A Perfect Fall Weekend
A weekend in Småland doesn’t have to be packed with plans. Two days can go a long way when the forest starts right outside your door, breakfast can take its time, and the biggest decision of the day is which hiking trail to choose—or whether you dare take a dip in the lake after the sauna.
A weekend for two is often at its best when there’s plenty of time to be spontaneous. A leisurely cup of tea in the morning, a hike in the woods, an unexpected stop at a farm stand, or a spontaneous coffee break at a farm café.
Here’s our suggestion for how you can spend aweekend for two in Småland—from Friday afternoon through Sunday lunch—with forests, short excursions, good food, and a wood-fired sauna by the lake.
Friday
3:00 p.m. – Arrival at Smålandstorpet
At the end of the gravel road, your own house for two awaits. Bring your luggage inside, put the groceries away in the kitchen, and make yourselves at home. Maybe you’ll start by brewing a pot of coffee and just sitting down for a while.
The great thing about a weekend here is that you can let how you feel that day guide you. If the weather is nice, you might want to head out into the woods right away. If you’ve had a busy week, you might feel better staying inside for a while and slowing down. There’s nothing in particular you have to do.
5:00 p.m. – Hike in the forest
Once you’ve landed, it can be nice to get out into the fresh air. From the house, you can head straight out onto one of the hiking trails around the farm. So your first outing requires neither a car nor much planning.
The yellow trail takes about 45 minutes to walk and is perfect for a Friday afternoon. It’s also a great opportunity to think about what you’d like to do the next day—a longer hike, an outing, or maybe a little of both.
6:30 p.m. – Cook dinner in your own home
Back at the house, you decide for yourselves how the evening will unfold. Cook dinner together and take your time with it. Maybe you picked up a few things on the way, or stopped by the Hagshultskossorna guesthouse and bought something tasty.
It doesn't have to be anything fancy. A favorite dinner, a cheese platter, and something nice to drink are more than enough. Stay at the table, play a game, or put on some music. A great weekend doesn't have to consist of grand experiences all the time. Often, it's the quiet moments you remember.
Saturday
8:30 a.m. – Start the day slowly
Saturday morning begins with breakfast being delivered to the door in a basket. Inside, you’ll find freshly brewed coffee or tea, yogurt, muesli, orange juice, and sandwiches made with Johan’s homemade bread.
No hotel breakfast that ends at a certain time, and no line at the coffee machine. Take your time at the table and think about what you actually want to do today. Maybe you’d like to spend most of the day outdoors. Maybe a day trip sounds more appealing than a long hike. Småland is perfect for both.
10:00 a.m. – Discover Småland
Now it's time for today's little adventure.
Option 1 – Go on a longer hike
If you’d prefer to stay close to Smålandstorpet, you can choose a longer hike starting right from the farm. Perhaps a 15-kilometer hike through the woods and over logs and rocks will feel like just the right challenge.
Pack something to eat and drink in a backpack—backpacks with seat pads are available to borrow—and head out onto the trails. Hiking together is an easy way to actually have time to talk, without screens and without any particular agenda.
Option 2 – Take a trip to Store Mosse National Park
If you’d like to see more of Småland, a trip to Store Mosse National Park could be the highlight of your day. Here, open marshlands, boardwalks, and beautiful pine forests come together in a landscape that’s distinctly different from the woods around Smålandstorpet.
There are several hiking trails to choose from. The Lilla Lövö loop is a great option that takes a couple of hours and lets you explore both mossy meadows and forests at a leisurely pace.
Option 3 – Visit Vandalorum
If you'd like to take a break and do something completely different, Vandalorum, just outside Värnamo, might be a good option. It features art, design, and exhibitions, and you can combine your visit with lunch at Restaurant Syltan.
It's especially a good fit if the weather isn't great or if you want to mix nature experiences with something cultural.
Option 4 – Take the smaller roads
Another way to explore Småland is to not have a specific destination in mind. Hop in the car and spend the day touring farm shops, cafés, and small attractions.
For example, you can stop at Vaggeryds Gårdscafé, the Ängabackens Björksoda farm shop, the Hagshultskossornas guesthouse, Frejas bod in Vaggeryd, or Erikshjälpen in Vrigstad.
It's not always the biggest attractions that make a weekend memorable. Sometimes it's the little shop you happened to stumble upon or the coffee you had at a place you'd never heard of before.
3:00 p.m. – Back to Smålandstorpet
After a few hours outside, it's nice to come back inside. Make some coffee, sit outside if the weather permits, or settle in for a while.
It’s easy to fill a weekend with activities from morning to night, but then you also run the risk of coming home just as tired as when you left. So let the hours between your outing and the sauna be exactly what they are: free time.
5:00 p.m. – Wood-fired sauna and swimming in the lake
As the afternoon turns to evening, one of the weekend’s highlights awaits: the wood-fired sauna by the lake.
After a day outdoors, there’s something special about coming inside to the warmth. Sit in the sauna for a while, step outside every now and then, and stand on the dock. And if you’re brave enough—take a dip in the lake.
Perhaps the best part is the contrast between the warm sauna, the cool air, and the lake outside.
7:30 p.m. – Saturday dinner
After the sauna, head back to the house and let Saturday evening continue at the same leisurely pace. Cook dinner together and open something nice to drink.
Romance doesn’t have to be champagne and white tablecloths. It can just as easily be two days when neither of you has to be anywhere else. Cooking dinner together, taking a walk through the woods, and sitting in a warm sauna as dusk falls outside.
Sunday
9:00 a.m. – One last long breakfast
A Sunday during the weekend is best started slowly. Sleep in a little longer, make breakfast, and take your time in the morning.
It's often not until Sunday that you realize you've really slowed down. So pack a little at a time and let the house be yours for a little while longer.
11:00 a.m. – One last walk before heading home
Before it's time to head home, it might be nice to wrap up the weekend with one last little outing. Take a short walk around the area, go back to a place you discovered on Friday, or stop at a café or farm stand on your way home.
It doesn't have to be anything more than that. Spending one last moment outdoors makes Sunday still feel like part of the trip—and not just a way to get home.
12:00 p.m. – Time to head home
Pack the last few things into the car and leave the house after two days in Småland.
Then it’s back to the daily grind. Hopefully at a slightly slower pace than when you left it behind.
Are two nights really enough?
Two nights may sound short, but when your accommodations are part of the experience, you won’t have to spend time on long commutes or activities from morning to night.
You can go hiking right from the house, cook dinner in your own kitchen, enjoy a leisurely breakfast, go on a longer outing, and end the day with a wood-fired sauna by the lake.
That means a Friday–Sunday weekend can actually pack in a surprising amount—without feeling stressful.
Ready for a weekend in Småland?
At Smålandstorpet, you’ll stay in a private cottage for two, nestled in the heart of Småland’s natural landscape where the gravel road ends. Here, you can start your day at a leisurely pace, set out on the hiking trails around the farm, explore Småland during the day, and return to your private cottage in the evening.
Feel free to use this guide as inspiration, and then make the weekend your own. Maybe you’ll go on a long hike. Maybe you’ll visit Store Mosse National Park for the first time. Maybe you’ll stop to shop at a farm stand you find along the way.
Or maybe the very best part of the weekend is those few hours when you don't do much of anything at all.
Check out our accommodations and book your own weekend getaway for two at Smålandstorpet →
