Rock climbing in Sweden

Many of the largest climbing areas in Sweden are found in Southern Sweden around the cities of Stockholm and Gothenburg (Göteborg). Sweden doesn’t have any huge walls found in neighbouring Norway, but there are many excellent crags that are often in spectacular locations. The climbing found in Sweden is mainly single pitch trad and sport routes, along with some excellent bouldering at places such as Vastervik – all generally on superb granite rock.

To the north of Gothenburg is an area known as Bohuslän and is one of Sweden’s best trad climbing and bouldering areas. Bohuslän is characterised by lots of small crags (around 100) situated in a beautiful location with lots of crack climbing on good quality red granite rock - a trad climber’s paradise. The location of the crags is diverse with some being by the sea, in farmer’s fields, or on small hillsides.

All of the crags have a short walk-in, and the routes are generally single pitch with the odd 2-pitch route to go at. The climbing at Bohuslän is varied, the rock quality is exceptional, and a good spread of grades to choose from.

The bouldering at Bohuslän is vast with the 3 main areas being Häller, Väseröd, and Lysekil, with problems across a wide range of grades. The Bohuslän Bouldering Guidebook is a selective guidebook describing 1,000 of the best problems at 20 different locations.

Gothenburg is one of those few cities in the world where it is possible to climb in the centre of the city. Generally the climbing here is trad climbing on vertical or slabby routes with Gardsas, Fjallbo, and Utby being the largest crags. There are sport climbing areas though they tend to be in the higher grades (F6b and above). The sport climbing is on vertical or overhanging rock with Hyltebergen and Aspen being the best. In total there are 29 crags of various size and quality within 40km from the city.

To the east of Gothenburg around the towns of Boras and Alingsas there are 8 climbing areas, with Seglora, Korpaberget, and Tollsjo being among the best. The climbing is on vertical, slightly overhanging or steep slabby walls with a mixture of both trad and sport routes. This area has a wide range of grades, with a large number of bolted routes in the lower grades.

The majority of the routes around Gothenburg are single pitch with the routes on either granite or gneiss rock. The Goteborg rock climbing guidebook describes the best routes in this area, and is in English and Swedish text throughout.

There are numerous crags dotted around Lake Malaren near Stockholm in mid-east Sweden. There are hundreds of both bolted and trad routes across a wide range of grades on excellent granite rock. The largest crags are Aland near the town of Uppsala, along with Simonsberget and Bistaberget near the town of Nykoping.

Simonsberget is regarded as one of the best crags in Sweden that has attracted climbers from all over Scandinavia for decades. Simonsberget is about 500m wide and 70m high, which has a “little Yosemite feeling” about it. The granite is solid and smooth, pierced by straight crack lines that offer hand and finger jams or hard layback moves. Almost all the climbing is vertical or slabby in nature, and the crag has many ledges that naturally lend themselves to multi-pitch climbing. 

The Climbing in the Malaren Valley Guidebook describes the trad rock climbing and sport climbing around Lake Malaren near Stockholm in Sweden, including the crags of Aland, Simonsberget and Bistaberget. Buy this guidebook from our shop.

Vastervik is a small coastal town on the south-east coast of Sweden, about four hours’ drive from Stockholm. In the surrounding countryside there is a mixture of rolling green pastures and thick woodlands. Hidden within these beautiful forests and woodland are great granite and sandstone boulders.

Granite is the predominant rock type found at Vastervik that is very varied with different features, shapes, colours and textures. The style varies from steep, big moves to technical crimping and slopers. This area has over 400 problems across 24 different crags, with the majority of the bouldering is in the Fb 6a to Fb 7c+ grade range. The iconic boulder of the area is at Bjornblocket and is called the Hourglass boulder with the classic problem being Fb 8b.

Around Västervik there is also a number of crags offering both sport climbing and trad climbing (often side-by-side at the same crag). The climbing is mainly on excellent granite rock, along with some gneiss. The vast majority of the routes are single pitch, with the crags situated in picturesque locations. The crags are dotted around 4 main towns, which are Västervik, Åtvidaberg, Gamleby, and Kalmar.  These crags are covered in the Climbing on the Småland Coast Guidebook that describes around 700 sport and trad routes, across a wide range of grades. Buy this Climbing on the Småland Coast Guidebook from our shop.

Kjugekull is a beautiful nature reserve that is also one of the largest and best bouldering areas in Sweden, in a very small area. The granite boulders are scattered throughout the forest with perfect landings, and short walk-ins. In total there are over 1,100 problems with outstanding lines such as cracks and aretes.

The best time of the year to climb in Sweden is from the spring through to the autumn. The summers provide long days, while the autumn is the optimum time with cooler temperatures – especially for the bouldering.

Both Gothenburg and Stockholm have International airports with flights from all over Europe. Due to the spread of the crags in the various areas a hire car is essential.