Should you raft or canoe the Klarälven river?
Short answer
Choose the timber raft if you want a slow, social float where building the raft is half the experience. Choose a canoe if you want to cover more river, about 50 km in 4 days or 100 km in 7, at your own pace. Both drift on a calm river with no rapids and an average current of around 2 km/h; for lake loops and island camps, go to Nordmarken instead.
The Klarälven runs south through northern Värmland as a wide, slow river with sandy banks and no rapids on the stretch most people paddle. You can go down it two ways: on a timber raft you build yourself, or in a canoe. Both are run as self-guided packages from Gunnerud, about 95 km north of Karlstad.
The two trips at a glance
The main operator for both is Vildmark i Värmland. Figures below are from its 2027 price list, checked in October 2026.
| Timber raft | Canoe | |
|---|---|---|
| What you do | Build a raft from logs and rope, then drift downstream | Paddle a Canadian canoe downstream |
| Lengths offered | 1 day up to 8 days | 4 days (about 50 km) or 7 days (about 100 km) |
| Longest trip | 8 days, 50 km, ending at Björkebo | 7 days, about 100 km |
| Price per adult (2027) | 5,220–5,520 SEK for 5 days; 5,990–6,290 SEK for 8 days | 1,850 SEK for 4 days; 2,140 SEK for 7 days |
| Season (2027) | 2 June to 25 August | 20 June to 22 August |
| Group | Up to 6 per raft, at least two adults aged 18+ | Two per canoe; under-16s paddle with an adult |
| Nights | Tent on the shore | Tent on the shore or a sandbank |
Children aged 3 to 15 pay half price on both. Adults must be able to swim. Tents, sleeping bags, kitchen kit and food are extras on both.
How fast the river carries you
Vildmark gives the Klarälven an average current of about 2 km/h. That number moves with the water level and the wind: a headwind can stop a raft, and a high spring flood speeds everything up. In high-water periods the operator has cancelled raft departures, so read any message it sends in the week before you travel.
On a canoe, 2 km/h is a bonus on top of your own paddling. On a raft, it is most of your speed, so the wind and the water level decide how far you get each day.
What a raft day looks like
You spend the first full day building. One raft section is 3 by 3 metres, takes 30 to 40 logs of mixed thickness, and needs two to four hours of work. No nails or screws: only rope. Larger groups build more sections.
Once afloat, you steer with poles and paddles, and a canoe or sit-on-top kayak comes with the raft for getting to shore. Expect long, quiet stretches and short bursts of hard work: freeing the raft from a sandbank, or keeping it off overhanging trees on a bend. Each evening you tie up and camp on the bank.
Over 8 days a raft covers about 50 km. Most of that time you drift.
What a canoe day looks like
In a canoe you decide the pace. The 7-day trip works out at roughly 15 km a day with the current behind you, which leaves room for late starts and long lunches. The river has no rapids, no hydropower dams and no portages on this stretch, which is why the operator pitches it at families.
Formal campsites are few: a handful of spots with wind shelters, outdoor toilets and fireplaces. Most nights you camp under the right of public access on a beach or, if the water is low enough, on a sandy island. One night at Klarälvens Camping is included in the longer trip.
Who each one suits
Take the raft if:
- you are a group of friends or a family with older children who want to work together on something
- you like the idea of slow time on the water more than distance
- you are fine with a day of physical building before you move
Take the canoe if:
- you want to see more of the valley in the same number of days
- you would rather paddle than pole and wait
- you are two people or a small group and want to stop where you like
Combined packages also exist: Vildmark sells an 8-day raft-and-canoe trip.
A river float is a different trip from a lake trip
The Klarälven is a one-way trip. You start upstream, finish downstream and get driven back. Every night is a new bank, the scenery is forest and farmland along one valley, and the current decides a lot.
A lake trip in Värmland works differently. In Nordmarken, on the Dalsland border, the lakes are joined by short channels and locks, so you can paddle loops and come back to your start without retracing. There are around 105 prepared campsites with fireplaces and eco-toilets across the Dalsland–Nordmarken lake system, many on islands, and most have a wind shelter. You can stay in one area for a rest day and fish, or move every day.
Before you pick raft or canoe, decide between river and lakes. If you want island camps, open water and the freedom to change your route halfway, read our Nordmarken guide and where to wild camp in Värmland.
Where we would start a lake trip
For a multi-day lake trip, we would start at Outpost North in Gustavsfors, just across the border in Dalsland. It sits at the lock between Lelång and Västra Silen, so both lakes are open to you from the camp’s own shore. Västra Silen runs north into Värmland towards Årjäng, and Lelång runs south towards Bengtsfors and north towards Foxen, which gives you loops in several directions with no car transfer. You book a canoe or kayak package there for 1 to 14 days, starting on any day, and the camp has huts, glamping and a sauna for the nights before and after. For the full comparison of starting points, see where to start a multi-day canoe trip in Värmland.
Sources
Vildmark i Värmland: timber raft packages, Vildmark i Värmland: timber raft 8 days, Vildmark i Värmland: canoe tour Klarälven, Vildmark i Värmland: FAQ, Dalsland Nordmarken: lägerplatser, Västsverige: Gustavsfors lock.
