Østmarka National Park

Østmarka is the big forest on Oslo's eastern doorstep, and in 2023 the wildest part of it became Norway's newest national park, 54 km² across Oslo, Lørenskog, Rælingen, Enebakk and Nordre Follo. The land runs in long ridges and clefts from north to south, so the lakes are long and narrow, sometimes with steep rock walls on both sides. On the bare knolls grow pine and heather, down in the clefts spruce forest and richer plants like hepatica. Wolves have lived here since 2012 and have had several litters, there is lynx too, and moose and roe deer are common. Beavers were wiped out in the late 1800s, but in 1975 two pairs were set out again, and today you see their work along the water. In summer ospreys hunt over the lakes.

Local knowledge: from the 1750s and well into the 1800s, small sawmills sprang up all over the forests around Oslo, and the timber had to get to town. In Østmarka alone more than 2.000 drivers with 4.000 to 5.000 horses hauled planks between lake Øyeren and Kristiania. Their shortcut was Plankeveien, the plank road. It started at Eikeberg and Børter in Enebakk, crossed the ice of Børtervann, went up past Rausjø, Vangen and Skjelbreia, then on via Elvåga to Nøklevann, Rustadsaga and down to the city. Rustadsaga itself had a sawmill from the 1600s until 1954. Kjell Aukrust fans know it from Flåklypa: Solan Gundersen worked at the sawmill at Rustadsaga before he joined Reodor Felgen. Today Plankeveien is cleared and marked as a ski track.

Visiting: the pin is the free car park at Rustadsaga by Nøklevann, at the edge of Oslo, where the old sawmill site has a café. From here paths and ski tracks lead east into the forest, and the park border is a couple of kilometres in. You can also come by bus or metro from the city centre. There are lots of small hills, so even on busy days you can walk for hours without meeting anyone, and many of the lakes are popular for fishing. Motor traffic is not allowed in the park, drones are banned, and in zone A (the old Østmarka nature reserve) cycling is not allowed. More: the park's official page.