The walk from Lugnås church goes on an asphalt road through one cultural landscape. Here you pass farms, open fields and pastures. Follow the trail on the gravel road towards Qvarnstensgruvan Minnes-fjället. At the parking lot you will start walking on a path that leads you through a deciduous forest to one mining area. During the mine’s opening hours you can visit the mines together with a guide. There is also a café and a museum here. The area is located in a nature reserve and there is also a nice rest area with both a barbecue area and a toilet.

You then continue your hike by walking on the gravel road through the mining area and further on the smaller forest roads towards Karleby. After about 2 km, an observatory is visible on the left. It is a short detour for the curious.One of the amateur world’s most developed observatories that holds open houses a few times a year. When you approach Karleby, you are met by signs at the edge of the ditch that tell about berries and other vegetation. Once at Persgården, there are benches and tables for brought food and coffee, as well as access to a toilet. The curious can here take a detour from Biosfärleden and walk a 2.5 km long path to experience the local history. Along the path, which ends at the same place where it begins, there are about 40 information boards that tell about places, events and objects.

How to get here

At Lugnås church there is no regular public transport but there is parking spaces here. In Mariestad there is however public transport. Find the departures at www.vasttrafik.se. Karleby is about one kilo-meter from a bus stop along road 26. The bus goes to and from Mariestad center and Skövde center.

Length

12 km 

Time

3,5 hours, exkluding breaks

Difficulty

Medium

Surface

Lots of gravel road and forest path

Start 

Karleby

END

Mariestad

Marking

Biosfärleden / Biosphere trail

Accomondation

In Karleby, where the stage ends, there are no accommodation options. It is however easy to take the bus into Mariestad where there are accom-modations in several price ranges. A stone’s throw from Lugnås church is the charming Lugnås Ekohotell, a tip is to also buy a dinner basket where you can prepare your own meal from locally produced ingredients.

Don´t miss

A visit to the mining area at Qvarnstensgruvan Minnesfjället together with a guide. 

During season it is open but otherwise you need to pre-book this.

Download the stage as PDF here!