Why go
Abisko National Park is the easiest piece of Swedish Lapland to reach without a car. The E10 road and the Kiruna–Narvik railway both run through it, the train stops inside the park, and the marked trails begin about 800 metres from the platform. The park lies about 100 kilometres west of Kiruna1 and, by the county board’s reckoning, roughly 200 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle2, which means polar night in midwinter and midnight sun in early summer.
Founded on 24 May 19093, it is one of Sweden’s 31 national parks4 and among the first. Two things bring most visitors. In the dark months the sky draws people hunting the northern lights, helped by a chairlift to a viewing station on the mountain above the park entrance. In summer the park is the northern trailhead of the Kungsleden, which begins in Abisko National Park and continues south5 through the mountains. In between you get birch woodland, a canyon reached on a boardwalk, and the southern shore of the long lake Torneträsk.
What you will see
The park covers 7,700 hectares, of which 6,807 hectares is land; the rest is Torneträsk. The official description names four landscape zones: deciduous forest, mountain meadow, heath and bare fell3. The Norrbotten County Administrative Board (Länsstyrelsen) manages the park6 and runs its visitor centre, naturum Abisko, which holds a permanent exhibition5 on the plants, wildlife, geology and cultural history of the area.
The Abiskojåkka canyon is the sight nearest the entrance and the one the park service describes as dramatic and easy to reach7. A yellow-marked trail from the naturum descends about 150 metres of sloping gravel without a handrail, crosses the stream on a narrow footbridge and then follows about 300 metres of wooden boardwalk with railings and rest platforms, at a gradient of up to 8 to 10 per cent along the gorge; this is the park’s accessible trail. A green-marked path carries on to the lake shore, 1.2 kilometres8 one way on gravel, where there is an accessible rest area9 that can be reached by car with special permission.
Further in, a blue-marked trail leads to Samevistet, a Sámi settlement site, and the park has nine discovery points7 along its paths explaining what you are looking at. Kungsleden itself leaves from beside the STF mountain station. In winter the listed activities are dog sledding and guided walks5, with northern lights tours run by local providers rather than the park.
What you see depends heavily on the month. The park’s own seasonal guide puts it plainly: early autumn brings colour and no mosquitoes; late autumn and winter bring the northern lights and polar night; late winter is for snowshoes and skis; summer is flowers and birdlife. Two shoulder periods are quiet by design: from early May to early June, and in October9, fewer activities run and several facilities in the area close.
The Aurora Sky Station above the STF station operates in two blocks. The northern lights season runs late August to April, with the best chance from mid-November to mid-March; the midnight sun season runs around 25 May to mid-July; it closes in between. The chairlift base is a 10-minute walk from STF Abisko Turiststation and the ride up takes about 30 minutes. A night visit costs from 1,295 SEK, a northern lights dinner from 2,395 SEK, and a daytime chairlift ride from 260 SEK10.
Visiting: hours, admission, booking
The park has no gates and no opening hours; Sweden’s national parks are open to visitors all year round4. What does have hours is naturum Abisko, and they shift by season. The county board lists three blocks: autumn, 1 to 26 September, Tuesday to Saturday 09.00 to 17.00; midwinter, 1 December to 13 February, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday 14.00 to 17.00; and spring-winter from 15 February, the same three days 13.00 to 17.002. Between those blocks it is closed, so check the county board page against your dates.
None of the official pages lists an entrance fee for the park itself. What you pay for is the chairlift, the Sky Station, guided tours and a bed. The rules are short but enforced. Camping is allowed only at three designated places: by the main entrance at the STF station, at Nissonjåhka five kilometres south of the main entrance along the Kungsleden, and at the Abiskojaure cabins. Sleeping in the long-stay car park is not permitted and there are no motorhome or caravan pitches11. Open fires and grills are limited to designated sites; a camping stove is allowed. Dogs must be leashed across the whole park from 1 January to 30 April, and all year on roads, marked trails and around the STF station and the Abiskojaure cabins. A bird sanctuary is closed from 1 May to 31 July. Motor vehicles stay on designated roads, car parks and snowmobile trails. A park folder in Swedish, English and German8 is available from the county board.
For booking, STF Abisko Turiststation is the large lodging inside the park: 377 beds spread across the main building, the Keron hostel and cabins, open 1 January to 31 December 202612, with a restaurant, shop, gear rental, sauna and guest kitchen. Sky Station nights and dinners are separate tickets sold by STF. For questions about the park or the exhibition, naturum Abisko answers on +46 10 225 55 446 or by email at naturum.abisko@lansstyrelsen.se.
Getting there
By train. SJ’s night train from Stockholm to Narvik stops at Gällivare, Kiruna, Abisko, Björkliden and Riksgränsen, and STF members get 10 per cent off SJ fares13. Get off at Abisko Turist, the stop inside the park, and walk to the STF station. Kiruna Lappland says trains between Kiruna and Narvik run daily all year14 and advises buying tickets online in advance.
By bus. Länstrafiken Norrbotten line 91 links Kiruna with Riksgränsen via Abisko and Björkliden; from Kiruna bus station to Abisko Turist takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes1. It is seasonal: the park’s Swedish page notes the bus runs only part of the year15, and Kiruna Lappland lists a winter season from February to May and a summer season from June to September16. Fares are calculated by distance17; tickets are sold in the app, on board and through retailers, and card payment works on all lines18.
By air. Kiruna Airport is about 9 kilometres19 from the town centre. From the airport you can take line 91, the airport coach into town, or the Visit Abisko door-to-door shuttle20 to Abisko and Björkliden.
By car. The E10 passes through the park at any time of the year1. STF puts its station 100 km from Kiruna and 80 km from Narvik12. Inside the park you leave the car at the designated car parks; overnight stays in a vehicle are not allowed.
Nearby
Kiruna is the regional hub for flights, trains and buses, and worth a day for the mining town itself; see the Kiruna city guide. East of Kiruna, Jukkasjärvi has the Icehotel and the wooden Jukkasjärvi church. West along the same railway line, Björkliden and Riksgränsen are the next stops13 before the Norwegian border and Narvik. For the wider picture, read the guides to getting around Sweden and Sweden’s climate.
