Sånfjället National Park
Sånfjället is a graceful mountain that rises in lonely majesty above the forest of central Härjedalen. The mountain and the surrounding forest are well-known as among the most important bear habitats in all of Scandinavia. It is also a place of unusually distinct and well-preserved geological formations created by meltwater from the last ice-age glacier.
Sights: The views from Mount Sånfjället. Mountain moorland not grazed by reindeer.
Area: 10,300 hectares.
Established: 1909, extended 1989.
Location: Approximately 15 kilometres south of Hede in Härjedalen Municipality, Jämtland County.
Visiting Sånfjället: It is easy to travel by car to the national park, either to Nyvallen where there is a combined shelter and information facility, or to the Valmen River where there is a parking area and wind-shelter. There are several marked trails which are accessible year around. A good place to enter the park during winter is Nysätern.
Sånfjället mountain rises like an isolated mountain range in the middle of a magnificent forest landscape in Härjedalen. The area is typical for these parts of the mountain regions, even if the towering peak of Sånfjället lends a touch of drama to the landscape.
The highest peak is 1,278 metres above sea level and there is an extensive view from there. Here there are mountain heaths which have not been grazed by reindeer to any great extent, since the park is east of the reindeers' summer grazing. Sånfjället is very rich in boulders. The boulders have often been organised into patterns, so-called stone circles. Traces of the power of the inland ice are visible on the mountain slopes. There is an extensive system of glacial drainage channels formed by water running along the melting edge of the ice.
There are not many plant species, but the fauna is interesting. There has long been a permanent bear population here which wanders over large parts of the park. There is also a large elk population, and lynx.
The foremost sights of Sånfjället are the view from Sånfjället and the mountain heaths.
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