Fans (0) and friends (2) from all over the world – we’re back with another blog post!!! (Actually the fan part, is getting to 1 or 2 now).
I was forced to go back to Denmark for the last part of my green card process so I thought I’d spend some time wisely and go for a hike. Falster is an island in Denmark and I lived there for 4 years before moving to Colorado. My parents have lived there for almost 20 years so I know the island pretty well. I always wanted to hike around it but never did for some reason. I really liked the route I created so hopefully I won’t be the last person to do it.
My pack was really light for this trip since I didn’t anticipate to do a hike. I didn’t carry much food, no stove and no camera besides my phone. So that was really interesting and very freeing to not have a lot in the pack and not think about cooking. It simplified things quite a bit.
Most people don’t know that the whole east coast of Falster is pretty amazing. From Stubbekøbing you can walk along the coast all the way to Gedser, most of it is trail or dirt road. Stubbekøbing is an absolute beautiful old town with huge potential, though unfortunately it is very dead. It’s more lively in the summer due to the summer house areas and some bike tourists and there’s a great new café (called “Caféen på torvet“) on the square across from the church. I think more and more people are realizing Stubbekøbings potential and slowly but surely I think it will develop over the next 10 years. You can easily stock up for your hike with groceries (Netto, Fakta), pizzaria, ice cream on the harbour and there’s a great local liqour store on the harbour also.
Day 1: Stubbekøbing – Havlykke fricamping (32 k)
This first day is absolutely amazing. You are walking along the coast all the way with cliffs, forests and wild beaches. Coming out of Stubbekøbing you walk through a summerhouse area and basically follow bike route 8 & 9 after. Here you walk on pavement through the fields for a little bit until you come back to the water where it hits a trail. And from here it’s possible to walk along the coast for the rest of the day. Once you get into Korselitze forest after Næsgaard make sure to find the trail that runs along the beach in the woods. It’s much more exciting than staying on the bike routes. In Hesnæs there’s a great new bakery/café that’s worth a stop, it’s also a good chance to refill the water bottle. Following the coast you will eventually hit Havlykke fricamping which is around 2k south of Ulslev Strand Camping. This makes for a good stop to refill water buy coffee/ice cream and use the restroom. There is a toilet at Havlykke but it is not very nice and when I was there it was actually closed but the campsite is really nice and it’s free (there are toilets a couple km south of Havlykke and plenty along the way in the summerhouse area).
Day 2: Havlykke Fricamping – Bruserup Strand shelter (37,5 k)
On day 2 I was walking along the coast with a breakfast stop in Marielyst. There’s a really nice bakery “Homemade Bakery” south of the main square that’s worth a visit (unless you are there on a monday like me). The town is a very popular summer holiday town with great beaches and lots of cafés and restaurants. So plenty of options unless you arrive monday morning, then your options are Netto or the Kiosk where they have some decent baked goods but horrible coffee. But like my old colleague used to say: “bad coffee is much better than no coffee”, especially on a hike like that. Actually on the way to Marielyst a guy, Jesper, from one of the summerhouses yelled “goodmorning” and invited me for coffee which was really good, so I already had one cup. Funny story, he used to play drums for the band Aqua in the 90s, and we had a great talk which made for a great morning. I love randomly meeting people like that.
After Marielyst summerhouse area you arrive at Bøtø forest which is pretty cool. It is managed by Den Danske Naturfond that does a great job with reintroducing and protecting nature in Denmark. They reintroduced original species of trees and wild horses. They also bought Marielyst Enge that used to be industrial farmland and are now a haven for birds. It’s connected to Bøtø forest so definitely also worth checking out. Den Danske Naturfond directs 100% of donated means into the projects with no administration fees so if you’re looking for a good environmental organization to donate to this is a great option. It’s 12 kr per square metre so the money goes towards buying old farmland or other land that can be restored back to nature.
After Bøtø I walked through another summerhouse area and then eventually got to the lighthouse. At the lighthouse I turned right towards Gedser but it’s possible to go to “Sydstenen” which is the very most southern point of Denmark. Sydstenen is 1,5k in the other direction. In Gedser I found a newly opened great local brewery called “Café Købmandsgården”. It was actually closed but I just walked in and the owners was there and welcomed me with open arms and plenty of good beer. Neatly it was close to the only pizzaria in town so the combo was a great decision. I originally planned to stay the night in Gedser (there are 2 shelter options) but decided to move on to Bruserup Strand Shelter spot, that was 12k north of Gedser. The walk there from Gedser is pretty boring but the shelter spot is nice right next to the water with toilet, water and a nice sunset. Another option is to go back through Bøtø and maybe Marielyst Enge and stay at the shelters in Marielyst camping.
Day 3: Bruserup Strand shelter – Stubbekøbing (43 k)
The first part of day 3 was walking on pavement to Væggerløse. I arrived in Væggerløse pretty early and was looking for somewhere to get a coffee and bread. There is nowhere in town to get coffee so I went to Dagli Brugsen where they had some good bread and pastries and luckily the guy at the counter was really nice and made me a fresh brew of coffee. I sat outside the local whiskey distillery and had a great morning. After Væggerløse the walk starts to get more exciting along the coast through Hasselø. At some point theres a nice nature trail you can follow around the coast that ends with a shelter spot. I continued to Nykøbing Falster and had a great lunch omelette at Café 3kanten that’s right next to the water. Unfortunately I ate the omelette faster than I could get out my camera so I only have a picture of an empty plate!
After Nykøbing there is a couple options, I chose to go straight towards stubbekøbing through the Hannenov and Ovstrup forests which is really nice. I was thinking to stay the night in the shelter at Hannenov but decided to go all the way to stubbekøbing. Also you are allowed to pitch your tent anywhere you like in those woods. Another option from Nykøbing is to stay by the coast on Sundruten but then you would need another day. Sundruten and most other bike routes are also visible on the off line app I use called MapOut. I highly recommend it, it’s great in the field and It’s a one time payment around 7 usd with no subscription. Just download the map areas where you are going beforehand.
Anyway…here’s a few phone shots from day 3…
Maps & stats:
| Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | |
| Walking time: | 5:50 h | 6:58 h | 8 h |
| Distance: | 32 k | 37,5 k | 42-43 k |
| Asc: | 73 m | 9 m | 29 m |
| Dsc: | 79 m | 9 m | 39 m |
| Average speed: | 5,2 km/h | 5,2 km/h | 5,1 km/h |
Here’s a screenshot of my route. Check it out in more detail on my google map or strava (day 1, day 2 and day3)
Useful links:
Udinaturen.dk: Shows you a map of most shelters and places to pitch a tent in Denmark – great tool to plan your hike or bike trip in Denmark
Naturlandet.dk: More local to Lolland-Falster and you can choose English so probably more useful for foreigners. Find routes, book shelters etc.
MapOut: If you like hiking and biking off grid this is THE best value map tool that also integrates a lot of local routes. You can even create routes in the field and see the distance to your end destination. No subscription just a one time fee around 7 usd, absolute best value. Get it and you will thank me later! (and btw my 5 blog-likes haven’t gotten me any sponsorships yet so no affiliation. Maybe when I get to 10!)
Hope you enjoyed the read and found some useful stuff.
All the best,
David
Through Mountains 