Kayak rental
Singles and doubles by the hour or the day, with a map, a dry bag and a route that suits the wind.
Rent a kayak → from €35Rental · tours · courses · coaching
Paddle TheArchipelago Properly
Guides who
know the rocks
info@theoutdoorhub.se | +46730213738 | +46708336732
No experience needed.We teach you off and on the water.
GUIDES
INCLUDED
What we offer
hand-picked routesBoats, guides, courses and gear. The whole archipelago, one stop.
Guided tours
Half-day and full-day paddles through the archipelago with a guide who knows which rocks are worth a stop.
See the tours → from €75 ALL LEVELS03 / COURSE
Courses & coaching
From first stroke to self-rescue, in group courses or one-to-one coaching. Theory online, practice on the water.
Start learning →Climbing guiding
Guided routes on the local granite, for first-timers and confident leaders alike.
Book a climb → from €90Gear shop
COMING SOON: Paddles, dry bags and the things people forget. Tested here first.
Open the shop →Bike rental
A handful of sturdy, slightly battered bikes for the days the water says no.
Rent a bike → from €15Digital games
Qajaqhunter, Piniartoq and Vertical Odyssey: a few small browser games for the days the water says no.
Play Qajaqhunter → free LOCAL GUIDESRead the rock
tap a figureOur own rock carvings of the Västervik archipelago, pecked in the old Bronze Age hand: the boats, the animals, and what we actually get up to out there. Tap one for the field note.
FIG. 01 ✕ esc
Ship
the classicUpturned prows and a stroke for every paddler. Crewed boats are the commonest figure on Scandinavian rocks, so people were paddling these waters long before we opened.
FIG. 02 ✕ esc
Sun wheel
forecast: yesA ring with a cross. Often read as the sun, sometimes as a wheel. Either way it turns up when people cared about weather, which we still do.
FIG. 03 ✕ esc
Walrus pull
hold onThe harpoon is in and the walrus dives, dragging the qajaq sideways on the line. The hunter hangs out from his qajaq, head almost in the water, sculling the upright paddle to stay afloat. Our bracing class is calmer than this.
FIG. 04 ✕ esc
Seal
every morningA head pops up next to the boat, looks you over and goes back down. Grey and harbour seals both live out in the outer skerries. Keep your distance and they keep coming back.
FIG. 05 ✕ esc
Qajaq
three abreastGreenland kayaks: long, low and narrow, each hunter in a hooded sealskin tuilik laced to the cockpit so the sea stays out, even upside down. The round mark behind him is the avataq, a sealskin float.
FIG. 06 ✕ esc
Norsaq roll
try itOver you go, probably after throwing your harpoon, then up again with nothing but a norsaq, the short throwing stick, swept flat across the surface. Lie back on the deck, keep your head low, let the boat come to you.
FIG. 07 ✕ esc
Wolf
rarely seenAll wolves were puppies once. Full gallop, tail out. Wolves have come back to the forests inland from the coast. You will almost certainly never see one. We carved it anyway, just in case.
FIG. 08 ✕ esc
Boulderer
local graniteThe Västervik area is world-renowned for its plethora of boulder problems. We have personally scouted, brushed, and opened at least a thousand of them.
FIG. 09 ✕ esc
Two on bikes
for windy daysA couple riding side by side, one half a wheel ahead. Nobody admits who.
FIG. 10 ✕ esc
Walrus hunt
the throwThe hunter aims in his kayak and throws the harpoon. The real thing took years of practice and a lot of nerve. Our tours involve neither, and no walruses.
FIG. 11 ✕ esc
Coffee
non-negotiableEvery trip stops for coffee on a warm rock. Some say that is the actual point of the trip. We do not argue.
FIG. 12 ✕ esc
Footprints
shoes offPairs of soles pecked into the rock: someone stood here. Some say it marks a claim, some a god. We say: shoes off, stay a while.
FIG. 13 ✕ esc
Cup marks
älvkvarnarSmall round hollows, älvkvarnar. Offerings were left in them well into the 1800s. Leave nothing but footprints.
FIG. 14 ✕ esc
Rubber duck
quackRound, yellow, utterly out of period. Someone on the crew insisted the rock needed one and would not be talked out of it.
FIG. 15 ✕ esc
Fish, picked clean
eyes crossedSpine, ribs, tail, and a cross where the eye used to be. Either a very good catch or a very patient gull.
FIG. 16 ✕ esc
Heart and arrow
the real rulePecked by someone who meant it. Love for the outdoors, for the people in the boat with you, and care for everything that lives out here, from the seals in the skerries to the lichen on this rock. Take only photos. Leave it better than you found it.
The rules
(more or less)01
The water was here first. We are just borrowing it. Act accordingly.
02
We invented outdoor adventure. People have paddled here for generations. We just added life jackets.
03
Never touch the carvings. Look all you like, from the boardwalk.
Rule zero04
Every paddler gets a stroke on the hull. Every guest gets a seat in the boat.
05
Weather is a suggestion. Weather is the boss. We check it twice and cancel without drama.
06
Leave the shore as you found it. Granite remembers everything.
OUTDOOR HUB / FIG. 01
Who paddled here first?
Paddle
Hub A hunter in a hooded tuilik throws his harpoon from a qajaq. Pecked into granite in the old style, by us.
Pecked by hand.
Scanned by laser.
NField note
no warranty
wet granite
Dates we probably keep
Weather permitting. We check twice before we cancel.
17 OctSat
Intro group paddle
You, a boat and someone patient.
Start here24 OctSat
Rock art paddle
A guided tour along the shore to the carvings. Bring a flask.
07 NovSat
Last long trip of the year
Before it gets cold. It is already cold, but only when you stop. Never stop.
20 NovFri
Film night
Paddling films and a short talk from a local guide.
Dry event13 DecMon
Lucia paddle
Close to the shortest days of the year. Get on the water. With lights.
Bring gloves4-6 JuneFri
Kayak Rebellion Festival
Test, splash, experience, clinics, music, food & drink.
Come as you are!Evidence
Proof that this is fun. Some of these photos are more recent than others.
Gear that actually gets used
Checkout: works, promisePhoto: dry bag
Dry bag
Keeps the phone dry and the sandwiches flat.
Take a look → from €25Photo: kayak on the jetty
Day rental
A kayak, a paddle, a map and the whole archipelago until sunset. There are options to choose from.
Take a look → from €60Photo: guide pointing
Guided tour
Half a day kayaking with a guide who will teach you something underways. At least they know the coffee spots.
Take a look → from €75Photo: clouds
Guaranteed sunshine
One per booking. We oversold it immediately.
€0 Sold out(back next season)