Orange trail
The walk along the orange trail starts at the large gate below Påskefyrn. We can walk clockwise or counterclockwise; we choose clockwise and turn left.
Soon you will pass through Trånget, past the old dance floor, cross Et and pass an offering stone. This is the place where generations of passers-by have placed stones as small tributes to those who were once buried there. The expression ‘a stone on your old bones’ has been both a way of honouring the memory of the dead and, according to older beliefs, a way of keeping them at rest.
If you didn’t throw a stone, you risked bad luck or being haunted. Today, the sacrificial stone remains one of Rörös’ most legendary landmarks, where nature and tradition meet in a weather-beaten cairn.
The path then rounds the southern tip at Lille Ers van. Here you will soon pass the characteristic pine trees, shaped by decades of salt and wind, before reaching the bench where the cobblestones begin. The entire route here is accessible, and wheelchairs, pushchairs and prams can all pass without any major obstacles.
After the bench, the terrain changes, rocks and Cliffs take over, the paths narrow and the natural shape of the archipelago becomes increasingly clear. Here, it is important to keep your eyes open so you don’t trip over a rock or root.
The walk then continues past Kelly’s Bar. During May, the thrift’s large pink fields spread out next to the bar, like a shimmering blanket between the beach roses and cobblestones.
If you continue along the trail for another few hundred meters northwards, you will see a sign indicating that the orange trail turns eastwards towards Möddarn. At this junction, you can also choose to take the blue trail northwards towards Sandviken.
But if you turn right, the terrain becomes somewhat steeper, and the path takes you up over the hill and past the military barracks, a silent reminder of the island’s history.
At the top of Möddarn, the landscape opens up and you can imagine that this is where the old football pitch used to be, a barren but unexpectedly airy space between the mountains. From here, the orange trail continues south, down towards lower ground again.
On the way back, you pass a the bunker, and then the sleeping dance floor, if you know where to look, where the island once gathered on summer evenings for music and dancing. It might not have been the most well-thought-out idea to pour cement on the dance floor, as shoe soles wore out quickly. But fun, that they definitely had.
The path then leads you through the now dry Sockerdammen pond. This pond is rarely filled with water, but it does happen from time to time.
Soon after, the large gate rises before you again, in the same place where you began — now also the end point of a walk that has offered stillness, history, and the unique rhythm of the archipelago.
Blue trail
The blue trail is Rörö’s most varied and extensive hiking trail, and you can start it at three different locations: on the west side at Kärrsviken near Skorna, up on Möddarn, or at the southern of the two gates located east of the football field at Apelviken.
Wherever you start, you will find yourself in a part of the island where the landscape feels more rugged, open and marked by the power of the sea.
But this time we start at Möddarn and walk the trail counterclockwise. The path leads you north through the dense oak and pine forest, where the ground softens and the wind is dampened by the trees.
It then continues past Pengeberget, over a hill where the view opens up over a few small ponds, before winding down over the footbridge towards Sandviken and on towards the Labyrinth, the round stone formation that has aroused questions and fascination over the years. Some believe that it may date back to the Viking Age, while others believe that it was built by soldiers during the war years of the 1940s. Regardless of its origin, it continues to attract visitors to pause and reflect on the traces that people leave behind in the landscape.
When you reach Sandviken, you have a choice: turn left, to the west, and follow the blue trail directly along the coast, or continue straight ahead, to the north/northeast, past the Labyrinth and follow the blue trail around Tåberget.
After you have rounded Tåberget and passed through the Labyrinth again, the trail continues westward and then southward. Here, the landscape opens up – cliffs, heather and the ever-changing sea.
The blue trail follows the west side of the island past Munkhuvudet and on towards Offerkastet, which we call Engelsmännera after a group of soldiers who washed ashore during the war.
Soon you will reach the place where the shoes are, and if you find a shoe that has washed ashore on the west side, take it with you and place it among the other shoes. The row of shoes is now long, with over 100 shoes to count. But a little way off the path stands Krokete Jon, our ‘rauk’ who is said to turn his nose towards the village when he smells baking bread.
Here, you are not far from where you will meet the orange trail again. At this junction, you will once again have a choice:
- Turn left and head east, back towards Möddarn.
- or follow the orange trail south, around Ers van and on towards Et.
It is a hike that winds its way through protected forests, windswept cliffs and coastal stretches where the horizon lies open. The Blue Trail allows you to experience Rörö in its most vibrant way – where each part of the trail has its own rhythm and its own history.
