Map
**With Blankaholm as a starting point, you will find a nice and not so difficult to navigate archipelago area for your trip. In Blankaholm there is both a kayak dock and a small beach for launching adjacent to the ice cream parlor in the guest harbor. There is also the possibility to rent a kayak if you do not have one!
With the landowner's permission, you can drive up to the beach to unload and then park your car in the long-term parking lot (10 days). The car park has about twenty spaces.
The kayak trail starts by going southwest towards the neighboring community of Solstadström where you round Blankaholme before following the shoreline of the Solstad peninsula to the NE. In the strait between Fastandet and Tvetö, follow the leeward side of the island to the north up towards Storö. Follow the shoreline on the south side of Storö so that you have both Grytholmen and Marsholmen on your right. When you reach Marsholmen, you have the whole of Gåsefjärden in front of you, and it can be windy over this open water, so keep an eye on the weather forecast as you prepare for your trip. It is nice to round Tullerön before you steer the pole to the south and walk on the east side of Marsholmen. The short trip follows the north side of Storö back towards Blankaholm.
There is a longer crossing here and you can aim for either Krutholmen (SSW) or Stora Saltholmen (S) as a landmark. Then follow the mainland on your right until you reach the deep Fliviken, which cuts south into the mainland. At the mouth of the bay, continue east and you will eventually reach the large island of Hunö on your left.
At the eastern tip of Hunö the kayak trail splits. For the middle option, follow Skavdösundet to the NW if you have Skavdö and then Skälö on your left until you see the headland of Henriksnäsberget, which you are heading towards. To follow the long trail, continue past Skavdösundet and round Skavdö. Don't miss the narrow passage between Skavdö and Hustruholmen, which leads you into the lovely Hustruflagen, which is well suited for a break and is sheltered from most winds.
Here you can read more about Skavdö: https://www.kalmarlansmuseum.se/site/assets/files/1564/skavdo.pdf
Continue following Skavdö to the north and you will pass an area that is well suited for exploring by kayak, namely Djupesundshällarna. Soon after you reach Djupesund, which is a naturally formed channel between Skavdö and Hamnö.
https://www.kalmarlansmuseum.se/site/assets/files/1564/hamno.pdf
After Djupesund you continue in a mainly NE direction until you come across Skälö whose shoreline you now follow to the N. You pass Östra Skälö which has a parking lot for archipelago residents and guests and which also makes an excellent parking lot for a kayak adventure in the area. On the north side of Skälö there is a narrow canal that leads to Östra Skälö glo and restaurant Östra Skälö which mainly operates during the summer months. With or without ice cream in your stomach, continue along Skälö until you find the small bridge between Skälö and the mainland. Here you go under the road.
You now come out on Henriksnäsfjärden and steer the nose of the kayak to the south so you round Henriksnäsberg. The middle kayak trail connects here. When you reach the tip, you should see a low rock out in the water. This is Gåshällen - the place where the wild geese settled after crossing from Gotland in the saga of Nils Holgersson's wonderful journey through Sweden by Selma Lagerlöf. Continue past Gåshällen in SW direction until you reach Tullerön, where the short kayak trail connects. Follow the shoreline on Tullerön and Storö until you reach the NW tip with its marked height - Klubbsudden. From here you paddle in a straight northerly direction towards Ängö, which you round at its northern tip before heading south and paddling in the narrow strait between Ängö and the mainland, and after a few kilometers you are back at the starting point in Blankaholm.
