In Sweden everyone has the legal right to walk, cycle, ride, ski and camp almost anywhere in nature.
“This is made possible thanks to a Swedish right guaranteed by the constitution – freedom to roam. This right enables the Swedish people to experience nature and enjoy the beautiful Swedish wildlife,” says the president of Visit Sweden USA.
Known as allemansrätten (meaning “everyman’s right”), the right of public access gives people the freedom to roam just about anywhere in the countryside as long as they “Don’t disturb – Don’t destroy.” Essentially, a 100 million acre playground open to all.
In the United States we don’t enjoy this right. We get shot for trespassing, which makes traversing nature a bit more challenging. Of course we might not want strangers camping in our backyard, but we take our sense of ownership so seriously that we don’t even let people walk through a path in the woods should they be privately owned. We have very defined routes we are allowed to walk without much room for roaming off the path.
“Under the Right of Public Access we do not need permission to cross private land. This is the basis for the wide-ranging freedom we enjoy to spend time in the countryside,” notes the Swedish EPA.
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