Traditional Outdoor Life

0 articles

Berries and mushrooms gathered in a basket on an autumn outing — harvesting friluftsliv.

Open-air life has deep roots in Norwegian tradition. Children ran on the mountain and tended livestock in summer, and in autumn there was berry-picking and hunting. In winter it was common to fell trees for firewood. The Sámi have always lived outdoors, off and with nature. Others again tried the trapper’s life on Svalbard. The common thread has been matauk and harvesting — making use of the opportunities nature gives us as a food source.

The two roots of friluftsliv

Friluftsliv in Norway is a diversity of activities, but historically we divided it in two:

The countryside’s friluftsliv was tied to harvesting food resources — fishing, hunting and gathering were an important means of subsistence over millennia (Waaler, 2022). What we today call harvesting friluftsliv has its roots here.

The town’s friluftsliv came later, inspired by European trends and National Romanticism — the life of mountain outings as a cultural activity rather than a necessity.

The concepts merge today. A Sunday outing to pick chanterelles is as much a leisure activity as it is matauk. But understanding the roots means we know why the rules are as they are — and which duties come with the rights.

The three harvesting activities

Three activities make up the core of harvesting friluftsliv, each with its own rules and competence requirements:

  • Fishing — sport fishing, fly fishing, ice fishing, sea fishing. Sea fishing with a rod is free access; freshwater fishing as a rule requires a fishing permit (fiskekort); salmon fishing requires the state fishing fee (statlig fiskeravgift).
  • Hunting — small game, big game, tracking. Requires the hunting proficiency test (jegerprøven), the hunting rights for the area, and is regulated by law in detail.
  • Gathering — mushrooms, berries, herbs, wild plants, seaweed. The lowest threshold: almost free access under allemannsretten.

Hunting differs from the other two in that it is not part of allemannsretten. Fishing and gathering largely are.

The right to harvest

One of the reasons we in Norway can move so freely in nature is allemannsretten (the right to roam), enshrined in law in friluftsloven (the Outdoor Recreation Act) of 1957.

The public’s right to harvest is laid down in friluftsloven §5: you have the right to pick wild berries, flowers, mushrooms, roots of wild herbs and nuts in utmark. Wild nuts may only be picked to be eaten on the spot — not taken home in your rucksack.

The right to harvest also gives access to certain other natural materials, but these more often require the landowner’s permission or carry other restrictions. Gathering has the details.

Duties of harvesting

Allemannsretten entails duties. Harvesting shall be done considerately and with due care:

  • Do not harvest too much — take what you need, leave some standing
  • Do not leave unnecessary traces
  • Protected areas may have their own restrictions — check the regulations
  • Avoid rare and threatened species

More on sustainability, leave-no-trace travel and nature conservation →

Why it is worth knowing

Harvesting and gathering offer many opportunities for an active friluftsliv. Planning fishing, berry-picking or plant-gathering as part of the outing gives new ways into nature — you move differently when you are looking for something specific.

It takes a little knowledge and a few small investments in equipment, but in return it gives affordable access to experiences in close interplay with nature — and the food you take home.

Next steps

For the practical side, start with the category that interests you most: fishing, hunting or gathering.

To understand the framework: friluftsloven and allemannsretten is the foundational law. Sustainability and leave-no-trace travel is the duty side.

For a Sámi angle on traditional use of resources: reindeer herding and Sámi culture.

Tasks for this chapter → (teacher’s guide)

Learn more

Text: Elisabeth Enoksen and Inger Wallem Krempig, Snuitide (2022), revised 2026.

No articles in this category yet.