Walking along Göta Canal is an exciting adventure and en experience out of the ordinary in an incredible setting and natural environment. Tåtorp is beautifully positioned by Göta Canal and Lake Viken.
This package involves staying at Tåtorp's eco hostel and enjoying a delicious dinner made from local and organic produce. You choose how far you want to hike.
We suggest booking an additional night and combining the hike with a lovely bike tour along Göta Canal or canoeing on Lake Viken.
Day 1:
You will arrive at STF hostel Tåtorp/Göta Canal. Tåtorp is a scenic sensation set in the natural environment where Göta Canal joins Lake Viken, offering a well-preserved lock environment, car-free tracks for hiking and biking and excellent waters for canoeing or kayaking. The STF hostel has an ecological profile and a garden café that sources some produce from its own greenhouse. In the evening, a wonderful meal cooked from local and organic produce is served. You are encouraged to read the self-guided hiking tour material ahead of the following day's hike.
Day 2:
After breakfast, it is time to head off on the hike. You choose how far you want to walk before returning to Tåtorp. Along the canal, there are many lovely spots to stop and enjoy your packed lunch. From Tåtorp, you will head west along the road on the right side of the canal, passing through a scenic landscape of flowers and large trees along the canal.
After about five kilometres, you will reach Vassbacken, where a café offers a chance to stop for a rest and a cup of coffee as well as to enjoy the stunning environment.
From Vassbacken, there is another three kilometres to Jonsboda, where you can stop for an icecream or just to watch the boats passing by.
Continuing your hike to Töreboda means a walk of another five kilometres through flat farmland before reaching Rotkilen's bridge and Töreboda itself.
You will notice change in the landscape, which is now more open with fields and meadows.
Instead of walking back along the canal, you can hire a bike and return via the car-free road back to Tåtorp and Lake Viken.
Read more about the different stages in the self-guided hiking tour material.
The Walk
Walking the length of the Göta Canal is very easy. You follow the gravel towpath, which is traffic free, always in sight of the canal. From Sjötorp to Tåtorp is a distance of 35 kilometres and a total altitude difference of 48 metres. Along the route there are several picnic areas, restaurants and cafés serving lunch, and access to toilets.
History of the Göta Canal
The Göta Canal is one of the largest construction projects ever undertaken in Sweden. The canal stretches from Sjötorp by Lake Vänern to Mem by Slätbaken, is 190 kilometres long and has 58 locks. Some 87 kilometres of this stretch is excavated canal. The smaller lakes you pass on the way make up 103 km of the canal's length.