Västerbotten County · Sweden
Blå Vägen
E12Hemavan to Umeå (Holmsund)
Sweden’s ‘Blue Road’ follows the Ume River from mountain Lapland to the Bothnian coast through 460 km of lake-threaded wilderness.
The Swedish section of E12 descends roughly 460 km from the mountain village of Hemavan, southern trailhead of the Kungsleden, eastward through Tärnaby, Storuman, and Lycksele to the coastal city of Umeå. The route earns its name from the Ume River, which it follows closely for much of the journey, passing a succession of lakes, forested valleys, and rapids. The landscape shifts from high sub-alpine terrain in the west to the broad taiga forest and river delta country of the Bothnian coast, making it one of the few drives in Sweden that spans an entire ecological gradient in a single day.
Scenery
Best seasons
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Blå Vägen on the map244.8 mi · point to point
Navigate to the start: Apple Maps · Google Maps
Character
Corners
busiest around mile 3Elevation
under 4%4 to 8%over 8%2 to 552 mFrom the road
Points of interest1 stop
- ÅsiktenViewpoint105 mi in
Hazards
- Moose and reindeer on road, especially at dusk and dawn
- Heavy snowfall and icy surfaces from October to May
- Very limited services on western mountain section
- River-fog reducing visibility near Storuman in autumn
Sources
“This major artery, one of northern Sweden’s better roads, is so named because it follows the course of the great Ume River that flows down from the mountains of southern Lappland to Umeå on the Bothnian coast.”
Route traced from OpenStreetMap, with its stats measured from that line. How the roads are mapped
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Nearby roads
The closest great drives to Blå Vägen.
