How much does a canoe trip in Värmland cost?
Short answer
A week of DIY canoeing in Värmland costs two people €560–805 for a canoe package at Outpost North in 2027, depending on the month, with the canoe, gear, route app and nature card included, plus food and travel. An organised self-guided 8-day week with The Canoe Trip starts at €265 per person, with the nature card, briefing and support included. Travel from Belgium, the Netherlands or Germany can cost as much as the canoe.
Canoeing in Värmland is cheap compared with most outdoor holidays. Wild camping costs little or nothing, so the bill comes down to the canoe, a small area fee, food and getting there.
Outpost North’s prices are for the 2027 season, the others for 2026. Swedish prices are in kronor (SEK); check the exchange rate when you book.
What you pay for
There are five lines on the budget, and only two are fixed:
- The canoe. Booked by the day as a package or rented by the week, usually with paddles, life jackets, a cart and waterproof barrels.
- The area card. In the Dalsland–Nordmarken lake system and in Glaskogen you need a card that pays for campsites, shelters, fire pits and toilets. Some canoe packages include it.
- Camping. A night or two at a base before and after the trip. Out on the lakes you camp at the card-funded sites.
- Food. You cook on a stove for a week.
- Travel. Fuel, ferries and tolls by car, or a bus, flight or train plus the last stretch.
A week for two: the budget table
This is a seven-day trip for two adults sharing one canoe, self-catering, with their own tent.
| Item | Price | Week for two |
|---|---|---|
| Canoe package at Outpost North, 7 days | €80–115 per canoe per day (2027) | €560 (May) to €805 (July) |
| Dalsland–Nordmarken nature card | 80 SEK per person per night, under 12 free (2026) | included in the package |
| Glaskogen card (if you paddle there instead) | around 80–100 SEK per adult per 24 hours, under 16 free | sources differ, check before you go |
| Tent, if you have none | €15 a day (Outpost North option, 2027) | €105 |
| Parking at the base | €10 a day for a car up to 5.5 m (2027) | €70 |
| Food for the week | your own shopping, or a food pack | see below |
| Car from the Benelux: ferries and tolls | about €190–330 return (estimate from The Canoe Trip) | €190–330 per car |
The Outpost North canoe package
The canoe package is for two people and includes a Canadian canoe, paddles, life jackets, a waterproof barrel, a shovel, canoe wheels, the route in an app plus a map of the lakes, and the DANO nature card. It starts on any day you choose and lasts 1 to 14 days. The price per day depends on the period:
| Period (2027) | Canoe package, 2 people | Kayak package, 1 person |
|---|---|---|
| 1 May – 2 June | €80 | €45 |
| 3 June – 30 June | €95 | €50 |
| 1 July – 13 August | €115 | €60 |
| 14 August – 1 September | €95 | €50 |
| 2 September – 12 October | €85 | €45 |
A third person on the middle seat adds €4 a day. Three days in May cost €240 per canoe, so €120 per person. Seven days in July cost €805 per canoe, about €403 per person.
Other bases set their own prices. Nordmarkens Kanot Center in Årjäng rents a canoe for 2,950 SEK a week (2026), with three paddles, two life jackets, a spade, a cart, two 120-litre barrels and a Trangia stove.
The nature card in Nordmarken
The nature card of Dalsland Nordmarken costs 80 SEK per person per night in 2026 and is free for children under 12. It covers around a hundred campsites with shelters, fire pits and toilets across the lake system. Buying it does not reserve a pitch, and unused nights are not refunded. It comes with the Outpost North canoe package. Otherwise you buy it online, at a canoe rental or at the tourist offices. More on how it works in our article on wild camping in Värmland.
The Glaskogen card
Glaskogen, the nature reserve south-west of Arvika, has its own card. Children under 16 go free. For adults, the published prices differ between sources: around 80 SEK per 24 hours on some pages, 100 SEK on others, with cheaper day cards and multi-day cards. Glaskogen’s own site sells the card online, so check the current price there. Note that the card does not cover a night at the Lenungshammar campsite, and you may stay at most two nights in one place.
Food
Food is the line you control. Swedish supermarket prices are a little above those in Belgium, the Netherlands or Germany, and the shops near the lakes (Bengtsfors, Årjäng, Arvika) are the last ones you pass. Most paddlers bring dry food from home and buy fresh things on the way.
If you would rather not shop, Outpost North adds a food pack to its canoe package at €20 per person per day, with meat or vegetarian (2027): €140 per person for a week. The Canoe Trip sells a week’s food pack at €129 per person. Both are a fair benchmark for what a week of trail food costs when someone else plans it.
Travel
From the Benelux or western Germany, getting there can cost as much as the canoe. By car you pay fuel, motorway tolls and either a ferry (Puttgarden–Rødby, or an overnight ferry to Gothenburg) or the bridges over the Great Belt and the Øresund. The Canoe Trip estimates €190–330 for ferries and tolls on a return trip. Without a car you need a flight to Oslo or Gothenburg plus a transfer, or a long bus ride. Our article on getting to Värmland lists the options.
Outpost North package versus The Canoe Trip
Both start at Outpost North in Gustavsfors, on the same lakes, with similar gear.
| Outpost North canoe package | The Canoe Trip | |
|---|---|---|
| Start day and length | any day, 1 to 14 days | Sundays or Thursdays, 8 days |
| Canoe, paddles, life jackets, canoe wheels, barrel | included | included |
| Nature card | included | included |
| Lock pass for the Dalsland Canal | pay at the locks if your route uses them | included |
| Route | app plus a map of the lakes | trail map with campsites |
| Briefing and support during the trip | ask when you book | English briefing, support, ranger at basecamp |
| Tent, sleeping set, food | options per day: tent €15, sleeping set €15 pp, food pack €20 pp | options: tent €49, sleeping set €39, food pack €129 pp |
| Getting there | own car (parking €10 a day) | own car (parking €70/week), shuttle from Oslo Gardermoen €95, or a night bus from Brussels, Utrecht or Hamburg €155 (from mid-June) |
| Price | €80–115 per canoe per day (2027) | from €265 per person |
Pick the Outpost North package if you want your own start day, or a trip shorter or longer than a week. Pick The Canoe Trip if you want a briefing, a ranger at basecamp and a shuttle or night bus in the same booking.
Where we would start
For a lake trip in Nordmarken we would start at Outpost North. It sits on the water between Lelång and Västra Silen, so you paddle off from the camp in either direction without paying for a transfer. The nature card comes with the canoe package, and huts and glamping tents are there for the first and last night. More on that choice in the best base for canoeing in Värmland.
Sources
Dalsland Nordmarken: nature conservation card, Glaskogen: Glaskogskortet, Glaskogen: canoeing, Nordmarkens Kanot Center: prices 2026, Outpost North, The Canoe Trip.
