Is Glaskogen a good place for a canoe trip?
Short answer
Yes, for a trip of one to five days. Glaskogen is Värmland's largest nature reserve, with 150 km of paddling routes, about 40 wind shelters, firewood and a canoe centre at Lenungshammar, all paid for by the Glaskogen card. Its routes stay within one reserve and its own longest tour takes 4–5 days, so for longer loops with more variety, Nordmarken on the Dalsland border gives you more water.
Glaskogen is a nature reserve south-west of Arvika, set up in 1970 to keep a large area of forest and lakes open for outdoor life. For canoeists it is one of the best-organised areas in Värmland. Here is what to expect, what it costs and where its limits are.
Glaskogen in numbers
| Area | Just under 29,000 hectares, Värmland’s largest nature reserve |
| Paddling routes | 150 km |
| Lakes | About 80 lakes and tarns (fishing licence area) |
| Largest lakes | Stora Gla and Övre Gla |
| Wind shelters | About 40, with fireplaces and firewood |
| Hiking trails | 300 km |
| Base | Lenungshammar: infocentre, campsite, canoe centre, Café Carl |
| Managed by | Länsstyrelsen Värmland, run by Stiftelsen Glaskogens Naturreservat |
The canoe tours
Glaskogen suggests four standard round tours. You can combine them, or link them to surrounding lake systems for something longer.
| Tour | Time | Level | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buvatten | 2–3 hours | Easy | Good for beginners |
| Övre Gla | 1–2 days | Medium | Large lake, can turn windy quickly |
| Stora Gla | 2–3 days | Medium | The eastern part is the most scenic |
| Lelången | 4–5 days (or 3) | Medium/difficult | Many small lakes, you carry the canoe between them |
Do not mix up Glaskogen’s Lelången with Lelång, the long lake on the Dalsland border near Bengtsfors. They are different lakes in different parts of Värmland and Dalsland.
The big lakes suit canoes and kayaks. On the smaller waters you lift and carry often, which is why the reserve suggests packrafts for them.
The Glaskogen card
You need the Glaskogen card when you paddle, hike or cycle in the reserve and use its shelters, cabins, fireplaces, firewood, toilets or bins. The money goes straight to maintaining the area.
- Children under 16 go free. Groups can ask for a discount.
- Buy it online at glaskogen.se, at the infocentre in Lenungshammar, the tourist office in Arvika, Arvika Kanot & Turistcenter or the petrol station in Glava.
- The card does not cover a night at the Lenungshammar campsite.
- Check glaskogen.se for the 2027 price before you go.
A fishing licence is separate. It covers about 80 lakes and tarns, and fishing in running water is banned.
The rules
The reserve’s regulations come before the general right of public access.
- Camping: two days at most in one place. Pitching a tent for longer needs the landowner’s permission, unless you are at a public campsite.
- Fires: from 15 April to 15 September, only at the numbered fireplaces at shelters and rest areas. When the total-ban flag is up, no fires at all. Gas stoves are allowed at rest areas and campsites.
- Dogs: on a lead, and not on bathing beaches.
- Boats: 7 knots maximum, except in the central part of Stora Gla.
- Bird protection areas: four of them, closed from 1 April to 31 August (to 31 July on Lelången), including 100 m out into the water.
Renting a canoe at Lenungshammar
The Glaskogen canoe centre rents aluminium Linder canoes with a canoe cart, paddles, life jackets, a sponge and a spade, plus single and double plastic kayaks with rudders. It does not rent canoes before 13 May, and not in bad weather or when the water is too cold.
Opening hours in 2026 were 10:00–15:00 from 15 May to 17 June, 09:00–17:00 from 17 June to 1 September, and shorter hours to the end of September. The whole site is cash-free. Arvika Kanot & Turistcenter also runs Glaskogen tours, with transport from Arvika.
When to go
July and early August are the main season: the infocentre runs its longest hours, 09:00–20:00, from 29 June to 16 August (2026). In that period, bring a tent in case the shelter you aimed for is full. June and the second half of August are quieter, and September is calm but the canoe centre’s hours are short.
Mobile coverage is weak in parts of the reserve. Carry the waterproof 1:50,000 Glaskogen map.
Where Glaskogen fits, and where it does not
Glaskogen works very well for a first trip, a family weekend or a three-day loop on Stora Gla. The shelters are close together, the firewood is ready, and the infocentre is staffed.
The limits are about size. The routes form a set within one reserve, the longest standard tour is 4–5 days, and that tour has many carries. You also share the main lakes with everyone else who starts from Lenungshammar.
If you want a week of paddling with more variety and fewer carries, look at Nordmarken. There, the border lakes connect by locks into the Dalsland–Nordmarken system, with around a hundred DANO campsites. See How do you canoe in Nordmarken? and the side-by-side in Where is the best place to canoe in Värmland?.
Our pick for a longer loop
Where we would start for 5 days or more: Outpost North at Gustavsfors, on the Värmland–Dalsland border. Lelång and Västra Silen both start at its jetty, so you can paddle different loops each day without a transfer. You book a canoe package there that starts on any day and lasts 1 to 14 days, with the route in an app and the DANO nature card included.
Sources
Glaskogen: canoeing, Glaskogen: about the reserve, Glaskogen: card, Glaskogen: prepare your visit, Glaskogen: regulations, Glaskogen: camping and opening hours, Länsstyrelsen Värmland: Glaskogen, Visit Värmland: canoeing in Arvika, Dalsland Nordmarken (DANO), Outpost North.
