Autumn Leaf Peeping Around Copenhagen

An Indian summer in Northern Europe is making for some balmy days in and around Copenhagen before fall kicks in for real, with young and old alike making the most of September’s closing heat wave. A walk in the woods with family or friends is a Danish tradition: So much so that the word for a woodland walk, ‘skovtur’, is also used simply to mean a picnic.

Collecting pine needles on a forest walk near Lejre: Image by Jane Graham

Planning for a leaf-peeping excursion? It’s easy to get out of downtown Copenhagen and into the forest; hop on a train and you can be in vast royal hunting park, Dyrehaven (S-Bahn stop: Klampenborg) in less than 30 minutes. For those who feel like going a little less far afield, the southern edge of Frederiksberg Have, Søndermarken, is a patch of The Wild on the city’s doorstep.

Another option is to combine a woodland walk with a dose of culture and take a daytrip to Ordrupgaard art museum. This art museum combines old and new architecture and is located in extensive grounds, and even has a rather fancy restaurant should you feel like lunch.

A 40-minute train ride west of Copenhagen, between Ringsted and Lejre, state-managed Bidstrup Woods were once the property of the king, who used them as royal hunting grounds. These splendid woods are now used by hikers, dogwalkers and families, as well as for the annual forest run “Skovløberen” held in early September.