Upplandsleden stage 15 Marma - Älvkarleby - Långhäll 22.1 km

The first part of this stage is called the Pearl of the Upplandsled, and I couldn't agree more. It is an easy walk along the sparkling waters of the Dalälven river on well marked, but possibly a little too well prepared paths. The nature is very varied and at Gropholmarnas nature reserve there is a fantastic resting place with a shelter. It is a peaceful place and we lit a crackling fire to further enhance the atmosphere. A hunting pike splashed in the reeds and a large bird of prey hovered majestically over the water in front of us.

Along the last stretch to Älvkarleby there are several picnic tables and benches and we also find an old staircase leading down to a nice sandy beach. Soon we see the large power plant where huge amounts of concrete are mixed with the now bare and empty rocks in what must have been a mighty rapids. We pass Laxön, which used to be a military barracks for the Svea Engineer Regiment. Today there are hotels, restaurants, some shops and a hostel in the beautifully restored military barracks.

The trail continues to the northwest and now we realize that we are in Norrland. The forest changes character in a dramatic way and the wilderness becomes tangible when we see fresh bear droppings next to the trail. The trail goes up in the dense forest and on Höghällsberget there are the remains of an old fortress. We pass another shelter and several huge burial cairns from the Bronze Age. The stage ends at the remains of the Långhäll farm, which was inhabited until 1943 and then used by Friluftsfrämjandet before it burned down in the 1960s. Today there is a well-equipped rest area right on the border between Uppland and Gästrikland. From here our hike continues on the Gästerikeleden trail.

If you only want to go between Marma and Älvkarleby, you can take the train. If you want to continue to Långhäll, you need to park a car at the snowmobile parking lot just under a kilometer east of the shelter. The parking lot is reached via an increasingly narrow gravel and forest road from the southern part of Skutskär.