I'm trying to plan some hiking for the christmas break and would like advices. What are good places to be in december/january? I do have camping gear which should work for cold places but want to have some village or station that's operating now, so that I can buy food, say every other day. I'm willing to buy or rent snowshoes (or skies although I have little experience with them) if necessary and don't mind walking in dark with headlight (but of course it would be nice to see the scenery). I just bought the STF membership and searched but it seems there's big distance between vandrahems that's open now. Maybe I should stay in one place and make roundtrips from there? Also I don't drive so need to use public transport to get to places. I'm flexible on schedule though, for the next 2-3 weeks. Any recommendation is appreciated!
hiking in december/january
- Trådstartare sanchocobo
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Very wide question. Many of STF mountain huts are not open now, check on STF homepage. You could base yourself somewhere and do 1-2 day trips in the area on skis, around Ramundberget, Funäsdalen, Åre.... Many possibilities. Or pick a lowland forest trail and do hiking, Bergslagsleden for exampel, as long as there is not too much snow.
Regarding "camping gear that should work for cold places" - there's a big difference between hiking in the south or north of sweden and you need to make sure your stuff really suits the climate and that you know how to operate them, not only "should work" 
If you want snow I'd recommend that you go to for example the STF Storulvån mountain station or STF Abisko mountain station. Both are easily accessable either direct by train or by train and then transfer bus. Book a room in advance and do day trips. Or you could go there with your equipment, try out camping on your own outside the station, and if your gear is not enough you could rent gear from the mountain station (check with them in advance what stuff they have for rent as well as their current covid-19 rules).
If you want snow I'd recommend that you go to for example the STF Storulvån mountain station or STF Abisko mountain station. Both are easily accessable either direct by train or by train and then transfer bus. Book a room in advance and do day trips. Or you could go there with your equipment, try out camping on your own outside the station, and if your gear is not enough you could rent gear from the mountain station (check with them in advance what stuff they have for rent as well as their current covid-19 rules).They are not Open, right?!Regarding "camping gear that should work for cold places" - there's a big difference between hiking in the south or north of sweden and you need to make sure your stuff really suits the climate and that you know how to operate them, not only "should work"
Not until februari i Think. Which is why this is such a problematic question!
I Think this is stf:s weakest point. They have no huts to sleep in in the mountaineus areas in Sweden outside of the summer! STF should Look at norway, thousand huts, open all year round.
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You should get your facts straight and google it, because there is not a single thing that is right about that statement. Norway (DNT) has pretty much the same seasons for staffing their huts and stations in the mountains as Sweden. The only one that is staffed all year round is Haukeliseter. DNT and STF both have their winter season approx. between Feb and April, and summer season from June to mid-Sep. Lastly, STF Abisko is open (almost, I think they are closed in May) all year around.
If you don't have experience and gear that you can trust in the winter, either stay very close to an open hut or maybe even better, stay in the forest.
The mountains above the tree line in winter is a very unforgiven place. 500m distance to get to safety might prove much longer than you could imagine when there is a lot of snow and nothing to protect you against the wind.
Most people have either lots of experience or at least gear made for winter camping. With a winter tent, winter clothes, winter cooking equipment and so on.
In the forest you will probably do fine even if you don't have all the right stuff or make a few mistakes. Also it is easier to get a cozy fire going.
The reason the huts are closed in December is that most people choose to go camping later in the winter or the winter/spring, just like @packåsna writes. But there are many STF huts open in december, especially in the southern parts of the mountains.
If you want to have a town or village nearby, maybe check the woods in Dalarna? Lots of cozy villages, lots of woods. Looks like they will have some snow in 2 weeks but nothing crazy.
Here you can find the official map of sweden: https://minkarta.lantmateriet.se/
To find places in the woods, look for the areas inside of green lines. That is protected areas, and many times the nature is nicer in those places, no heavy foresting or stuff like that.
If you find something that looks good, google the name of the protected area + länsstyrelsen
That way you find the information and rules for the area. The rules is usually in a bullet list in the bottom of the page. Use google translate or something to find out if they allow camping in the area or not. There will also be information about possible fire ban in the area.
There is a mail adress you can write to if you have questions.
You can also find information about hostels and areas and supermarkets and open huts here: https://naturkartan.se
If you choose to camp in the mountains at this time of the year, you could either camp outside of an STF hut (at least in the southern mountains (ie Härjedalen and Jämtland) you will find open places. You pay a small amount of money / night to stay close to the STF hut and can use their toilets and showers and open kitchens for cooking.
You could also use the map naturkartan to find the small open huts of Länstyrelsen. They are marked with a symbol of a house at naturkartan.
Those small open huts are for breaks. You are not allowed to sleep in them and not allowed to use the firewood to heat them, if you're not in an emergency. But its perfectly cool to go inside for a break. If there is other people that want to have a break you take turns.
Camping close to a hut like that will be pretty safe.
Whatever you choose to do, if you will depend on that some place is open, call them or mail them and make sure that it will work this year with corona restrictions.
The mountains above the tree line in winter is a very unforgiven place. 500m distance to get to safety might prove much longer than you could imagine when there is a lot of snow and nothing to protect you against the wind.
Most people have either lots of experience or at least gear made for winter camping. With a winter tent, winter clothes, winter cooking equipment and so on.
In the forest you will probably do fine even if you don't have all the right stuff or make a few mistakes. Also it is easier to get a cozy fire going.
The reason the huts are closed in December is that most people choose to go camping later in the winter or the winter/spring, just like @packåsna writes. But there are many STF huts open in december, especially in the southern parts of the mountains.
If you want to have a town or village nearby, maybe check the woods in Dalarna? Lots of cozy villages, lots of woods. Looks like they will have some snow in 2 weeks but nothing crazy.
Here you can find the official map of sweden: https://minkarta.lantmateriet.se/
To find places in the woods, look for the areas inside of green lines. That is protected areas, and many times the nature is nicer in those places, no heavy foresting or stuff like that.
If you find something that looks good, google the name of the protected area + länsstyrelsen
That way you find the information and rules for the area. The rules is usually in a bullet list in the bottom of the page. Use google translate or something to find out if they allow camping in the area or not. There will also be information about possible fire ban in the area.
There is a mail adress you can write to if you have questions.
You can also find information about hostels and areas and supermarkets and open huts here: https://naturkartan.se
If you choose to camp in the mountains at this time of the year, you could either camp outside of an STF hut (at least in the southern mountains (ie Härjedalen and Jämtland) you will find open places. You pay a small amount of money / night to stay close to the STF hut and can use their toilets and showers and open kitchens for cooking.
You could also use the map naturkartan to find the small open huts of Länstyrelsen. They are marked with a symbol of a house at naturkartan.
Those small open huts are for breaks. You are not allowed to sleep in them and not allowed to use the firewood to heat them, if you're not in an emergency. But its perfectly cool to go inside for a break. If there is other people that want to have a break you take turns.
Camping close to a hut like that will be pretty safe.
Whatever you choose to do, if you will depend on that some place is open, call them or mail them and make sure that it will work this year with corona restrictions.
Sanchocobo didn't say that the huts have to be staffed, did he/her? Because Most huts in norway are unstaffed, they often have a bit of food in them though. Maybe not exactly a thousend, but there are no problems to find a mountain trip to hike all year around in norway, big difference to sweden.
But, i apologize, this is off topic anyway as we can not go there right now.
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