Åsens Utmark Nature Reserve
The Åsens Utmark Nature Reserve is beautifully located by Lake Ruppen, just outside the boundary of the cultural reserve. Here, people from the nearby Åsens By used to gather firewood and let their animals graze. Over time, the land has grown into a mixed forest where several rare plant and animal species can be found.
About Åsens Utmark
The villagers used Åsens Utmark as grazing land. In the forest, they could also collect firewood and timber. The area contained small fields, and trees with wide canopies testify that the environment was once more open than it is today. In the past, the land was sparsely vegetated, mainly with pine, but also with spruce, aspen, birch, rowan, juniper, hazel, and willow. Already on the 1950s map, it can be noted that the forest began to close as the land was no longer used as it once was.
Since 2017, part of Åsens Utmark has been protected as a nature reserve to preserve the biodiversity linked to a mixed forest with a long continuity of older pine, aspen, black alder, spruce, birch, and willow, but also to provide a place for visitors to enjoy the forest.
Flora and Fauna
Some of the pines in the area are approaching 200 years old, but most are around 140 years old. Inside the forest, there are several species of tits, such as the crested tit, coal tit, and the willow tit. The wren sings here and there, and both the common and red crossbills thrive in the old forest. The calcareous soil is evident in the vegetation, as species like the hepatica thrive here. The young forest is grazed by moose and deer, and wild boar can also be found in the area. Along the shores of Lake Ruppen, you can typically find nesting great northern divers, whooper swans, cranes, common terns, and tufted ducks. Both the lesser kestrel, osprey, and marsh harrier are often seen hunting for food.
Hiking Trails
The Utmarksleden trail connects the cultural reserve of Åsens By with Åsens Utmark, and in the nature reserve, you’ll find the Naturskogsleden trail (1.3 km).
Please Note!
The Right of Public Access (Allemansrätten) does not apply fully in the nature reserve. Within the Åsens Utmark Nature Reserve, it is not allowed to:
- Destroy or damage fixed natural objects or standing or fallen dead trees or bushes, or parts of dead trees or bushes
- Collect mosses, lichens, or wood fungi
- Make a fire except at designated barbecue areas
- Ride on marked hiking trails
- Collect insects using traps that kill
