Lierne National Park

Lierne, Lijre in South Sámi, is a quiet piece of border country east of Trondheim, where Norway runs straight into Sweden's Hotagen nature reserve. Most of the park is low, rolling mountain, except Hestkjølen, whose top reaches 1.390 m. The landscape is pure ice age. When the ice melted it left Rogen moraines, low ridges 5 to 10 metres high that dam up countless small lakes, plus eskers and meltwater channels. In Norway you find this kind of landscape only here, east of Femundsmarka and at Elgsjøen in Oppdal. The park covers 333 km² and was protected in 2004. Wolverine, lynx, arctic fox and brown bear live in the area, but don't count on seeing them.

Local knowledge: the park sits right on the watershed: some streams run east to the Baltic, others west to the Norwegian Sea. People have used this land for a very long time. There are trapping pits from the Bronze Age, an iron smelting site from the 500s and South Sámi settlements, graves and sacred sites. Lierne also has the highest density of brown bears in Norway, because bears keep wandering in from Sweden, and the beaver is back after dying out here around 1850. The park was officially opened in 2006 by Crown Princess Mette-Marit, and a monument stone inside the park marks the day.

Visiting: from the E6, take Fv74 east towards Gäddede. At Muru, turn right at the brown sign for the national park and follow the toll road (pay by SMS or cash) to Øvre Jakthytta in Raudberglia. The pin is the car park there, the park's official gateway, with a small hut, a fire place and an information board. In winter the road is not cleared, and you ski or walk in. A marked, partly boardwalked path leads about 3 km into the park to the monument stone, around 2 hours there and back. Experienced hikers can do a summer round trip up Lutterdalen and down Fiskløysdalen. You need a licence to fish, and there are reindeer in the area. Before you go, the national park visitor centre in Lierne has an exhibition on living with predators and a geology park outside. More on the park's official page. Nearby in our guide: Lierne Gjestegård.