The region
Småland, between Vimmerby, Rumskulla and Mariannelund. Red wooden houses, a lake every ten kilometres, and a network of public gravel roads through pine and birch forest you find nowhere else in Europe like this.
Best gravel region of Sweden
Voted so by the readers of Happyride, in 2024 and again in 2025. Not because it is high, but because the gravel is endless and the roads are empty.
Astrid Lindgren country
Katthult, Bullerbyn and Lönneberga are real villages here, and they lie on our leaves. Filmbyn Småland is next door to our meeting and service point.
Allemansrätten
The right to roam — and the duty to leave nothing behind. We ride the public roads, respect reserves and nesting areas, and leave the gravel as we found it.
The water
our meeting and service point is on a lake with a bathing spot. After the ride, first the bike, then yourself.
Bring the family
A gravel weekend doesn't have to be a weekend alone. While you ride, the rest of the family has plenty to do here — and in the evening everyone sits at the table by the lake together. You ride, they're on holiday too.
Walking routes from our meeting and service point
Marked walking trails through the forest and along the lake, straight from the campsite. Norra Kvill national park is a fifteen-minute drive.
Astrid Lindgren's World
The theme park in Vimmerby, twenty minutes away. Plus the real villages from her books: Katthult, Bullerbyn, Lönneberga — and Filmbyn Småland next to our meeting and service point.
The lake and the table
Bathing spot, jetty, canoe and swimming. The service car returns there in the evening, at seven we eat together — partners and kids eat with us for €25 — and the closing night is for everyone.
July and August: geocaching for the kids
We set out a geocaching walking route around our meeting and service point. Parents walk it with the kids themselves, whenever it suits them. That way everyone is happy.
Vimmerby and the villages
The wooden town of Vimmerby with its market, Norra Kvill with Sweden's oldest oak, the Skurugata gorge near Eksjö, and the villages Katthult, Bullerbyn and Lönneberga. All within half an hour of our meeting and service point.
These activities are information and links — not part of the package. You arrange and pay for them directly with the providers.
The weather, honestly, month by month
Småland is not Mallorca and we'd rather say so up front. These are the long-term averages for the area around Vimmerby (SMHI, 1991–2020, rounded) and what they mean on the bike. Any month can throw out a week that's way off — up or down.
- day / night
- 8 – 12 °C / −1 – 3 °C
- precipitation
- ± 35 mm · 9 days
- daylight
- 14 – 16 h
Crisp and clear, sometimes still night frost, and in the first week there can be snow in the shade. The gravel is still loose after winter. That's why in April we ride with extra layers in the clothing bag, hot soup in the car and loops that pass the car halfway.
Kit winter layer, leg warmers, wind jacket, warm gloves
- day / night
- 14 – 18 °C / 3 – 7 °C
- precipitation
- ± 45 mm · 9 days
- daylight
- 16 – 18 h
The finest month for those who love cold mornings: chilly at the start, pleasant by noon. Birches come into leaf, the roads are firm. Arm and leg warmers that go into the clothing bag on the road.
Kit arm and leg warmers, gilet, light gloves
- day / night
- 18 – 22 °C / 8 – 12 °C
- precipitation
- ± 60 mm · 10 days
- daylight
- 18 – 19 h
Midsummer: it hardly gets dark. Summery by day, cool by the lake in the evening. First mosquitoes in the forest around sunset — not on the gravel. Showers are short and heavy.
Kit summer kit, gilet for the start, rain jacket in the bag
- day / night
- 20 – 24 °C / 11 – 14 °C
- precipitation
- ± 70 mm · 10 days
- daylight
- 17 – 18 h
The warmest month, and the wettest: afternoon thunderstorms are part of it. The lake is 19 – 22 °C, swimming after the ride is a given. Hot days above 28 °C happen; two bottles are the minimum then.
Kit summer kit, sunscreen, rain jacket, second bottle
- day / night
- 19 – 23 °C / 10 – 13 °C
- precipitation
- ± 70 mm · 11 days
- daylight
- 15 – 17 h
Still summer, the lake at its warmest, and the evenings get dark again — campfire weather. Late August can turn into a wet week. Mosquitoes fade.
Kit summer kit, gilet, rain jacket, a light for the ride home at night
- day / night
- 14 – 18 °C / 6 – 9 °C
- precipitation
- ± 55 mm · 10 days
- daylight
- 12 – 14 h
Clear, cool and quiet — the forests turn colour and the roads are empty. Misty mornings, warm around noon, dark by half past seven. The first night frost is possible late September. Whoever rides September gets the best photos.
Kit arm and leg warmers, gilet, light gloves, wind jacket
Getting here
Most participants come by car with the bike on the back: leave Wednesday evening, at our meeting and service point Thursday morning. By plane: Linköping, Jönköping, Växjö and Kalmar are each one to one and a half hours' drive. The best connections and car hire will be here before bookings open.