Between the quiet valleys of Julussdalen and the deep waters of Osensjøen lies Knapkjølen — a landscape of soft hills, forested ridges, still tarns, and silent bogs.
Here, spruce and pine share the ground with birch and rowan, and the air often carries the scent of moss, resin, and slow rain. The terrain shifts gently between forest and open marshland; light and shadow drift through the trees as if the land itself breathes.
Knapkjølen is part of a vast forest area east of Rena in Åmot, Hedmark. Several small lakes — Holmsjøen, Østersjøen, Mellomsjøen, and Krismesjøen — reflect the sky like windows between the trees. In between lie pockets of old forest where time has moved differently, where lichen and lungwort still cling to the bark and fallen logs quietly return to soil.
Much of this land has been cared for by our family through several generations. Once home to timber workers and forest keepers, the area still holds the traces of that life — in the paths they walked, the wood they cut, and the cabins they left behind. The old logger huts have now been carefully restored and turned into small, off-grid cabins that keep their original simplicity and connection to the forest.
Today, new forms of shelter are under development — tree-top cabins, floating saunas, and raft-lodges designed in collaboration with OsloTre, an Oslo-based architectural studio known for sustainable wood architecture. The project is supported by Innovation Norway and continues the same philosophy that shaped the old cabins: minimal interference, maximum presence.
All units are off-grid, powered by the elements, free from the electric grid, running water, and internet — built to remind us how little we truly need.
Here, you can paddle a canoe across a misty lake at dawn, drift through still waters in a kayak, walk unmarked trails beneath spruce and sky, or sit by a quiet fire as darkness settles and the stars take over. Silence is not the absence of sound here — it’s a presence of its own.
To stay here is to slow down, to remember what silence sounds like.
Nature takes care of the rest.
