Skåneleden 4: Österlen · Stage 7
Walking time measured on the mapped line (TrailSplits time model, moving time; within 22 % on four in five test legs). Outside Switzerland our walking times often run short of the times route operators publish; treat them as optimistic. Climb measured on the mapped line, on terrain heights.
Through Brösarp's hills to Alunbruket: 12.9 km by the stage page (12.3 km on our line), with no published time. The Vantalängan shelter is about 5.6 km in. Instead of stage 7 you can walk the 7A and 7B variant loop by Agusa: 9 km (3 to 4 hours) and 15.6 km (4 to 5 hours).
Best season: All year; easiest April to October. The trail can be walked all year. The coast campsites close in September (in 2026 Borrbystrand on 20 September, Nybrostrand on 27 September and Löderup after 3 October), and many taps at the camp sites run only from April to October. The moose hunt in Skåne runs from 8 October to 31 January: wear bright clothes, keep dogs on a lead and sleep only at the trail's own camp sites. Before you go
Facts read from the guide's sources and OpenStreetMap on 13 October 2026. A page can change after we read it, so confirm with your accommodation before you rely on a date or a bed.
Stage start
Town
A village with an inn and a bus station, 0.3 km from the stage end by the official link path.
A town or village: find accommodation yourself. TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Brösarps Gästgifveri & SPA · Hotel
Season 2026: 2026 dates not published
Stage end
Trailhead
The old alum works in the forest, where the 7A variant loop starts. The Alunbruket shelter is about 0.25 km off our line; STF Kuskahusen, a hostel open all year, is about 1.4 km off.
STF Kuskahusen · Hostel or bunkhouse
Season 2026: 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026
Make it your trip
Skåneleden's shelters cannot be booked: you share them, first come, so carry a tent in case one is full. Campsites, hostels and hotels are booked with each of them. Outside the summer most coast campsites are shut, so plan on the shelters and the hotels in Ystad, Simrishamn, Kivik and Brösarp. During the moose hunt, from 8 October to 31 January, sleep only at the trail's own camp sites.
Region Skåne's eleven stages, a night at the end of each.
Plan this journeyThe coast in five stages, with trains at Ystad and Simrishamn and SkåneExpress 3 at Kivik.
Plan this journeyBrösarp's hills and the inland forests in six stages, shelter to shelter.
Plan this journeyLoading the forecast for on the trail (68 m)…
Typical weather on this stage, around 24–112 m. Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.
| Month | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weather | Poor | Poor | Mixed | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Mixed | Mixed |
| Day / night | 2°/-2° | 3°/-2° | 5°/-1° | 11°/2° | 16°/6° | 19°/10° | 21°/12° | 20°/12° | 16°/9° | 11°/6° | 7°/2° | 3°/-1° |
| Rain, mm | 67 | 54 | 52 | 40 | 46 | 66 | 73 | 72 | 71 | 89 | 74 | 79 |
| Snow at high point | Possible | Possible | Possible | Frost | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | Possible |
| Daylight | 7 h 37 | 9 h 35 | 11 h 43 | 14 h 06 | 16 h 12 | 17 h 30 | 17 h 01 | 15 h 09 | 12 h 51 | 10 h 34 | 8 h 22 | 7 h 04 |
Source: TerraClimate 1991–2020 monthly averages. Averages for the area at each point’s elevation (4 km grid, corrected for height). Not a forecast or a report of current trail conditions. Snow at the high point is estimated with a simple snowpack model from these temperatures and precipitation, not observed; steep islands and high summits can hold more snow than it shows. Daylight is for the 15th of each month. Hut, transport and park seasons are separate: check them for your dates.
Before you go
Arrange your stays, food and travel first, then check conditions again near departure.
In March 2026 Region Skåne removed stage 12, Snogeholm to Ystad: the landowners ended their agreements, and the proposed new route had too much asphalt and roads with traffic at up to 70 km/h to meet the trail's standard. There is no replacement and no official detour, so SL4 is no longer a loop. Older maps and signs may still show stage 12; do not follow them. Region Skåne says it will keep looking for a route to close the loop again.
Skåneleden: stage 12 removedThe campsites at Nybrostrand (stage 1), Löderups strandbad (stage 2) and Borrby strandbad (stage 3) have closed for the 2026 season. Until they reopen, sleep at the Borrby Strandbad and Kivik shelters or in Ystad and Simrishamn.
Löderups strandbads camping: opening hoursThe moose hunt in Skåne runs from 8 October to 31 January, with dogs. Wear bright clothes or a high-visibility vest, keep your dog on a lead, stay on the marked trail, and sleep only at the trail's own camp sites.
Skåneleden: walking in the hunting seasonMany taps at the camp sites run only from April to October. Snogeholm has water all year, and Alunbruket a tap all year at the old fire station; the water at Vantalängan comes from a hand pump and must be boiled. Firewood is not guaranteed at the shelters, because wood has been stolen, and the Kivik shelter has none.
Skåneleden: the Snogeholm camp siteRegion Skåne publishes no walking time for stages 6 and 7. Instead of stage 7 (12.9 km) you can walk the variant loop by Agusa: 7A, Alunbruket to Agusa, 9 km and 3 to 4 hours, and 7B, Agusa to Brösarp, 15.6 km and 4 to 5 hours. Our line follows stage 7.
Skåneleden: stage 7Getting there
Travel around Brösarp to Alunbruket.
Google Maps journey searches, not confirmed services. A mountain endpoint may need a booked transfer or an additional walk.
Trains run to Ystad; the trail starts by the station.
Skånetrafiken: journey plannerRegion Skåne names the Pågatåg train or SkåneExpress 3 to Simrishamn station, about 2 km south of the stage 4 end, and SkåneExpress 3 to Kivik torget. Brösarp has a bus station 0.3 km from the stage end by the official link path. Inland, from Alunbruket to Snogeholm, Region Skåne names no public transport.
Skåneleden: stages that work with public transportThe trail ends at the Snogeholm shelters, in a recreation area with no published public transport, and it no longer leads back to Ystad. Arrange how you will leave before you set off, and check Skånetrafiken's journey planner.
Skånetrafiken: journey plannerTake your trip with you
Prepare each stage while you still have a connection: the signal can be weak in the inland forests.
Keep your route and maps on your phone for places without a signal. For multi-day trips, prepare them in the installed TrailSplits app.
Saving a bookmark is not a map download. Storage can be cleared by your device; keep a backup map for remote trips.
Route & sources
Region Skåne publishes Skåneleden 4: Österlen (SL4) as eleven stages, 139.2 km from Ystad to Snogeholm, with an official stage time for each except stages 6 and 7, which have none; the times are shown beside ours on every stage. In March 2026 Region Skåne removed stage 12, Snogeholm to Ystad, and named no replacement: the trail now ends at Snogeholm and is no longer a loop. Older maps, guidebooks, signs and OpenStreetMap may still show stage 12. The section page's header still says 14 stages and 188 km; the stage list is the current one. The line here walks OpenStreetMap's stage routes 1 to 11 (from the planet of 11 October 2026): 136.9 km, cut at the eleven stage ends. Through Brösarp it follows Region Skåne's line through the village, matched onto OpenStreetMap, where the mapped route still passes north of it. It leaves out the 7A and 7B variant loop and the 0.3 km link to Brösarp bus station. Region Skåne gives stage 2 as 18 km and stage 10 as 14 km; its own track measures about 17.5 and 12.9 km, and ours 17.1 and 12.8 km. Our climb is measured on terrain heights, so short steep rises are smoothed out.
Official guidance and mapped-source comparison checked 13 October 2026. Map data is a route reference, not confirmation of today's path, weather or accommodation availability.
Skåneleden: SL4 ÖsterlenMap data © OpenStreetMap contributors · Source relation