Exploring one of Denmark’s Largest Forests
Located about 35 km south of Aalborg in the northern Jutland in Denmark you’ll find the second largest forest in Denmark. There are a lot of access points and multiple parking spots surrounding the forest and inside of the forest.
Being the second largest forest in Denmark, naturally there’s a lot of ground to cover. I’ll be sharing the route we took and I’m going to go over the viewpoints we visited on your hike.
You can explore different parts of the forest in just a few hours, you can take a day trip walking on one of the many trails or you can do like us and take a couple of days to explore the area sleeping in the forest.
We made out our own route which took is from Skørping to Madum Lake, to Store Blåkilde and Store Økssø, through the Troll Forest and to Rebild Bakker from where we walked back to Skørping to end our trip. We ended up walking for about 35 km, it took us approximately two and half days and we pitched our tent in the forest for the nights.
This was the route we ended up making, starting and ending at the train station in Skørping.
Getting there
As mentioned before the forest is accessible by car no matter which corner of the world you’re entering from. You can choose to park by one of the lakes, Madum Sø or Store Okssø. Park in the city of Rebild to enter at Rebild Bakker, where you’ll also find a visitor’s center, maps, and water. If you’re not going by car, you can either enter the wilderness from Arden to the south or Skørping to the north, which both have a train station. At Skørping library, right by the train station you can get maps of the forest as well.
The area marked in blue is the area were you are allowed to pitch a tent. Source: www.udinaturen.dk
Sleeping in the forest
Because most of the forest is privately owned it is rather difficult to find a tenting spot or a place with a shelter in the eastern part of the Forest.
You’ll have a much better shot at finding accommodation suitable for a tent, sleeping bag or hammock in the northern and western parts. Here you’ll find primitive camping spots, shelters, water posts and large areas where you can freely pitch a tent for the night.
At this website with an interactive map you can toggle different needs on and off. Unfortunately, it’s in Danish and can’t be translated.
Here’s a little help, but Google Translate is your friend.
- Frit teltningsområde = tenting area
- Primitiv overnatningsplads = Primitive camp site
- Lejrplads = camp site
- Primitive overnatningsplads med shelter = primitive camp site with shelters
- Bålplads = fire pit
- Vandpost = water post
- Vandrerute = hiking trail
If you decide to pitch your tent in the permitted area of the forest, there are a few rules to follow:
- Maximum one night in the same spot.
- Maximum two tents in the same spot.
- Maximum 3-person tents.
- No open fire. Stoves and burners are allowed.
- Pitch your tent under trees away from trails and neighbours.
- Clean up after yourself and take your trash with you.
Read more at this website.
Madum Lake as seen from one of the “beaches”.
Madum Lake
The biggest of the two lakes on this route is Madum Lake (Madum Sø), which covers 2,04 square kilometres and has a depth of 7,5m at its deepest. The lake and a great part of the surrounding area are protected and part of EU’s Natura-2000 protected areas. This is partly because of the rich bird life and because of the beech forests surrounding the lake which are some of Denmark’s biggest and oldest.
The water in Madum Lake is exceptionally clear and of very high quality, making it the perfect place for certain plants to grow. A lake like this is called a Lobelia-lake, named after a rare water plant which can only grow in water like this.
This great blue pearl is easily accessible by car as there’s a parking lot on each side of the lake to the west and the east. By those parking lots you’ll also find the two beaches suitable for entering the lake. Wanting to walk around the lake there’s a 7,1 km trail taking you all the way around.
The spring Store Blåkilde.
Store Blålilde
This natural basin spring is located south-southwest of the Madum Lake. If you’re driving the easiest way to get there is by Route 519, Møldrupvej, which runs between Skørping and Astrup. Here you’ll find a parking lot and across the road there’s a path leading to the spring.
The spring was once thought to be the largest in Denmark but has been overtaken by three others. That doesn’t make it any less impressive though. Pumping 80 litres of water per second from the underground the water is in constant movement, you can even see the small jet-like streams flowing from the bottom. The white you see at the bottom is partly white sand and partly chalk making the spring completely bright and clear mirroring the blue sky.
Because the water is coming from the underground and constantly moving you are allowed to drink it. Always check your route for water accessibility. If you must drink water you find on the trail, only drink from running sources, it minimizes the risk of bacteria but doesn’t eliminate it.
Store Økssø.
Store Økssø
This lake is located in an area where it’s allowed to pitch a tent. The land is no longer privately owned, and therefor you’ll also run in to more water posts and campsites.
Store Økssø is the kind of lake called a brown water lake. They are rare in Denmark and are called so because of their colour. Fret not, the lake is not polluted, the colour simply comes from organic materials from the surrounding nature.
Despite the colour the water is quite clean, and you are allowed to bath in the lake. The best place is at east side where you’ll find a bathing jetty.
The lake doesn’t hold a lot of water plants or fish, but many water lilies grow in the southwest part of the lake. The lake is protected by the Natura-2000 initiative to protect the different types of nature, animals, plants, and birds.
The trail around the lake is about 3 km and takes you through beech forest and pine forest.
By car it will be the easiest to park at the restaurant Mosskovspavillionen and walk to the lake.
Walking to Store Økssø from Madum Lake is a bit tricky as there is no direct trail but having a map to guide you makes it a lot easier. It takes approximately one hour to walk from one lake to the other depending on which sides you are on.
Troll Forest, also know as the Magic Forest.
Troll Forest
The Forest of Rold covers 80 square kilometres and consists of different areas all named something different.
One of those areas is the Troll Forest, always known as the Magic Forest. This area got its name because of the very old, crooked, and tortuous beech trees which grow here. The trees look like this because they’ve been cut down multiple times, because of wind, frost, and from animals rubbing their backs on them or eating from them.
Troll Forest is the oldest part of Rold Forest and still holds some of the original trees that first roamed these lands. The Danish Nature Agency passed a nature-forest-strategy in 1992 serving to protect and preserve forests around the country. The Troll Forest and Urskoven (another part of Rold, close by) are under this initiative and are so-called “untouched forest”, which means it’s illegal to cut the trees or otherwise change the environment. Because of this the forest will slowly return to what they originally were and become wilder.
Located to the west you’ll find multiple trails taking you to Troll Forest from almost every direction. From Store Økssø it’s a rather short walk at about 3,5 km.
By car you can park at Rebild Porten and walk through Rebild Bakker or you can access the forest from route 180, Hobrovej. Follow the signs leading to parking inside the forest.
While in Troll Forest look for “Skovtårnet”, which literal meaning is Forest Tower. This will give you a grand view of Rebild Bakker.
Rebild Bakker seen from Skovtårnet.
Rebild Bakker
Rebild Bakker, known in English as Rebild National Park, is one of the most well-known and well visited areas of Rold Forest.
There are multiple trails leading you up and down the heather-covered hills, which offer great views of the whole area.
The 200-acre hilly landscape was originally owned by a group of Danish Americans. They gifted the land to the Danish government in 1912 under the conditions that the area must remain in its original condition, the park must be open to the public all year long, and that the area will serve as a venue for the annual 4th of July celebrations.
Almost every year since 1912 the American Independence Day has been celebrated by large crowds, and it is self-proclaimed as the largest 4th of July celebration outside of the states.
The park is easily accessible by car and by foot. At the town of Rebild you will find all the info and all the maps you’ll need to explore both Rebild Bakker and Rold Forest at the visitors center Rebild Porten.
