Into the Wild
Getting Back to Basics in the Swedish Wilderness

Sweden.

The lingonberries. The girls with dragon tattoos. The nation where you accepted the Nobel for your work in external ballistics.

And soon, the home of your next jaunt in a rustic floating sauna...

Welcome to Kolarbyn, a lodge with 12 bare-bones huts scattered in the wilds of Sweden’s Bergslagen region, opening May 1 for the Nordic summer season and taking reservations now.

Your retreat (or lesson in survival, depending) begins two hours outside of Stockholm near the shores of misty Lake Skärsjön, where your sparely appointed—but lushly camouflaged—forest abode awaits.

It’s all here, really. Beds: two hard platforms, covered in sheepskin rugs. Heat source: a wood-burning fireplace. Light source: candles. Commode: a freestanding outhouse a few steps from the slatted front door. Your shower: a stream.

After settling in, you’ll want to take advantage of Scandinavia’s midnight sun by manning the lodge’s rowboat and heading to the sauna in the middle of the lake. Heating it requires chopping your own wood, but that shouldn’t be a problem—just channel Thor.

After working up an appetite, you’ll fire up the stove (a stone BBQ perfect for impromptu s’mores cook-offs) and fry up some dinner. And if you’re not feeling the DIY spirit of the Swedish backcountry, you can always book an all-inclusive tour—a moose-seeking expedition, perhaps—and take your meals in the white-linen restaurant.

White linen on picnic tables. But still.