- Location: east coast of Sweden
- Phone: +46 613 70 02 00
- Website: http://www.sverigesnationalparker.se/skuleskogen
- Area: 32,72 km. square
- Date of creation: 1984.
- Working hours: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Skulskugen is a national park located in Sweden , on the shore of the Gulf of Bothnia, 27 km south of Ornskoldsvik. The part of the coast that Skoelskugen occupies is a UNESCO World Heritage Site; it is called "High Beach".
Skulskugen was founded in 1984, and in 1989 - expanded. Today the area of the park is 3272 hectares, of which 282 are coastal waters, which, together with their inhabitants, are also under state protection.
Landscape
Skulskugen Park has a truly unique landscape: here you can see mountains, sea, forest, marshes. Such a relief was formed as a result of the melting of several glaciers, which, "sliding" to the sea, left stony areas behind them, pierced the gorges. The combination of forests and high mountains on the sea coast for Sweden is quite rare.
Vegetable world
The flora of the park is surprisingly diverse. Here grow coniferous trees, which it is quite difficult to survive on the rocks (however, the pines are the most, and some of them have already reached the age of 500), and even deciduous trees - linden, walnut, Norwegian maple. The latter occupy a very small part of the park - only 42 hectares.
Here you can see dwarf birches, many different bushes, heath fields, cloudberry berries, forest mariannik, cranberries, blueberries. Also in the park there are a lot of different herbs, both annuals and perennials. Skulskugen - the birthplace of several species of fern, a large number of mosses and lichens; some of the species that grow here are listed in the Red Book.
Animal Skinscogene
The park is home to a large number of mammal species typical of northern Sweden. Here live predators:
- brown bears;
- Eurasian lynxes;
- red fox (common);
- martens;
- badgers;
- beavers;
- muskrats;
- ermine;
- mink.
You can meet here and not carnivorous mammals: from the largest (moose) to the smallest (European red squirrel). On the coast there are gray seals.
The park is inhabited by various birds, including:
- kuksha;
- three-toed woodpecker;
- red-throated loon;
- a small flytrap;
- the mace;
- red shrike;
- garden porridge;
- gray-haired woodpecker;
- grouse.
Gray mammals and cranes inhabit the marshes.
But the diversity of the inhabitants of water bodies is not too great: in the lakes there live perch, trout, trout, trout, pike. In the coastal waters is found the Atlantic herring.
Park and people
There were no traces of the permanent residence of a person in the park territory. Some traces of settlements of the Stone Age are found 10 km northwest of Skulskugen. Along the coast there are several dozens of burial chambers, 28 of which are in the national park.
Tourism
There are 3 entrances to the park: from the north (main), west and east sides. Next to them are convenient parking spaces. Near the entrances there are also stands, on which you can see the scheme of the park and other information about it. Several trekking routes pass through the park; their total duration is more than 30 km. Basically they are laid through the eastern part of the Skulskugena. One of the most popular routes is Höga Kustenleden (Höga Kustenleden) - a trail through the High Coast. It crosses the park from north to south, its extent is almost 9 km.
In winter, the park can be used for skiing. Along the coast in spring and summer they ride bicycles. Also Skulskugen offers beach holidays; The most popular is the Salsviken Lagoon, because there is warmer water there than in other places on the coast. Popular with tourists and kayaking.
The most visited place in the park is the gorge Slottdalskrevan; The second most popular are the Slottdalsberget and the location of the burial chambers.
Accommodation
In the park there are 5 so-called shelters, where you can stop. It:
- Norrsvedjebodarna;
- Näskebodarna;
- Tärnettvattnen;
- Tärnettholmarna;
- Tärnettsundet.
They were built even before the territory was declared a national park, and were ordinary private houses.
How to get to the park?
All entrances to Skulskugen are located near the E4 road. The road from Stockholm by car will take 5.5 hours. You can fly from Stockholm to Ernskoldsvik (the flight takes 1 hour 15 minutes), and from there you can reach the park by car in just half an hour along the same E4 highway.