Everything in the guide is available for free on the website, so if cost is a concern, you can print everything to bring with you, but the guide is small, well made and worth the cost, and the proceeds help keep the Höga Kusten in operation so buy it if you can. Quite a bit of the guide is not on Google Maps, so don’t think you can just depend on your phone for guidance.

If you are walking North to South the hiking times and difficulties in the guide will be wrong. Route 7 for example is listed as an hour or two because heading north it is mostly a gentle downhill stroll. Heading to Skoved however means you are walking up hill the whole way.

Water

There are a lot of streams with running water that are safe to drink as well as a number of places, marked in the guide to get fresh drinking water. But pay attention, and keep your water bottles full. Bring a filter or Iodine tablets, its better to be safe than sorry, you quickly dehydrate in the summer carrying all your gear.

Restaurants

At various points along the trail you’ll pass towns or other places with restaurants. However, remember you are in the far north of Sweden, and so many of these places will close much earlier than you would like, or be closed on weekends, evenings or mornings.

Supermarkets

There are a god number of supermarkets scattered through the High Coast, generally in towns you pass on the main trail, so stocking up is easy, but in Swedish style, these supermarkets are not catering for Hikers, despite their location, they are for locals, so you won’t find dried hiking meals, or anything to fix a tent. If you can’t get it in a supermarket in Gothenburg, don’t expect to find it on one on the most famous hiking trail in Sweden.

Stores

Further to the supermarkets not carrying hiking items, there are, at latest between stages 6 and 13, no hiking stores at all, no where to buy replacement tent pegs, a new water bottle, or active gear. In particular, Ullånger, at the midpoint would be a natural spot for a small hiking store offering the essentials. Perhaps it could open in the Ice Cream store during the many hours of the day that it is closed.

Towns & Villages

The terminology for what is a town and village in the guide or maps is misleading. On section 6-13 the only town is Örnsköldsvik. Ullånger, Skoved and others are all villages and most other places you encounter are hamlets or homesteads.


Unlike the UK, there are no country pubs, so put the idea of a nice ale or cold glass of wine by the trail out of your mind.

People

The people along the Höga Kusten are very friendly, giving you a cheery ‘hej’ as you hike past, and are often responsible for maintaining the camping cabins and water stations at their own expense and inconvenience. If you can afford to, many have Swish details to allow for donations to their upkeep, or to a charity of their choosing.

Camping

There are stretches of the coast road where it is impossible or impractical to camp. Whilst the roaming right may exist, finding a place to camp when near a location like Skoved can be a challenge or an impossibility. Always have a backup plan, and be prepared to walk longer or stop earlier than you’d like to ensure you can camp safely.

Stress

As the High Coast is remote, travel and transport between where you are and where you need to be to get home can be a challenge. The Taxi to the High Coast Airport from Ullånger was 1,100kr, more than the flight back to Stockholm cost. Buses between the villages and towns are rare, perhaps only once or twice a day. Plan ahead, And be prepared to wait, or be prepared that you may be much earlier than you had hoped.