Kolarleden

Kolarleden is a loop trail of about 3.5 km. The trail offers peace and quiet. You get a wonderful nature experience on fine paths and slightly hilly terrain. The trail goes through forest and beautiful clearings, as well as along lake Stråken.

The trail starts from the beach at the southern part of Stråken. You can walk it in both directions, but the recommendation is to start with the northern part. You walk a short distance on the old railway embankment where the train between Borås and Jönköping once ran.

History

When you hike Kolarleden, peace and quiet set in. It can be hard to understand that there was once full activity here. At times, charcoal burners lived here in their huts to produce charcoal. The charcoal was transported on lake Stråken for delivery to, among others, Ryfors bruk and Taberg's blast furnace, where the charcoal was converted into iron. The charcoal was produced by heating wood with limited air supply in charcoal pits or kilns. It took 10–12 days to produce the charcoal, and then it had to cool for a few days.

Charcoal burner hut

The workers needed somewhere to live, and there were so-called charcoal burner huts. They lived here during the charcoal production. Remains of a charcoal burner hut are usually seen in the form of a U-shaped mound since the walls were often covered with earth.

Today, there is a newly built charcoal burner hut where you can experience what it was like to live as a charcoal burner. You can go inside it, and outside there is a barbecue area.

The trail

The trail is marked with blue colour and is 3.3 km long, forming a loop. During the hike, there are signs set up by the local heritage association where you can learn more about, for example, flax drying, cement casting, and tar burning.

How to get here