Walking time as skaneleden.se states it for this stage; measured on the mapped line: 1 h 37. Climb measured on the mapped line, on terrain heights. Skaneleden.se
5.9 kmStage distance
64 mAscent, measured
1.5–2 hOfficial time
9Stage number
To the shelter at Lövestads åsar: 6 km, 1.5 to 2 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
Heinge to Lövestads åsar
Loading topographic map…
Flat (<5%)
Green: Heinge to Lövestads åsar. Grey: full trail. Elevation follows this mapped track.
Facts read from the operators' own pages 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
Heinge
Camping spot · Region Skåne (Skåneleden)
Season
2026 2026 dates not published Skåneleden's shelter pages give no season. Many taps at the camp sites run only from April to October.skaneleden.se, read 13 October 2026
Places
Number of places not published · No meals A shelter on a rise in broadleaf forest by a stream; the toilet is further off, in the cattle pasture. Firewood is not guaranteed: wood has been stolen from the camp sites.
Booking
No bookingA Skåneleden camp site with a shelter (vindskydd): no booking, first come. Carry a tent in case the shelter is full.
2026 2026 dates not published Skåneleden's shelter pages give no season. Many taps at the camp sites run only from April to October.skaneleden.se, read 13 October 2026
Places
Number of places not published · No meals A shelter in broadleaf forest between the ridges. Firewood is not guaranteed: wood has been stolen from the camp sites.
Booking
No bookingA Skåneleden camp site with a shelter (vindskydd): no booking, first come. Carry a tent in case the shelter is full.
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.
Ystad to Snogeholm
Region Skåne's eleven stages, a night at the end of each.
Typical weather on this stage, around 77–120 m. Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.
Monthly climate averages and daylight
Month
Weather
Poor
Poor
Mixed
Good
Good
Good
Good
Good
Good
Good
Mixed
Mixed
Day / night
2°/-2°
3°/-2°
6°/-1°
11°/2°
16°/6°
19°/10°
22°/12°
21°/12°
17°/9°
12°/6°
7°/2°
4°/-1°
Rain, mm
64
53
50
39
44
66
74
72
71
86
71
75
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 29
17 h
15 h 09
12 h 51
10 h 35
8 h 22
7 h 05
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
Prepare for Skåneleden 4: Österlen
Arrange your stays, food and travel first, then check conditions again near departure.
The trail now ends at Snogeholm
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.
The 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.
The 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.
Many 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.
Region 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.
Region 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.
The 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.
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.
Open this trail in the app.Install TrailSplits, then open this trail there. On iPhone, downloads in a browser may not be available in the installed app.
Choose your route or stages. Choose Prepare offline above. Wait for the route and maps to finish downloading.
Try it before leaving coverage. Switch offline, close and reopen the app, then use My Hikes to start navigation. Repeat for every part you will need.
Saving a bookmark is not a map download. Storage can be cleared by your device; keep a backup map for remote trips.
Route & sources
Route map & 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.