Timber Rafting on Klaralven

Rafting on Klaralven

A timber raft holiday adventure Huckleberry Finn style!

Timber rafting holidays in Sweden: Klarälven.

"I'm struggling to remember a more relaxing holiday." Nick Thorpe in the Sunday Times, March 2008

"...the silence was interrupted only by the kettle whistling..." Imogen Stubbs in the Daily Mail, October 2007

This experience is ideal for active families, groups of friends, school and Scout groups, corporate team-building and Armed Forces. Building and piloting a timber raft is a marvellous exercise in teamwork and a unique adventure, and special rates are available for groups of 10 or more.

The River Klarälven has the longest history of use as a professional logging route in Sweden and was used for this purpose right up until 1991. Today you have an opportunity to keep this old tradition alive by building and floating your own timber raft.

Floating peacefully down river on a timber raft must surely have been the stuff of childhood dreams. You will build and pilot your own raft down Klarälven ("Clear River"), an ideal way to experience rural Värmland and the tiny villages of the Klarälven valley, and with an excellent chance of encountering beavers.

But floating downstream in a leisurely manner is only part of the story - this is a voyage of adventure, a journey of discovery and an excellent team-building activity. You will need to keep a keen eye out for obstacles such as sandbanks and overhanging branches, learning to handle your raft with pole and paddles as you steer her towards your final destination.

The timber rafts used on the Klarälven river are straightforward to build and to dismantle after the trip. Logs about 3 metres (nine feet) long and rope are the only materials allowed.

The Klarälven timber rafting tour takes you through a beautiful rural area of forests, small villages and farmland, giving you the opportunity to stop for provisions and explore the surrounding countryside along the route.

Timber Rafting

Photo: Hipfel/Starck

The Klarälven river was actively used as a logging route from the early eighteen thirties until 1991. During the last years of the operation, around 6 million logs made their way down the river each year.

At various points along the way, logs would be collected and stripped to make paper pulp, with around 95% of the pulp timber originating from the Norwegian section of the river.

Today, although the river is no longer used to transport logs commercially, forestry and paper production continue to be a vital industry in Sweden. The very logs that you will use to build your raft will one day follow their "ancestors" to become paper. But what a life of adventure they lead in the meantime!

We also offer a canoe experience on the Klarälven river: see Canoe Tours on Klarälven

Read our blog article about timber rafting.

Comments on Timber Rafting on Klarälven:

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"I just wanted to thank you for a wonderful trip, on behalf of the whole group. It was the most relaxing holiday I've had in years, I really don't want to be back at work now!" Dave and the Stag Party, May 2009

"Angel, Katie and myself had a fanstastic time timber rafting. We rolled 2 tonnes of lumber into the river, where we assembled a raft, then just like Tom Sawyer and Huck we drifted, crashed and grounded our way down the river. We saw moose and beaver and stayed overnight in the travellers' shelters built by the riverside. It was without doubt the best holiday and the biggest adventure we ever had. I will recommend the holiday to everyone. LIfe seems a bit of an anti-climax now. All I want to do is do the whole thing again. We were all very sad to dismantle our raft. It is hard to believe that you could get so attached to loads of wood and rope and a bit of canvas. Thanks once again for all the fun." Andy, August 2008

"Fantastic weather! Getting stuck on an enormous sandbank and having to camp overnight on a lumpy raft with half the tent strung up - the children thought it was great." Laura, August 2008

"We saw much more beavers than we thought, which was great, some seemed curious about the raft and swam with us for a while. Another highlight: The relaxing moments between fending off sandbanks, rocks and backwater. Adventure aspect was great. We greatly appreciated the quick and kind email traffice between us and Nature Travels." Simon, July 2008

"What a gorgeous country, with friendly people in every place. We really enjoyed the trip. The staff was well-trained, their English was very good, and they were very gracious. When we got back early, they even took the initiative to call and find us a local hotel without our asking. Terrific!" Glenda, July 2008

"The experience was fantastic, the going was tough with just two people but manageable. Nature Travels were excellent giving support and advice all the way. We would definitely use Nature Travels again to book an adventure in Sweden. Many thanks." Paul, June 2008

"We had an absolutely fabulous time from the moment we set off to the moment we landed back in England. The travelling in Sweden was easy, clean, on time, faultless...The timber rafting - well that was just fantastic. The making of the raft and even the sad part of taking it apart and watching the logs floating back down the river was amazing. I don't know about taking a book, we didn't have time to read what with telling stories, watching out for sand banks, singing, avoiding submerged rocks, making tea, laughing, exploring in the canoes, fishing and eating far too much. Having spoken to the rest of the crew of our return we are all wishing desperatetly to be back on the raft camping in the wild, (with the odd cabin), listening to the cranes, seeing the beavers and hearing the loud clap as they splash their tales, watching the buzzards - I could go on and on but hopefully you get the picture. The food was very good - we even had trouble eating it all. Thank you very much for all your help in organising this trip for us." Jane, June 2008

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"Firstly can I thank you personally on behalf of the whole group for being so organised and helpful in the pre-trip planning stage...it gave me great confidence that we'd be treated well and all would go smoothly from the very beginning. The trip was great, truly great...from the first day we were all talking about how clean and beautiful Sweden is. The wildlife and scenery all along the river were amazing and none of us wanted the trip to end - the last day on the river was a solemn affair with talk quickly running to doing a longer trip next time!...Thank again and I'll hopefully be in touch next year with plans for the return trip." Jon, June 2007

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"We were very happy with the departure information especially as we booked the holiday at such short notice...We thoroughly enjoyed our holiday despite it raining for the three days we were on the raft. It was more exciting than we expected...It was a great experience, thank you." Gwen, August 2006

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"We were hoping to bump into a raft of Swedish beauties. Sadly, this did not materialise...Everyone on the trip thoroughly enjoyed themselves. It wasn't perhaps as relaxing as we expected (getting caught in a log trap in the rain didn't help!) but was very good fun. Making and dismantling the rafts was really good." Jamie, August 2006

For the latest news and discussions on outdoor experiences in Sweden visit our blog at www.wildsweden.co.uk

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