Wilderness in the middle of Sweden, just an hour away from Umeå? Yes, on the beautiful Öreälvsleden trail! I just returned from Sweden and want to share some first impressions with you about this unknown pearl of a hiking trail!

Disclaimer: I was supported financially by Visit Umeå to go backpacking on the Öreälvsleden. But you know: I’m keepin’ it real and tell you how it is - I maintain full editorial control of the content published on Hiking in Finland. Read the Transparency Disclaimer for more information on affiliate links & blogger transparency.

Four days, 124 km, great infrastructure, beautiful autumn colours and a wild river in Sweden - the Öreälvsleden is a trail that rewards. While I go through the thousands of photos I took during my hike and edit the video here’s some first impressions from this beautiful trail in Västerbotten, Sweden.

The start of the trail for me, just a bit outside of Örträsk. Skin-out weight: Too heavy.

If you followed me on Instagram you could see my Stories Live from the Trail =)

A perfect packrafting river, I made the stupid last-minute decision to not take the packraft. Next time I won’t make that mistake!

The autumn colours were sublime.

The Lingonberries were ripe and plentiful.

There was tasty food in the evenings.

The Hapi Sil was pitched.

There was sunshine here and there.

Towards the south the trail became more civilized and I hiked between fields and the river.

And passed through lovely little Swedish villages.

And I rewarded myself with a delicious Calzone, Goat-cheese Salad and Beer back in Umeå!

The full trip-report including details on logistics et al. comes next week, until then I hope you enjoyed these first impressions from the Öreälvsleden trails - and follow me on Instagram to see more of it!