Entrances & Visiting centre
In addition to the main entrance "naturum" on the Koster Islands there are four entrances which can easily be reached by car. Near these entrances one can find parking and information panels about the Park and just about the area you are visiting. Here you can read more about how you can explore the Park.
Visiting centre
The naturum visitor centre is a stone’s throw from the Ekenäs jetty on South Koster. It is a staffed information centre where visitors can get answers to questions about the national park, pick up maps and find lots of information.
It has an exhibition with photos, interactive activities and a microscope where you can look at your own beach discoveries. There is also an aquarium here with a touch tank where you can see and feel some of Kosterhavet’s inhabitants.
Available without charge are audio guides in English, German, Norwegian and Arabic that provide a narration ushering you around the exhibition and explaining what you are seeing.
Read more about the Koster Islands
Strömstad entrance
Kosterhavet’s entrance in Strömstad is located at the Strömstad information centre in (norra hamnen) North harbour by the berthing place of Kosterbåtarna/the Koster Boats. Here you will find information about tour boats, lodging and what’s happening in and around Kosterhavet. There is a bronze model here of Kosterhavet National Park as well as an information board and information material. In the Strömstad information centre right next to it, you will find information on tour boats, lodging and what’s happening in and around Kosterhavet.
Saltö entrance
In the middle of Saltö there is a car park with a kiosk that is open in the summer, a WC building and a rubbish room. There is also a national park symbol sculpture, a bronze model of Kosterhavet National Park and an information board and information material. From the car park, paths lead down to the sea. By the swimming area you will find a snorkel trail, an underwater nature path. Walk across the rocks and look out across the broad sea.
Download a brochure about Saltö here
Rossö entrance
Kosterhavet’s Rossö entrance is staffed and housed in the newly built harbour warehouse at Rossö harbour. Here you will find an exhibition about the national park and about Rossö as a lobster centre. Nature meets culture; the exhibition describes Kosterhavet’s diversity and how life on the coast has always been influenced by proximity to the sea. You can also watch a beautiful slide show here. The entrance has a small café as well. Outside there is a bronze model of Kosterhavet National Park and an information board.
Resö entrance
Today there is a temporary entrance with a national park symbol sculpture, a bronze model of Kosterhavet National Park, an information board and information material. In the small fishing harbour on Resö, you can get in touch with the commercial fishing carried on in Kosterhavet. This is the home harbour for several shrimp trawlers. The entrance on Resö is the object of detailed planning, which is being pursued by Tanum municipality. In parallel with these efforts, the Resö community association wants to expand the harbour, which means that the plan will take into account more functions than the entrance itself, including the harbour and parking places.
Accessibility
National Park Facts
Established: 2009. The aim of Kosterhavet National Park is to preserve this very special and species-rich marine and archipelago area and the land areas nearby in essentially unaltered condition.
County: Västra Götaland County and is located in the municipalities of Strömstad and Tanum.
Kosterhavet National Park is comprised primarily of water and underwater environments. It is Sweden’s first marine national park.
In the shallow coves, on the rocky shores and in all the environments we associate with the Bohus coast, about 6,000 different species live. Close to 300 of them do not exist anywhere else in Sweden.
Contact: +46 10 22 45 400 or e-mail: naturum.kosterhavet@lansstyrelsen.se
