Circumnavigating Lake Vättern

Do you have what it takes, mentaly and physically, to take on a challenge beyond the ordinary? Circumnavigating lake Vättern, 315Km, is maybe the most well known bike ride in Sweden, offering majestic views, deep troll-forests and the shimmering from lake Vättern. It all begins in the cozy Town of Motala, 15 right turns and 6 left turns later and you’ll be back passing the finish line where you started. 

Enjoy the soothing, swerling fields and historical remains riding from Motala to UppGränna, take a break and fill up on “polkagrisar” (Swedish candy, a have to taste kind of thing!)! Have a bit to eat for lunch in the lifely town of Jönköping, admire the docks in Hjo, the town that everyone loves! (Derives from the expression “I love Hjo”) Behold the Keep of Karlsborg from the comfort of your bike. Take a right in Askersund and enjoy the last couple of miles back to Motala!

This is a ride full of wonders, rewarding effort, fun stops, culinary visits and most of all kick-ass cycling, and it is lots of it! A full 315km of fun. Come along for a read that will leave you wanting to hop on the bike and get going! This is the run down of the course of Vättern including all the extra stops that you may wanna take for a day when you are not in a hurry!

The morning breeze, the fast roads, the begining

We begin this ride and physical challenge in the cozy town of Motala, meeting up by the beautiful old church in the center of the city. Have a good look around and remember the feeling as this may be the beginning of one of your most challenging but rewarding bike rides, feel the excitement in the air and the anticipation in your legs. Embrace the feeling of uncertainty and give yourself a pat on the shoulder for the courage and guts required to endeavour on the circumnavigate Lake Vättern, 315Km ride. 

We leave the church tower and Motala behind us as we zoom down the hill, going south with the full grandeur of lake Vättern on our right side. Enjoy the early morning breeze and you will have made it to Vadstena, 15km, in no-time. Vadstena is most known for its old history, frequent visits from royalties and the monastery and castle that towers over the town. There is lots to see from the comfort of you bike if you decide to ride through the cobbled narrow streets and fully take in the historical vibe and pittoresque shops.

“Willy Wonka town”

We find the nature district of Omberg on our way to Ödeshög. Passing a vibrant landscape full of beauty and the deep blue mirror of Lake vättern peacefully framing the “postcard like” landscape. No need for breaks, de-tours or extra km’s, as the bike path takes us right where we wanna go. 

Take a right and we arrive in Ödeshög with ca. 60km behind us. Here is one of the highlights of the loop, Uppgrenna. This is a cafe, greenhouse, farmhouse with a breathtaking view and warming coffy… a “must make a stop” kind of place. 

After a well deserved “Swedish Fika” we hop on the bikes and get rolling towards Jönköping, keep your cool and don’t let yourself go but really enjoy the downhills, behold Visingsö island and check out the Brahehus iconic castle ruins towering on the hill to your left. 

Next stop is the candy capital of Sweden, Gränna. This is like “Willy Wonka town” with candy bakers in every shop window, flavors you’ve never heard of and candy canes hanging from everywhere. This is a good place to fill up on snax and brows for some “sugar to go”. The main street of Gränna offers a change of pace as it is made up of cobbles, and as for the best way to tackle it – we say like the world champion Peter Sagan : Fly over it!

Sugar high’s and Ölmstad

Passing Gränna marks the 80km point of our loop. We venture into the countryside and leave lake Vättern behind us for a while, full of energy and a sugar high. Replacing the blue with swerling hills and open fields. Next up is Ölmstad a loved destination If you are riding around Vättern for the Vätternrundan race, this is the second “race-pitstop” but the first we really get to enjoy (as the stop in Ödeshög is so early in the ride). This is usually a stop accompanied with a great energy boost from all the amazing people in the support crew and on bikes around you – so lucky you if you are riding the Vätternrace! 🙂 We are leaving with Ölmstad with a smile on our faces and energized legs, ready for some more rad riding! Bring it on!!!

“I love Hjo!”

The ride down to Huskvarna and Jönköping and the stretch after the turn back towards Motala all the way up to Hjo is too many the most daunting and stranius part of the loop. It is about 60km that needs to be put behind you and to go with it some long and tedious hills to climb, good news is that there are some sweet spots to keep a lookout for. Why not take a detour in Munkaskog and say “hello” to the Bison’s at the Bison farm in Gate, or check out the pretty and old church and nice view in Norra fågelås! 

Make sure to keep the spirit up and boost each other and Hjo will be within reach in no time. You will have covered about 170km’s and more than half the loop. When in Hjo make sure to shout “I love Hjo/you!” to everyone you meet and don’t forget to swing by the dock as it is a very nice stop on a sunny day. This is also a good place for some more food and to fill up the water bottles.

We leave Hjo with a great mood and full of energy form the well deserved snack break/ food. Make sure to lift your gaze from the road as we ride as this is a place for wide landscapes and we can see all the way over to the other side of the lake and where we road this morning. We hope it is a sunny day and that you like us get to enjoy some sweet tail winds coming down the field landscape.

It is 200 km and we are arriving at the beach walk in Karlsborg, Motala and the finishline is right across the pond but we still have another 10k + to ride before we get around the top of the lake and swing back down. There’s a keep/castle in Karlsborg that is worth visiting, this is also Sweden’s reserve capital in case of war – fun fact. Second “capital” we pass today. 

Leaving karlsborg and we have made it a pinch more than ¾th of the ride, so make sure to enjoy what’s left! The next leg of our loop takes us into the troll forest, surrounded by enchanted forest and nice smooth roads – we the unstoppable riders and this place gives us the good vibes. The forest alley takes us back to the great blue surface of Vättern on the north side of the lake. This place is full of scattered islands and islets, feeling like a snack break? Perfect! this is a great place to dig up some of that candy from Gränna and you will have cand with a view.

The loop continues and takes us to the town of Askersund and this is the last time we have to go west, time to turn! Great work! The Askersund region’s landscape is characterized by a number of smaller lakes and streams, another sign of nature’s own beauty and once again a sign of how beautiful this round can be if you take the time to enjoy what is on offer!

We keep riding and make it to Åmmeberg, zooming down the smooth roads on our racers. It’s totally okay to feel a bit battered at this point as we just road about 250km’s but let’s keep the spirit up and the pedals spinning for the last part of the ride as well! Åmmeberg to Godegård is ful of climbs and hills much like a roller coaster and it feels way more fun than what you would think at this point. Enjoy the ride and the roller coaster in the mits of the beautiful nature and landscape. We pass Johanneslund, cycling through the pittoresque red houses and at one point feeling like we are cycling through someone’s yard, just to get back on the road and to our mission. This is a true Swedish idyll giving us a great deal of Astrid Lindgreen vibes and a good feeling.

The wrap…

It’s time for us to take a right turn when we reach Zinkgruvan, leaving Örebro municipality on swerling country roads. We make it to Godegård får another right turn summing it up to 14 right and 6 left turns for the full loop. All that is left between you and a nice warm meal in Motala at this point is 30 fast and nice km’s.

It’s an exhilarating feeling when you get closer to your final destination of a ride, even more so when you have fought through 315 kilometers of upps, downs, fun, pain and everything in between. We hope you get to experience the feeling of crossing the finish line in Motala at a Vätternrudan race, on a sunny day with the crowds cheering, cyclists and happy but exhausted faces everywhere. But it’s quite nice to finish in Motala on any day as well, the Vätternrundan finish line is a permanent installation along the coastal walk and it feels damn good crossing it any days of the year! Well done yall!