Am I allowed to pick mushrooms and berries in Sweden?
Yes — the right of public access lets you freely pick wild berries, mushrooms and flowers for your own use, even on other people's land, without asking. You must leave protected species alone and cause no damage. Five mushrooms are protected nationwide and may never be picked, and protected plants may not be picked, dug up or seed-collected. The commonest misconception is that everything growing is free: you may not take from living trees and bushes — twigs, bark, leaves, acorns and nuts need the landowner's permission. In nature reserves and national parks picking can also be restricted or banned outright under their own bylaws.
📋 The rules
- Free to pick wild berries, mushrooms and flowers for your own use
- Five protected mushrooms may never be picked
- Protected plants may not be picked or dug up
- Living trees/bushes, acorns and nuts need permission
- Reserves/national parks have their own bylaws
🔓 Exceptions
- In nature reserves and national parks picking can be restricted or banned
- Protected species may never be picked, wherever you are
- Large-scale commercial picking should be coordinated with the landowner and county board
⚠️ Penalties & fines
Picking protected species is a species-protection offence (Environmental Code ch. 29): fines or up to 2 years prison, and 6 months–4 years for a gross offence. The offence applies wherever you stand — protection follows the species, not the place, so a protected mushroom is off limits even on land where everything else is free to pick. Taking from living trees without permission is instead unlawful damage, with fines and damages to the landowner. And in nature reserves and national parks even ordinary picking can be banned under the local bylaws.
📎 Official sources
- Swedish EPA · Picking flowers, berries and mushrooms →
- Species Protection Ordinance (2007:845) · Riksdagen →
- Swedish Police · Species-protection offences →
❓ Frequently asked
Can I pick mushrooms on other people's land?
Yes. The right of public access lets you pick wild mushrooms, berries and flowers for your own use even on someone else's land, without asking the owner. You must not cause damage, and protected species must always be left alone.
Are there mushrooms I may not pick?
Yes, five mushrooms are protected nationwide and may never be picked. Picking a protected species is a species-protection offence and can bring fines or up to two years prison, wherever it happens to grow.
Can I pick flowers?
Wild flowers you may pick for your own use, but not protected plants. They may not be picked, dug up or seed-collected, and the protection applies everywhere — including on land where you may otherwise pick freely.
Can I take acorns and nuts?
Only with the landowner's permission. Acorns and nuts count as taking from living trees, which the right of public access does not cover, and the same goes for twigs, bark and leaves. Without permission it can be unlawful damage with fines and damages.
Does picking apply in nature reserves?
Not always. Nature reserves and national parks have their own bylaws that can restrict or entirely ban picking, even of things that are free in ordinary forest. Check the reserve's rules before you set out with the basket.
🔎 Common searches
What people search to land here:
- “can I pick mushrooms others land sweden”
- “right of public access picking berries”
- “protected mushrooms picking sweden”
- “can I pick flowers sweden”
- “picking acorns permission sweden”
- “mushroom picking nature reserve”