A Fall Escape to Västerbotten (Swedish Lapland)

The promise of husky and reindeer encounters led me to leave Stockholm for Västerbotten in Swedish Lapland. 

Västerbotten is situated at the southern edge of the Lapland region, along the Gulf of Bothnia, the body of water between Sweden and Finland.

I was making the journey with a small group of adventure travelers, all fellow members of the Adventure Travel Trade Association I joined last year.

Together, we spent four days in the serenity of Swedish nature, in a region of Lapland often passed over by foreign tourists in favor of the northern tip of the country.

If you’d like to experience Swedish Lapland without contributing to overtourism, a fall escape to Västerbotten is just the ticket.

Escape to Västerbotten

If you’re flying into Västerbotten, you’ll arrive in Umea, the county’s capital city.

Västerbotten is about 5,800 square miles in area but only has about 220,000 residents. And a third of them live in Umea.