Text: Moa Eriksson, Jämtland Härjedalen Tourism & Geopark Indalsälven
Would you like to experience something unique during your stay in Jämtland? Then a day trip to Geopark Indalsälven is a perfect choice. With its dramatic landscape, fascinating geology, and historical sites, the area is ideal for nature lovers, families, and curious travelers. Here you’ll find tips on how to make the most of a day in the park, as well as suggestions for extending your stay. The round trip with map directions starting in Östersund (or Trondheim) can be found here.
The first stop is Döda Fallet, just over an hour’s drive from Östersund (100 km). Here you can walk along the dry riverbeds and learn about the attempt to divert the water past the Storforsen waterfall, which transformed the entire landscape. What remained was a dead waterfall and an 800-meter-long dry canyon. Döda Fallet is the heart of the geopark, with a restaurant, a visitor center, wide wooden walkways, gravel paths, a nature trail, and picnic areas – perfect for both children and adults! A good tip is to bring a packed lunch and explore the family-friendly loop trail.
If you want to stay longer in the area, there are several charming accommodations nearby, such as Wilderness Adventures in Sörböle. They offer lodging combined with adventurous outdoor activities, with or without a private guide. For those seeking peace and quiet, this is also the right place to be.
From the viewpoint at Kullstaberget, you have a stunning panorama of the Central Swedish “hilly landscape.” These hills were formed hundreds of millions of years ago when Sweden was a desert, a time when dinosaurs may have roamed the Ragunda Valley. The hot climate caused cracks in the flat rock to weather and erode into deep valleys.
Ragunda Old Church (Ragunda Gamla Kyrka) is a well-preserved medieval church built in the early 1500s. It was constructed using different types of local stone, including the red Ragunda granite and the dark, almost black gabbro, which can be seen in the exposed church walls.
The Goat Cave (Getgrottan) is an impressive site filled with massive boulders, likely transported here by inland ice during one of the ice ages over the past 2.6 million years. According to local legends, goats once sought shelter here during storms. It is also said that the cave was used for worship services, where people prayed for protection of their livestock against predators such as bears and wolves.
If you’d like to stay another night, Zorbcenter in Döviken or Hotel Hammarstrand in Hammarstrand are two good options.
Krångede Hydropower Plant was built between 1931–1936 and was the first to transmit electricity from northern Sweden. In the 1940s, it was the largest power station in Sweden.
At Rödhällan, you can still see traces of the old quarry where people once worked to carve millstones by hand. The hard rock was laboriously shaped into heavy stones used in watermills to grind grain into flour. We know that at least twenty pairs of millstones were transported from here in the 1890s.
High up on Getryggen Ridge, you can hike along winding trails with beautiful views over the Indalsälven River. The ridge was formed more than 10,000 years ago, when the last inland ice sheet melted and then temporarily stopped its retreat. Meltwater rushed through a tunnel inside the ice, leaving behind gravel, stones, and sand. The tunnel’s shape gave the ridge its characteristic “goat’s back” profile.
At Stadsberget, you can look straight into a 1,500-million-year-old magma chamber – once a massive balloon-like cavity formed when molten rock rose from the Earth’s interior and accumulated several kilometers below the surface. Since then, everything above the chamber has eroded away.
Be sure to also stop by Stugun’s Tourist Information Center, or why not continue your journey with a spooky night in Borgvattnet, home to one of Sweden’s most famous haunted houses.
Day 1: Visit Döda Fallet and stay at Wilderness Adventures.
Day 2: Visit Kullstaberget / Hammarstrand, Ragunda Old Church, and the Goat Cave. Stay at Hotel Hammarstrand or Zorbcenter.
Day 3: Visit Krångede Hydropower Museum, Rödhällan, Getryggen, and Stadsberget. Stop by Stuguns Tourist Information or continue on to Borgvattnet.
A visit to Geopark Indalsälven offers not only exciting nature and cultural history but also plenty of culinary experiences. Whether you want to enjoy a long dinner or simply stop for coffee, there are many local flavors to discover during your visit. You can find food and drink recommendations here.