The Cabin and Exploring Our Surroundings

Our cabin sits by the frozen shores of Lake Navar. It’s rustic and remote, blending quietly into the winter landscape that surrounds us. Rolling hills covered in tall spruce forests in every direction, and the frozen lake becomes our open courtyard of snow and sky.

It started out as an old family forest hideaway. Lina, from nearby Älvdalen, turned it into what it is today, and the rooms are full of furniture, curious objects and small things collected over the years.

Inside, wood-fired stoves keep the rooms warm, while lanterns, candles and the glow from the fires light up the evenings. Our cabin host keeps the fires burning and collects water from the stream while we’re out exploring. Often a previous guest who loved life at the cabin so much they decided to come back. We sleep in shared twin rooms, and there’s an outhouse about 15 metres from the sleeping quarters.

And at the end of each day, there’s the wood-fired sauna by the frozen lake. Those feeling adventurous can take a dip through a hole in the ice, but there’s also warm water in the sauna if you don’t feel like it.

Much of the food we prepare begins outdoors, over the fire by the cabin. Sometimes we stay there, sitting around the fire on sheepskins laid over benches carved from the snow. At other times, our meal makes its way back inside to be shared around the candlelit table.

You’ll take part in lots of the fire cooking, preparing ingredients, tending the fire and cooking together. But there’s no need to spend the entire day preparing food. Our wilderness chef takes care of some of the other preparations while you’re out skiing or enjoying the sauna. That way, you get to enjoy the fun parts of cooking without missing out on the other parts of the trip.

Some of our time is spent exploring the winter landscape on skis or snowshoes. The terrain around the cabin is varied but generally gentle, with rolling spruce forests, frozen lakes, open mires and wooded hills overlooking the surrounding wilderness.

One day we venture into nearby Norra Mora Vildmark, a vast nature reserve of ancient forests and frozen wetlands. In winter, the frozen mires become wide expanses of snow, with islands of old pine trees and stretches of dense spruce forest in between. We spend the day exploring on skis, stopping to cook lunch over a fire in the snow.

Another evening, we head out on skis to a tipi on a frozen lake about four kilometres from the cabin. It’s a very different experience skiing through the forest after dark, with our headlamps lighting the way.

We also spend time ice fishing on Lake Navar, combining it with a cooking session over an open fire. While some of us try our luck through holes in the ice, there’s food being prepared and plenty happening around the fire. For those who fancy a bit more activity afterwards, there’s an optional two-hour snowshoe hike up the tall, wooded hill behind the cabin.

None of these outings require previous skiing or snowshoeing experience. We’re not trying to cover long distances or make it a physical challenge. There’s plenty of time to enjoy the surroundings, with food and fire never very far away.

About half an hour from our cabin lies Älvdalen, a very small town surrounded by forests and hills along the Österdalälven river. It’s a place with strong local traditions, from forestry and craftsmanship to food and baking.

We visit a local heritage site with many historic buildings collected from the surrounding area. Traditional farmhouses, barns, a smithy, a watermill and other buildings that offer a glimpse into rural life in Dalarna over the centuries.

One of these is an old bakehouse, where we spend part of the day making kavelgris, a soft flatbread typical of Älvdalen. The bakehouse is still used for the local winter market and a handful of other occasions throughout the year, and they open it especially for our group.

An experienced baker from Älvdalen leads the session, showing us how to prepare the dough, roll it into thin rounds and bake the bread using traditional techniques. It’s a chance to learn a local craft from someone who knows it well, and have a go at something people here have been doing for generations.

Bring comfortable clothes for the evenings indoors, warm wool socks, and plastic sandals or Crocs for the sauna and for nipping out to the outhouse. Pack swimwear for the sauna and a power bank for your phone.

For the outdoor activities, you’ll need warm clothing that you can layer and adjust depending on how active you are. We provide sturdy ski boots that double as snow boots, three-layer mittens and a daypack for our outings.

Remember that we’ll also spend time standing around the fire, ice fishing and cooking outdoors, so staying warm when you’re not moving is just as important as dressing for the skiing.