Wild camping with a rooftop tent

The short answer

The Swedish right of public access (allemansrätten) lets you walk, camp in a tent and enjoy nature almost everywhere. With a car the rule is simple: you may drive almost every gravel and forest road unless a sign or barrier says otherwise – but never across country, onto meadows or beaches.

The good news: Sweden is full of quiet gravel roads, rest areas and lake parking places. That is exactly where our tracks lead – and you still wake up by the water.

Everything is already in your navigation

You don’t have to search for places to sleep. The offline navigation in every car already shows them on the map:

• Hundreds of camp spots we have tested ourselves – by lakes, rivers and in the forest
• Thousands of shelters (vindskydd) with fire pits, free for everyone
• Campsites and motorhome pitches for a night with a shower
• Viewpoints, waterfalls, fuel stations and places to shop
• 15,000 km of tested gravel and forest tracks to get there

So in the evening you simply look at the map, pick a spot nearby and drive there – no searching, no apps, no mobile signal needed.

Where you can drive and sleep with a rooftop tent

• Gravel and forest roads (skogsbilvägar) – you may drive almost all of them, unless a sign or a barrier says otherwise.
• Shelters (vindskydd) – thousands of open wooden shelters with a fire pit are spread all over Sweden and free for everyone. Most lie by a gravel road, so you can park right next to them.
• Rest areas (rastplatser) – usually up to 24 hours on weekdays and longer at weekends. Check the signs.
• Parking places and turnouts along roads and gravel roads, as long as you don’t block the road and no sign says otherwise.
• Campsites and motorhome pitches (ställplatser) – with toilets, water and often a shower.
• Near houses or on private yards only if you have asked the owner first – even for one night.

What is not allowed

• Driving or parking off roads and tracks – across country, on meadows, beaches or lake shores. A landowner cannot allow this either.
• Ignoring a barrier or a no-entry sign on a private road – even a homemade sign counts.
• Blocking a forest road. Timber trucks and the landowner must be able to pass at any time.

Good practice on the road

• One night per place, then move on.
• Fire only where it is safe and allowed. In dry summers there are often fire bans – check the app Brandrisk Ute or the county website.
• Take all rubbish with you and leave the place as you found it.
• Keep your distance and be quiet near houses, farms and reindeer herds.

Going to Norway?

Norway has its own rules. Ask us before your trip – we tell you where we have slept ourselves.

How we help you

The navigation in every car has our 15,000 km of tested tracks on legal gravel and forest roads – plus hundreds of camp spots we have tested ourselves and thousands of shelters. At handover we show you how to find them – and if you are unsure on the way, just send us a message.

Source: Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Naturvårdsverket) – camper, roof-top tent or caravan