When the ice retreated 10,000 years ago, it left behind a desolate landscape of boulder fields that has changed remarkably little since. Femundsmarka is one of the largest continuous wilderness areas in southern Scandinavia: 573 square kilometres of sparse, craggy pine and birch forest, lakes, and ancient rock. The Norwegian Trekking Association has named it one of the three best hiking areas in Norway, and it is equally popular for canoeing and fishing.
The park was first protected in 1971 and expanded in 2003. Human traces go back to the Stone Age, with Neolithic settlements and pitfall traps found across the area. A copper smelter connected to the Røros works operated on the western shore of Femunden lake from 1743 to 1822. The Southern Sami have herded reindeer here for centuries, long before the miners arrived, and still do. This is not dramatic fjord-and-glacier Norway; it is quiet, ancient, and barely touched.
The park was first protected in 1971 and expanded in 2003. Human traces go back to the Stone Age, with Neolithic settlements and pitfall traps found across the area. A copper smelter connected to the Røros works operated on the western shore of Femunden lake from 1743 to 1822. The Southern Sami have herded reindeer here for centuries, long before the miners arrived, and still do. This is not dramatic fjord-and-glacier Norway; it is quiet, ancient, and barely touched.