🇬🇧 Lake Shore Trail (1.2km) - Winter/ Summer

7 ECHOES

Location: Abisko, Norrbotten, Sweden

Guided by Nature

This is a gentle walk from the STF Tourist Station through birch woodland to the shore of Läke Tornetrask, where you will find a picnic area and sauna. This audio experience is 1.2 kilometers, and it takes up to 20 minutes to reach the lake shore.

Start this trail

This is a gentle walk from the STF Tourist Station through birch woodland to the shore of Lake Torneträsk, where you will find a picnic area and sauna. This audio experience explores lake, snow science, and winter wildlife in Abisko. It is 1.2 kilometers, and it takes up to 20 minutes to reach the lake shore.

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Snow depth science

Perhaps it doesn’t feel very warm now as you visit in the winter, but the Arctic is warming two to four times the rate of the lower latitudes, making Abisko is a really important place to study climate change.

There’s a scientific research station in Abisko, between the tourist station and the village. The research station was established in 1913, and, because scientists have been recording data on things like snow depth, precipitation, temperature and wind since the station first opened, we’ve got a rare opportunity to see how Arctic weather and climate has changed over the past century.

Image: Josefine Walz

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Moose

Abisko has some of the lowest snowfall each winter in the region, which makes it a great place to look for moose when you’re out hiking through the national park. They find it easier to come down from the mountains here and to walk through the birch forests. In the winter, moose will eat the thin branches and buds of birch and willow, as well as the bark from trees. When you’re out hiking, look out for birch and willow with cropped branches. There’s a good chance that it’ll have been eaten by a hungry moose!

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Reindeer

Reindeer have an amazing sense of smell and can find lichen and moss under deep snow, and lichens are a crucial food source for reindeer in the winter, when grazing opportunities are slim. They use their hooves and antlers to dig through snow to eat the lichens clinging to the ground beneath. In recent years, winter warm periods bring rains, often on top of existing snow. This creates layers of ice, which are much harder for reindeer to dig through and makes accessing food difficult and energy intensive. The winter health of reindeer is crucial as many of the females will be carrying their young whose development and survival depends on her access to winter foods. It is very important to not disturb the reindeer in the winter as it leads to increased energetic costs and reduced time foraging. Enjoy them from a distance.

Image: Elisa Ferrari

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Birch forest

The mountain birch forest is great habitat for birds. Over 200 bird species have been observed in the Abisko area. In the winter, you might see bullfinches, where males have a beautiful pink breast while the females are grey. Great tits, green finches, redpolls, and magpies will chatter as you pass them in the trees. Look at the top of the tallest trees that you pass, too, as you might see a northern hawk owl perched and watching over the landscape. Image: Betula-pubescens

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Northern Lights

If you have clear dark skies, there is a very good chance you will see the aurora borealis or northern lights if you spend some time outside. The solar winds interact with the earth’s magnetic field create often beautiful auroras of green, purples, and blues. Even on days were there appears to be no visible auroras, taking a long-exposure photo will reveal whisps of green above your head.

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Lake Ice Science and End of trail

You’ve reached the lake! There’s a great picnic spot here and seats for you to enjoy the view, and there’s also a sauna and lake ice hole that you can book to use at the tourist station.

In the winter, it can be an amazing experience to go out on the ice of Lake Torneträsk, since it is not something that you can do in the summer. Make sure that it has fully frozen (often between late January and May, and don’t try to walk on the ice near the canyon. Ice forms much less thickly near moving water.

Image: Oliver Wright

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