After Robert and I paddled our kayak for about two hours, we finally found what we were looking for – a deserted island. No one on it or even around it for miles, a sandy protected beach and enough flat ground to pitch a few tents on. We text messaged the gps coordinates to our friends so they could find us and began gathering firewood.
Guest blog by Sandra Carpenter
Then I laughed at just how good we had it. While Stockholm itself is beautiful, what I love most about it is just outside of town – its archipelago on the Baltic Sea.
I’m always amazed by how accessible these islands are and how easy it is to find complete solitude that’s within cell phone range. Plus, there’s a lot to explore, the city is made up of 14 islands while the archipelago has 28,000.
Stockholm was made for enjoying the water in every way possible, from boating and sailing to kayaking and canoeing to swimming, fishing and even ice skating in the winter.
From the centre, we had taken a bus and then a ferry to Utö, an island in the southern part of the Stockholm archipelago. We carried our camping gear, clothes and enough food and drink for a few days in backpacks and mini coolers. On the way, we got a call from our friend Annelie. I’d told her what we were doing and she and some other friends decided to join us as it was a perfect summer day – 25 degrees and sunny. “We’ll just kayak with you for the day and skip the camping,” she said.
Enjoying the water in the Stockholm archipelago
As our friends drove a good part of the way, they were able to meet us shortly after we arrived. We rented two-person kayaks on the island, packed our gear into the front and back holds and slipped an archipelago map in a plastic cover into the webbing of the boat. After putting on life vests and spray skirts to keep dry, we were off.
We paddled past island after island, checking out our options for a place to stop for lunch. Formed from ancient rock that has been worn smooth over the centuries, the islands come in many shapes and sizes and can be big enough for a picnic, a house or a town. If there are houses, they are more than likely wood and traditionally painted falu rödfärg – a deep red paint that’s weather resistant.
The island we found was big enough to hold the six of us, our kayaks and about five pine trees. We laid in the sun on the flat rocks and ate a picnic lunch.
Spontaneously, Jaakko said, “Isn’t this great? I think we should stay overnight too.” The rest of the group quickly agreed and while they paddled back to Utö to buy tents and sleeping bags, Robert and I set out in our kayak to look for a camping spot.
The best of Stockholm: island hopping
We explored a few islands, rejecting those where we saw boats tied up or if the rocks looked too steep to pull up and land our kayaks on. Thanks to allemansrätten – the right of public access – everyone is allowed to enjoy the land and water by walking, skiing, camping, sunbathing, swimming or picking berries. As long as you don’t camp within sight of a house, you can pitch your tent and camp anywhere you like.
At last, we found our island. It had a sandy beach that we could paddle right up to, there was an inlet surrounded by rocks so we would have a protected place to swim and just off the beach was a flat and grassy area under the pine trees – the perfect place to pitch our tents. Better still, there were underwater electrical cables by the beach and that meant no motor boats could pull up and anchor by us.
So we sms’d the coordinates to our friends, set up our tent and gathered firewood. There was already a fire pit area surrounded by stones and even a couple logs to sit on by it. We had everything we needed – Annelie and Naomi had bought wine and food, while Jaakko and Dirk bought tents and sleeping bags.
Combining all our food into one big feast, we cooked sausages, steaks and vegetables over the open fire. By the fire, we swapped childhood stories of growing up – between us we were American, Australian, Finnish and South African.
As it was July, it never got dark and we watched the sunset colours change for hours until the sun began coming out fully again at 3am. The next morning, we had a swim and hung out on our beach. It was about as close to perfect as life gets.
There’s such a feeling of wide-open space in the Stockholm archipelago and it’s so accessible year round, however you decide to explore it. I’ve taken cruise ships, ferry, steam, sail and motor boats there. I’ve even been on yachts and fast speed RIB boats. And I’ve loved them all. But there’s nothing like island hopping by kayak to really give you the feel of the water and to see the beauty of the islands up close.
Sandra Carpenter is an American writer living in Sweden with her Australian husband Robert Corkery.
Category: Blog
[...] So I guess it comes as no surprise that I love being on the water in Stockholm, particularly on the archipelago. My guest post about one of my favorite kayaking trips on the archipelago can be found on LiveShareTravel. [...]