Sleeping outside in nature

The Danish Nature Agency welcomes you to spend the night in nature areas owned by the Danish State

We offer four different ways to stay overnight outdoors:

Sleep on the forest floor

You are allowed to sleep on the forest floor on a mat, in a sleeping bag, with a blanket or tarpaulin, a hammock or similar. Your tarpaulin must not have the same function as a tent, and you must be careful not to harm trees or plants.

Small primitive campsites (primitiv overnatningsplads)

Small primitive campsites with or without a lean-to, often with water and primitive toilet facilities. The small primitive campsites are for families and small groups and allow for a maximum of 2 nights stay. In addition to lean-tos, there is space for setting up tents as well (up to 8 tents depending on the circumstances).

To find a small primitive camp site go to:

udinaturen.dk - Choose Primitiv overnatningsplads or Primitiv overnatningsplads med shelter

Large primitive campsites (lejrplads)

Large primitive campsites with lean-tos for larger groups such as Scouts our school classes. These can be pre-booked for groups of 15 persons or more. If you book, you have priority to the lean-tos on the site, but others are free to use the remaining spaces or set up tents on the site. You are welcome to use the lean-tos without booking, if they are not occupied.

To find and book a large primitive campsite go to:

booking.naturstyrelsen.dk

Camping for the Quiet Forest Hiker (fri teltning)

The Danish Nature Agency has modified the general rules regarding camping with tents in specified forest areas. You will find more than 275 woodlands all over Denmark where you may set up your tent for a night. This is called fri teltning which translates roughly to free tenting.

Download specific rules

To find a woodland area that allows for fri teltning go to:

Fri teltning - scroll down to the map

Please remember

  • Overnight stay is free.
  • Vehicle access is only permitted if it is signposted or if you have received a special permit.
  • Bring your rubbish home.
  • You are allowed to collect dry branches and twigs on the forest floor to use for your fire on the fire site, but not cutting down firewood.
  • You are allowed to collect woodland plants, berries and fruit for your own consumption.
  • When you use the woodland as a toilet, please be at an acceptable distance from the campsite and leave no traces.

Useful Danish words

Informations about the primitive campsites are unfortunately only available in Danish, but here are a few useful Danish words:

Bålplads – site for campfire
Drikkevand – drinking water
Shelter – lean-to
Tilladt - allowed/permitted
Telt – tent