Day 1: Green Cows and Sustainable Cooking in Säffle

Eager as a calf on fresh pasture, you head towards Säffle municipality. Here are a plethora of highlights. And aptly, Grön ko café and market hall, in Värmlandsbro, is your first field on the way. Here you find locally produced goods on both shelves and the lunch plate in a rustic environment (old station house). Continue towards the heart of Säffle where a traditional sweet paradise awaits. Holgers pastry shop has nearly 100 years behind it and just the retro sign on the facade puts you in a good mood. The homemade pastries are also hard not to be happy about. Start with a sourdough bread baked in the uniquely preserved stone oven and top up with the paradbakelsen smörbullen. With a sugar-induced delight in your chest, the timing is perfect for Duse Udde, the expansive natural area with Lake Vänern as a neighbor. Walk along the cliffs and enjoy nature in whatever form it comes, and gather energy. Near Duse Udde lies the next serene center. Krokstad Manor takes cooking as seriously as the entrance alley is beautiful. And that’s saying something! Under the leadership of chef Håkan Mattsson, you can enjoy up to a nine-course dinner here. Throughout the menu runs the season’s produce as a green sustainability thread, and expect the unexpected where flavor combinations are anything but boring standard.

Day 2: Rustic and Local at Wiksfors Bruk and Five-Star Visit in Årjäng

After a breakfast made with love at Krokstad, today’s first destination is another exciting Säffle initiative. In little Långserud, the rustic industrial buildings have been brought back to life after many years of dormancy. And what a comeback, indeed. With locally produced, small-scale production, reuse, and creative collaborations as guiding principles, the place has become a destination worth a detour. Explore the interior craft at Wiksfors Bruks butik, Balder design, and Bruket interior. Enjoy a hearty lunch waffle at Wiksforsmagazinet or treat yourself to a wood-fired pizza at Wedbränt (limited opening hours during autumn/winter). Full yet hungry for new impressions, you continue westward to Årjäng. Here is the acclaimed campsite Sommarvik, whose activities have contributed to the campsite achieving five-star status. Embark on a peaceful paddling tour on Västra Silen and gather energy with every stroke. And the water-close experiences in Årjäng do not end there. Check out the locks in Lennartsfors which are among the more impressive in the Dalsland Canal (yes, it also runs through Värmland) for more water fun. Or why not the unique Yggdrasil Igloo Water Huts which provide a fine experience on the water. And in the neighboring municipality Arvika, you can arrange dinner plans. By the water, of course. Barbord offers delightful tapas dishes with a view over Glafsfjorden. Meet Sandman at one of the central hotels or check into the carefully and cheekily renovated school in Jössefors, Guesthouse Eleven.

Day 3: Happy in Glaskogen, Royal Linens, and Wild in Eda

The day dawns and, as the saying goes, the morning hour has gold in its mouth. Meet the sunrise in Värmland’s largest nature reserve, Glaskogen. Here you’ll find no less than 300 kilometers of hiking trails that traverse wilderness and pass countless lakes and waters. You could spend days hiking in the reserve, but this time you return to civilization after a couple of hours of trekking. For in Arvika, there’s more on the schedule. A visit to Klässbols Linneväveri is a must. Here, linen of the highest quality has been woven for over 100 years. The crowning glory is, of course, the status as purveyor to the Royal Court and the responsibility for the Nobel dinner tablecloths. Buy a tablecloth or pillow and take the traditional luxury home with you. More history in style awaits at Rackstad Museum. The museum is a tribute to the artist elite that lived and created in the Arvika region at the beginning of the 20th century. That the art museum is often ranked as one of the most beautiful in the country is no coincidence. The exhibitions are thoroughly astonishing. Before the journey comes to an end, take the road towards Eda. Perhaps you’ll glimpse one of the rare white moose that are more common here in western Värmland than anywhere else? And at Lövås Farm there are exciting options for a powerful finale: wildlife safaris, forest guiding, and wolf evenings are just a few of the possibilities. The conclusion meshes with the trip overall. For in western Värmland, nature experiences – evoking the feeling of a calf on fresh pasture – are never far away.