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Playspot: Sweden, Hälsingland, Ljusnan, Hovrahällarna.

What's it like

Hovrahällarna is located somewhere in the middle of the 50 km long stretch of Ljusnan that is called "Mellanljusnan" (The Middle of Ljusnan). This section contains about 15 rapids of class I-III.

Hovrahällarna itself is a very interesting spot. It can roughly be described as a riverwide ledge that has different characteristics in different parts of it. At normal waterlevels the best spot is the first 5 m of hole closest to shore on river left. This is a very beginner friendly spot since it is one km of flatwater above the feature and almost flatwater below the spot for one km or so, depending on waterlevel. So there are no immediate dangers here.

This is where the competitions have and will be held. The hole is deep and has a very flat foampile. This means that this is a perfect place to learn to initiate cartwheels.

There is a fairly big eddy on the river left side of the hole and at lower levels there are also eddies on the right side in the middle of the river.

• The above description is for water levels going from 123.00 m (Pretty normal in June) and up to 123.50. Below 123.00 (It can easily get down to 122.50 in July and August if it's dry) the hole becomes very shallow so vertical cartwheels are difficult without hitting the bottom.
• At a level around 124.00 m (A pretty high spring flood) the character of the hole changes so that it is not very sticky anymore and has a green shoulder so it is beginning to become a wave. At this level it also becomes possible to play in the middle of the hole, like 10-15 m out towards the center of the river. It's fun but it is a little bit strange and is pretty shallow. It does have a cool sweet spot though, where it's really easy to link right handed cartwheels.
• At around 125.00 (Extreme level that very seldom occurs) the part of the hole closest to river left shore becomes a sweet surfwave of medium size. It's like 5 m wide and perfectly smooth and allows you to do cleanspins and stuff. In the middle there is now a giant sized hole with a high foampile but still not very sticky. This gives you a feature that is like 25 m wide to play in! Very Cool! At these extreme levels you also get a super cool surfwave on river right that is perfect for the really advanced wave moves like aerial blunts and stuff. (Unfortunatley it can take several years until we see these levels again).

How to get there

The spot is located almost exactly in the middle of Sweden, 350 km north of Stockholm. The main city in the area is Ljusdal. To get from Ljusdal to Hovrahällarna just follow National Road 84 to the west. This road follows the river Ljusnan the whole way. Drive about 30 km until you get to the small village "Hovra". Here take right at a sign that says "Hovrahällarna". Follow this road a couple of hundred metres and take left at a small wood sign that also says "Hovrahällarna". Follow this small dirt road about 1 km down to the river. There is a parking place where the road ends and from there you can also see the playspot right in front of you.

More info

To check the waterlevel call: +46(0)651-711903

This answering machine gives the water level in Ljusnan at Ljusdal, 30 km downstream of the spot, in meters above the sea level.

More info can be found in Swedish on Ljusnan's Canoe & Kayak club website.

FreestyleKayaker also has a series of short videoclips showing Hovrahällarna.

Locals

This playspot was rediscovered by the playboaters in the fall of 1999 and have not been known to the majority of Swedish paddlers until the summer of 2000. Therefore you very seldom run into any paddlers here. On the other side it is common that there might be a couple of spectators around since this is a popular place to go to for the beautiful scenery.

Events

The Freestyle Kayaker Festival will for the first year be arranged here 1-4 June 2001. The festival includes the Swedish Freestyle Kayak Championship. It will probably be an annual event in the future held in the end of May or early June.

Info sources

[mail address protected from spambots with javascript] , http://www.freestylekayaker.com