in some areas they are forbidden altogether. They are especially problematic in the reindeer husbandry areas, where they can split herds, and in spring separate calves from their mothers, and in areas with nesting birds, the eggs and chicks of which can be eaten by predators (such as crows and gulls) if the parents flee.

Don't disturb wildlife. Some wildlife, such as elks and terns, can be aggressive in protecting their young, while other species can be very sensitive to disturbance; see animal ethics. Keep your distance and use binoculars and long lenses. The vegetation can be fragile, so try keeping to trails and paths where available. When photographing rare plants, don't step on their family. Do not touch nests, eggs, or the animals themselves.

Walk and pass

In these countries, you have the right to walk or ski across uncultivated lands. That means you can walk if there aren't any farmlands and you are not crossing people's yards and gardens, or disturbing their livestock. Also, if there are newly planted trees in an area, you cannot walk through. For farmland, you may cross fields using existing paths and when they are covered with snow (and risk no damage). In Iceland all cultivated or enclosed areas are exempted and always require landowner's permission (using roads through them is allowed, though). Also in Norway the rights are severely restricted in enclosed pastures near the farms – go for the wilderness instead. Other than that, you can pretty much go wherever you like except specifically protected areas (nature reserves, military or industrial areas etc.).

Take the restriction about farmlands seriously: Some crops, such as yellow canola, are popular for selfies and other photos, leading to careless visitors causing substantial financial damage for farmers. Stay on roads and trails for those pictures.

If there are fences, you should look for gates and follow paths, even if there is no apparent farmland (there might be animals, such as sheep or cattle in the area, so always close any gates you open).

Most reindeer are semi-domesticated and more or less all the wilderness in the reindeer husbandry area is their pasture. That doesn't make the wilderness innmark, but you should take care not to damage fences and to close any gate you open. In some areas in Norway there are wild mountain reindeer; in Finland south of the reindeer husbandry area there are wild forest reindeer. Do not disturb any of these.

The right to access does not apply to motor vehicles, and may be restricted for bikes and horses (depending on country). For these latter, using roads is usually no problem, but keep to existing pathways or check local regulations. Off-roading with motor vehicles usually requires landowner permission, and also some private roads are off limits. When parking, make sure you don't block small roads or forestry exits – many small roads are primarily used by heavy forestry equipment, in addition to local berry pickers. If there is an open barrier on a private road, don't rely on locals not locking it when driving out themselves.

Boat

See also: Boating on the Baltic Sea, Boating in Finland

If using a boat, you should be careful about not disturbing nesting birds, and birds with offspring, in spring and summer. There are often crows and gulls around, waiting for an opportunity to get eggs and chicks. Keep your distance to swimming bird flocks with young and do not land on islets with nesting birds.

You are not allowed to use private jetties without permission, and you should leave a reasonable distance to cottages and the like. In Finland, new cottages usually have to be built 50 m from the shore, which means they are out of sight until you approach land. In popular areas you may have to make many tries before you find a suitable natural harbour not occupied by cottages (cottages are often marked on new charts, but not all of them). In Norway, motor vessels are generally forbidden on lakes and rivers.

When passing houses and cottages by boat or canoe, keep your distance. Some suggest 50 m for canoeing along the shore, but use common sense. If people are swimming by the shore and you aren't in a marked fairway, you should be far enough not to see whether those on land are men or women.

Landing is forbidden in signposted places, such as nature protected areas and military areas, and violators are arrested. Signs to watch out for:

Landing forbidden: Finnish: Maihinnousu kielletty, Swedish: Förbjudet att landstiga
No entry: Finnish: Pääsy kielletty, Swedish: Tillträde förbjudet

Camp and picnic

See also: wild camping

Camping is allowed for at least one night in Sweden, one or two nights in Iceland, in Norway two nights in normal countryside, and as long as you wish in the wilderness, in Finland "temporarily", which means at least one night and at least two nights if you behave, probably more in the wilderness. You should keep distance to houses, huts or farmlands; 150 metres in Norway, and in all countries far enough that you do not inconvenience anyone, and particularly not those in the nearest house. As long as you keep out of the way there should be no problems. In Norway the landowner has the right to tell visitors to leave, if visitors cause damage to the land or in other ways are clearly inconsiderate. In Åland you should ask the landowner if possible, but otherwise staying one day and night should be OK. Obviously at areas specifically designated for camping, such as paid campsites, you will camp near others.

If you have a car, make sure it doesn't inconvenience anyone either. To get out of the way, expect not to be able to camp next to the car, but leave it where it doesn't bother anybody, and get to your camp site by walking. Make sure your car doesn't block the road or any forestry exits.

While "out of the way" might sound harsh, there really is no reason to camp close to anybody who might be bothered by your presence; much of the time there will be kilometres of forest or open space behind anybody's dwelling. Do keep reasonable distance and if in doubt, more is better, as people in the Nordic countries really value personal space.

When in the more densely populated areas, there may be houses and fields everywhere by your route (if you follow roads). But if you take a local road, you will pretty much instantly find routes into the woods (in Iceland you won't find woods, just a road out from the built-up area). A map will help, as some of the roads only lead to houses, more of them in some spots than in others, and some of the woods are too small. In Iceland you may follow private roads and footpaths across fenced pastures, but the right to camp or picnic doesn't apply in such enclosed areas, so continue to the open lands.

This mostly works also near cities, although you need to avoid the suburbs. There are usually many suitable woods in reach by local buses.

For picnicking the same principles apply, but having a picnic where people see you is not a problem. Just keep off anything that can be perceived as a backyard wood to one or a few families.

In many areas the water of springs, streams and lakes can be used even for drinking, though boiling it to get rid of possible biological contaminants can do no harm. Using private wells requires permission, even when they are far from a house – but if you ask for water in a countryside house, they will with few exceptions be happy to help you.

Campfires

Campfires are allowed in some circumstances, but rules differ between the countries. At least do not to cut down any trees and do not risk wildfire, i.e. do not harm the natural environment or economical values. General prohibitions on open fire are common in dry weather in spring and summer, make sure you know where to look for them. A shower or a few are not enough to eliminate the wildfire risk.

Build the campfire in such a way that the fire cannot spread and do not make open fire when wildfires are likely (in practice or according to official warnings, in Finland broadcast with most weather forecasts, in Sweden you have to check locally). Keep enough water on hand to extinguish the fire if it starts spreading or when you are done. When you leave, make sure the remnants are cool, below as well as above the surface. Do not make the fire on smooth cliffs, which will crack, or peat, which is hard to extinguish reliably and can smoulder below the surface invisibly for days only to cause a major wildfire later. Leave no trace, unless there is an established fireplace, which you could mend as needed.

If you do cause a wildfire, you may be liable for civil or criminal prosecution. Courts should be understanding if you did all that you could, and Nordic courts don't want you to get into debt slavery.

In Finland you always need landowner permission, but that permission is granted to the public in large areas of state-owned land in the north. In Iceland fire is permitted outside protected areas where there is no risk for wildfire or other damage (but firewood is scarce). In Norway they are forbidden in the summer (generally 15 April to 15 September, subject to decisions by local authorities), unless the fire is totally safe, such as at built campfire places in suitable conditions. In Sweden campfires are allowed as long as you are careful enough and there is no local (permanent or temporary) prohibition. Make sure you recognize conditions where wildfires can be lit by a spark or fire easily gets out of control.

Note that being allowed to make a fire does not mean you can chop trees for firewood. Also leave aesthetically or ecologically valuable dead logs alone. Use twigs on the ground and similar instead.

In national parks, recreational areas and similar, there are often campfire sites with firewood provided for free (or included in fees for accommodation). If the fireplace is by an open wilderness hut or the like, do not take the firewood from indoors (other than possibly a little to get the fire going), but from the woodshed. If there is little wood in the shed, do not use it, but find the place from which to replenish or give up, leaving the wood for emergencies. If only some of the wood is chopped, chop more to replace what you use.

In any case, do not make excessively big campfires, but use firewood sparingly.

Live off the land

See also: Hiking in the Nordic countries#Eat, Foraging

It is generally OK to pick wild mushrooms and berries, unless they grow in apparently cultivated areas. In Iceland berry picking is restricted to what you eat immediately, in Denmark to "reasonable", non-commercial picking. Picking cloudberry, a yellow raspberry-looking Arctic delicacy, is strictly regulated in northern Norway. Picking and eating some berries is always allowed, though. Also in Finnish Lapland, commercial cloudberry picking may be restricted.

Commonly picked berries include bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus, blåbær/blåbär/mustikka, closely related to the blueberry), wild strawberry (markjordbær/smultron/metsämansikka), lingonberry (tyttebær/lingon/puolukka/jokŋa), bog bilberry (blokkebær/odon/juolukka/bláber/ehtemas), raspberry (bringebær/hallon/vadelma), crowberry (krekling/kråkbär/variksenmarja/čáhppesmuorji; slightly bigger in the north), cloudberry (multe/hjortron/lakka/luomi) and cranberry (tranebær/tranbär/karpalo). The season starts with strawberry in late June, most berries are picked in July–August, lingonberry is ripe in September, and cranberry is at its best after the first frost. There are some poisonous berries, but none that cannot easily be distinguished from any of these edible ones.

Wild nuts can be picked in Norway if you eat them on the spot, in Finland you can freely pick nuts from the ground.

About a hundred species of Nordic mushrooms, in many genera and several families, are regarded good for culinary use, about half of them suitable for the market. Commonly picked "safe" mushrooms include chanterelles (don't pick chanterelles near somebody's house, as those living there probably plan to pick them soon) and many boletes species (which spoil very quickly). Taste and consistency (as cooked) vary widely across species and families. A good cook with some imagination does wonders, although e.g. chanterelles or funnel chanterelles, fried with butter and cream, are nice as such, mostly eaten with boiled potatoes.

If you plan to pick mushrooms, make sure you know the species you are going to eat, and any local doppelgängers. In particular, the European destroying angel and the death cap resemble young field mushrooms – a danger Asian mushroom pickers are not accustomed to. The main dangers are these Amanita species, some webcap mushrooms (Cortinarius) and some mushrooms growing on stubs, but there are many less common or less deadly ones to avoid. Knowledgeable local company is highly recommended. A good mushroom guidebook can help, especially if you have some experience of mushrooms from before. Also perfectly edible mushrooms can get spoiled or just not suit your stomach – don't eat too much of a new acquaintance, and tell about the meal if you get symptoms. The false morel is regarded a delicacy in Finland, but needs to be carefully prepared not to be severely toxic – common failure to be careful enough has got it removed from the list of edible species in e.g. Sweden.

Hunting always requires licences and permission. Hunting rights belong to the landowner and there are specific rules for most game and birds. However, in Finland, there are large tracts of state-owned land managed by the government agency Metsähallitus, where the permission can be simply purchased from Metsähallitus. Two species of ptarmigan are commonly hunted in the Scandinavian mountains and Lapland. The Norwegian state owns land in the high mountains, where permission to hunt rock ptarmigan can be purchased from regional high mountain boards (fjellstyre). The Norwegian state also owns some forest areas where permission to hunt willow ptarmigan can be purchased. Other common game is waterfowl, some pigeon species, hares and small predators. All hunters must pass a test to obtain the hunter's license, big game hunting also requires annual training and shooting test, although the licences can mostly be waived with suitable foreign licences. The hunting season is generally September to Christmas, but varies by species.

Fish

As a general principle, rod fishing is allowed in the ocean (including the Baltic Sea), but prohibited, or very restricted, in freshwater. In Finland there is no difference between the sea and fresh water: there fishing with rod without reel and without artificial bait, and ice fishing with a jig, is included in the right to access, in the sea and in most fresh waters, with streaming water with salmonoids being the main exception (see Finland#Outdoor life). In Norway using living bait or fish as bait is prohibited when using the right to fish in the ocean. In Sweden the biggest lakes are treated like the sea. Mjøsa lake in Norway is generally treated like fjords with some local rules about fishing nets.

There are minimum sizes and other regulations, varying by country and sometimes locally. Check these separately.

The right to access does not include net-fishing or other large-scale equipment. Nets and traps are still often used also in recreational fishing. Most landowners in the countryside own a share of the waters, so if you have a local host you may be able to join such a fishing expedition. You may need to pay a national fee also for this.

A fishing permit for local freshwaters (and general lure and reel fishing in Finland) can usually be purchased easily. Ask e.g. at the tourist agency, or in Finland, any local R-Kioski, which sells the permits.

Leave no trace

No matter where you go and what you do, you are still required to leave no trace of your visit. This means you shouldn't leave any trash behind (including traces of improvised toilets), and make sure your camp site is tidy and will recover quickly. Do not cut down any trees or break off any branches. Don't move stones, don't build cairns, don't take souvenirs. Keep those rules in mind to ensure both the nature you enjoy and the right to access can be sustained for generations to come.

Caveats

In Finland, regardless of land ownership, all inhabitants of any dwelling, including tents, boats and other temporary accommodations have the right to domestic privacy (Finnish: kotirauha, Swedish: hemfrid) in the dwelling and its yard, and violating this right is a crime, punishable by fine or jail. Acts such as inappropriate watching or listening (such as taking a photo of people in their yard), not obeying a demand to go away, making disturbing noise, or entering by stealth or by fraud constitute violations of domestic privacy.

The right to access does not cover motorized vehicles. You can use most private roads, but you must not drive in the terrain. This is especially important in Iceland, with its fragile nature. In Norway, general driving on tractor roads (used for instance for logging) is forbidden. If you find a suitable place to park your car or motorbike (don't block the passage e.g. for logging vehicles), you can still camp like if hiking. If you are going to use a snowmobile, check the specific rules for the area (in Sweden they are generally allowed – except for most places where you would go). There are often maintained snowmobile tracks in popular locations (Finland has an extensive network of snowmobile tracks), which may be the only allowed routes, and for some you have to pay a fee. There are often exceptions for locals, so keep to the marked trails.

If you use a camping van, you should mostly use paid campsites, especially in Norway. Parking lots and rest areas are a scarce resource in the mountains and some other areas, so keeping them occupied for longer than necessary is not popular (although you will probably not hear any comments). In Northern Finland, on the other hand, population is sparse and tourists not many enough for this to be a problem, so staying the night at a rest area or leaving your van for a hike in a wilderness area is OK there. In Finland, there are public unattended lay-bys (Finnish: levähdyspaikka or levähdysalue) on major roads, but the only facilities they have are a picnic table, a trashcan and sometimes a public toilet (often less well maintained).

You will sometimes see "ei läpikulkua" and "no camping" signs. The right to access is mainly about the landowners lack of right to forbid passing through and camping on their lands, so these signs generally have no legal force. But – the signs clearly show that somebody is being inconvenienced by these actions (such signs are often found along popular tourist routes and near the grounds of big events), so you may want to comply. Usually you can just go a few hundred metres farther, make sure you're out of the way and the problem is solved. In Norway landowners have the right to ban camping and other activities in certain areas if such activities cause harm or cause problems for the landowner's use of the area. Although the signs usually have no legal bearing elsewhere in themselves, sometimes they are found in places where camping without permission is indeed forbidden, such as just behind somebody's garden. In other cases many previous visitors have caused problems by e.g. being loud, making illegal campfires and leaving garbage. Although you would not, people in the nearby houses cannot know beforehand, and you don't want to make them nervous about it.

A related issue concerns the facilities around cabins in popular hiking regions in Norway, such as Jotunheimen. Of the many who choose to camp on their own on their hikes, some have still used outhouses of paid accommodation sites – many enough to irritate those maintaining the facilities. Because of that, camping up to two kilometres from these cottages has been forbidden. The limitations are probably legally unenforceable, and many Norwegians would love to be taken to court over it. But as with the "no camping" signs, you may have some sympathy with those not wanting you to camp there, and you probably do not want to go to a Norwegian court. To comply, you have two options: either do not camp near these cabins (there is indeed enough ground to choose from elsewhere), or pay for camping by them. For other Norwegian cabins, the standard 150 m is enough, but paying and using the facilities is of course a good option also for these.

Note that in Finland, camping by infrastructure, such as open wilderness huts, lean-to shelters and campfire sites, is indeed the recommended way (and free), to spare grounds elsewhere. Still, keep some distance (perhaps half a stone's throw), to let also other people use the facilities without thinking they would disturb you. This applies to communal facilities, such as those found in national parks. Domestic privacy applies to yards of private homes, of private cottages and generally of any lodging you aren't allowed to access.

The wilderness is often used as summer pasture for domestic animals such as sheep, goats, cows and even horses. In the north there are also half-domesticated reindeer. Visitors should not disturb animals. Wild animals should also be left in peace.

Respect

Visitors can show good will and keep the peace, by avoiding ill manners which are not (yet) explicitly banned. Loud noises, music from loudspeakers (even when not loud) and heavy drinking are generally frowned upon. Avoid bringing glass containers into the wild, as glass shards are dangerous and don't decompose. If you smoke, bring an ashtray with lid; used matches and cigarette stumps are common causes of wildfire. Carry out the stumps, as they do not decompose.

Paying for a tour guide or renting equipment does not entitle trespassing, or any privileges beyond everyone's right to access; commercial activity may instead be more restricted than independent camping. On the other hand, stimulating the local economy by using local services, such as these, may be appreciated. The tour guide probably has agreements on infrastructure that can be used and knows what areas to avoid, which minimises bad effects of your visit. On the other hand, some activities to which you are invited by tour companies may be controversial; often this is about use of motor vehicles (snowmobiles, personal watercraft, trolling boats, heli-skiing craft).