Discover Ockelbo: Gardens, History and Nature

Ockelbo offers several ways to explore during your stay: gardens, church and architectural history, industrial history, and trails through the landscape. When planning your trip, you can decide whether to focus on a particular place, take an interest in architectural styles, or include nature and walking options. An annual harvest festival adds a seasonal event to this selection.

Gardens and Roses

Wij Trädgårdar is a modern garden park in a forest clearing in Ockelbo. The Rosträdgården has around 250 different shrub and park roses. This allows you to consider the character of the park and the rose collection as two distinct aspects: the forest clearing as the setting for the gardens, and the roses as a specific garden highlight. If you would like to include garden culture in your trip, you can take these themes into account when choosing your destinations.

Church, Architectural and Industrial History

Ockelbo kyrka was rebuilt in 1906–1908 using the surviving walls, after the large stone church dating from the 1790s burned down in 1904. The surviving walls give the rebuilding an architectural link to the older church and make the sequence of original construction, fire, and reconstruction tangible.

Wij valsverk is a unique industrial museum. An ironworks for refining bar iron was established at Wij Manor in 1797, where pig iron from the Åbron blast furnace was processed. The information thus identifies both a specific historic production site and the origin of the pig iron processed there.

Oklagård and Ödmårdens Stavkyrka offer different focuses for exploring historic architectural styles. Oklagård is an enclosed cultural heritage farm built using log construction, illustrating the development of log-building techniques over 1,000 years. Ödmårdens Stavkyrka in Norrbo, Ockelbo, is a reconstructed early medieval wooden temple. It stands above a deep grey-stone crypt with a spring whose water flows north. While Oklagård focuses on the long development of log construction, the crypt and spring are specific features of the stave church.

Landscape and Trails Around Rönnåsen

The summit of Rönnåsen is about 8 kilometres from the centre of Ockelbo and stands 270 metres above sea level. From there, the view extends across large parts of northern Gästrikland. Rönnåsen has the child-friendly Mullestigen trail; a path from there leads to an accessible viewpoint at a field of glacial erratics. There are also opportunities for exercise on and around Rönnåsen, including fitness trails and hiking paths.

The Gästriketriangeln hiking trail connects Rönnåsen, Åmot, and Jädraås. This means that specific trails on Rönnåsen sit alongside a route linking three places.

More Things to Explore During Your Stay

At Älgparken in Ockelbo, visitors can see moose up close. This is a distinct theme alongside gardens, architectural history, and trails: the focus here is on encountering moose.

Municipal information updated on March 11, 2025, lists group accommodation with 46 beds at Ockelbo Idrottsplats. If this option could suit your group trip, check availability for your preferred dates.

The annual harvest festival takes place at Wij Trädgårdar on September 5 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The festival offers locally produced goods as well as food, cut flowers, and vegetables. The exact dates are seasonal; if you would like to plan your trip around the festival, check the date for the relevant year before travelling.

Discover more destinations: Åmotsbruk, Kolforsen, Jädraås.

For the broader travel overview: Ockelbo.