Dalarna - Touring

20km/12.5mi east of Skattungbyn, the tourist resort of Furudal (alt. 205m/673ft), between the Skattungsjö to the northwest and the Oresjö to the southeast, is popular with anglers in summer and skiers in winter (ski-tow). The church has some medieval wood sculpture.

12km/7.5mi north of Furudal are the summer grazings of ãrteråsen (alt. 468m/1,535ft). Some 20km/12.5mi south (Road 300), near Boda, is the Styggfors, a waterfall 36m/120ft high.

20km/12.5mi beyond Avesta on Road 70 lies Hedemora (alt. 107m/351ft, pop. 17,000), the oldest town in Dalarna (chartered in 1446). In the main square, Stora Torget, are the Town Hall (1761) and a red-painted timber-built pharmacy of 1779. Many buildings in the center of the town are made of wood. The Theater (1820) was once used as a granary. North of the town, on a small lake, is Hedemora Gammelgård, an open-air museum with a collection of old houses.

12km/7.5mi northwest of Orsa is the Fryksåsen leisure center (winter sports), from which there are far-ranging views over Lakes Orsa and Siljan.

From Orsa Road 45 leads north into an inhospitable forest region, the Orsa Finnmark, which was settled by Finnish immigrants in the 17th century and still has many villages and hills with Finnish names, such as Pilkalampinoppi (644m/2,113ft; view) and Korpimäki (706m/2,316ft). Both of these hills, together with the Fågelsjö, lie within the Hamra National Park (27 hectares/70 acres), a heavily wooded area resembling a primeval forest.

From Hedemora, Road 70 goes to Säter (alt. 157m/515ft, pop. 11,500), with the interesting Åsgårdarnas Hof featuring old houses and a workshop for making tiled stoves. To the north extends the Säterdal, a beautiful valley some 6km/4miles long. From the old mining settlement of Bispberg, 3km/2mi northeast, a path runs up Bispbergs Klack (314m/1,030ft; view).

Beyond Säter there is a distant view of the 86m/282ft high church tower of Stora Tuna. The church dates from 1486 (paintings, crucifix 6m/20ft high).

17km/11mi northeast of Orsa, situated some 100m/330ft above the Oreälv, is the village of Skattungbyn, at the west end of which is a birch tree ("Skattungsbjörken") which retains its leaves until the new shoots appear in spring.