Femundsmarka National Park

East of Lake Femunden the ground is mostly stone. Femundsmarka is a land of boulder fields, long gravel ridges, crooked old pines and so much water that lakes and rivers cover more than a tenth of the park. Rounded tops rise above it all, the highest being Storviglen (1.561 m) in the north and Elgåhogna and Stor-Svuku in the south. The park was first protected in 1971 and today covers 573 km². Together with the reserves on the Swedish side it is one of the largest wild areas in southern Scandinavia. The reindeer you meet belong to Southern Sámi herders. Even a few musk oxen live here, descendants of a small group that wandered over from Dovrefjell in 1971.

Local knowledge: the story goes that Femundsmarka was the last land God made. The good soil was used up, so only rocks were left, and when he saw how grey it looked he filled every hollow with water. Once the hills around Røros were cut bare, this became the main timber area for the copper works. You can still see stone walls built along the Røa river to help the log floating, and in 1764 a canal was dug from Femunden to Lake Feragen so timber could float on towards Røros – Femunden lies 8 m higher, so the logs ran by themselves. Plans to regulate Femunden for hydropower came up in the late 1960s, but the licence was refused in 1973, the first time such a plan in Norway was stopped for nature's sake.

Visiting: follow Fv 221 Femundveien north from Femundsenden to Elgå. The visitor centre has a car park, an exhibition on Southern Sámi reindeer herding and local history, and lends out twig stoves for free (open daily late May to early October). A trail starts right at the entrance, and the road to the DNT hut Svukuriset is open to bikes. In summer the old boat MS Fæmund II, on the lake since 1905, calls at Elgå on its way to Synnervika. All trees, living or dead, are protected. Use only small twigs for a fire, don't camp on the islands, and keep dogs on a lead from 1 April to 20 August. Links: the park's own website and the park's official page.