The Armarmino – Hiking in Rural Copenhagen

The Armarmino hiking trail has just been launched, and what a good timing, because with the corona pandemic, a lot of people want to go out in nature – as everything else is closed.

Actually, the Armarmino consists of existing paths that have now been connected into a 27 km long trail. It is clearly marked with teardrop-shaped symbols and leads through really beautiful nature from Dragør Sydstrand over Kongelunden, Pinseskoven, Kalvebod Fælled and Amager Fælled.

Today is a frosty January day. We have taken the bus to the small town of Dragør, where we start the Armarmino. We’re not the only ones who have come up with the idea of hiking the Armarmino. In fact, we constantly meet other hikers and exercisers along the entire trail. We have never experienced so many people in nature before!

Some of the most beautiful nature spots turn out to be in the first part of the trail, where we walk along the Sydtstranden beach south of Dragør. There’s almost no wind and the light is really special with the low winter sun almost covered by clouds. We have a clear view far beyond the sound of Øresund.

If you are interested in birds, the Sydstranden is not a bad place to be. We see many dunlins, ringed plovers, common eiders, common mergansers and of course a rich selection of gulls, ducks and swans.

After a wonderful walk along the beach, we turn a little off the coast and reach Kongelunden. It’s a plantation forest from the 19th century and as such has no special natural value. But still not too bad to walk through the woods with birds singing above your head.

Next stop is Hejresøen – the Heron Lake, where we take a break and eat our sandwiches. And what do we see? Herons! So that’s probably why the lake got its name. There’s also a bird tower, and from the top of the dike there’s a good view of the Sound.

The freezing wind from the Sound has made us a bit cold. So we end the break and start walking at a high pace to get warm. We reach the Pinseskoven forest, which is really nice. The many young birch trees stand tall and beautiful with their white bark. It’s Denmark’s largest self-sown birch forest. We also see a few great spotted woodpeckers.

After leaving the Pinseskoven, we reach open land – Kalvebod Fælled. It’s completely flat as far as the eye can see. Grass fields, frozen waters, and in the distance, Ørestad’s skyline can be seen. Still, a continuing flow of hikers pass by us.

We continue and reach the motorway bridge (Kalvebod Broen), where we take a coffee break. Scores of European wigeons rest on the water.

The last stretch goes through Amager Fælled until we reach the metro station at DR Byen. It was definitely an adventurous experience to hike the 27 km through great nature close to the urban area of Copenhagen.