In the month of July, Stockholm City is empty. Offices, shops and restaurants are closed. People leave to their summer houses to enjoy the fleeting, yet spectacular Swedish summer. It is also the chance to go hiking.

I joined an online group for Hiking Outdoors in Sweden (Link). Members of the group plan a hike once or twice a month and each event has about 10 – 15 people. I joined the event for a 25 km hike from Grisslehamn to Sandviken/Älmsta in July. This was part of Roslagsleden or Roslags trail (Link). It is a part of a European E6 trail running from Turkey in the South to Northern Finland and we took Roslagsleden 11.

We met at Danderyds Sjukhus at 0900 hrs and took the bus to Norrtälje. We had a brief stopover and walked around. Close to the bus stop is a small stream. After clicking few pictures, we then took the bus to Singö and stopped at Grisslehamn. The whole journey took 2 hours.

We started the hike at 1130 hrs. The path is clearly marked out with orange markings on trees, electricity poles and rocks etc. Initially, we passed through forests and gravel paths. After walking for about an hour, we stopped for a light snack. Everyone had bought food and drinks. The weather was perfect.!

The walk in the first couple of hours was relatively easy. Flat terrain through a forest. It progressively got tougher. There were times when there was no path. We only had the orange markers as guidance. We had an hour break for lunch at one of the many beaches along the way.

Along the way, there were many spectacular views. Even though we decided not to have frequent stops, we couldn’t resist spending time taking pictures and admiring the nature. One of the fascinating places along the way was a rocky beach about 5 km away from Sandviken. Waves crashing and a light sea breeze!! Mycket bra!

The final third of the journey was hectic. We reached Sandviken at about 1730. We still had 5 – 7 km more and had to reach the bus stop at Älmsta by 1845 to catch the bus to Norrtälje. Otherwise, the next bus was an hour later. So, we jogged the final stretch (after walking for more than 20 km, Duh!!). By the time we reached the bus stop, we were all pretty exhausted. Overall, 7 hours wasn’t enough. The total distance was more than 25 km, maybe 27 – 28 km. Either it is better to take less stops which means missing out on the views or to add couple of hours to the overall trip.

Some other pics: