Kongernes Nordsjælland National Park

Kongernes Nordsjælland, or in English - the North Zealand of Kings, is a national park in the making in Nordsjælland, Denmark. The national park status has yet to take full effect, due to disagreements on the parks boundaries, but the necessary law passed in parliament in 2008.

Landscape
A large portion of the national park is taken up by Gribskov, Denmark's 4th largest forest, covering some 5600 hectares (ca 14.000 acres), the landscape here is undulating with varied vegetation, but mostly pine, beech and some majestic old oak trees. The forest is bordered by Esrum Sø to the east, Denmark's 3rd largest lake by area, and largest by water volume, at the southern corner is a protected bay rich on birds, further east through an area of farms and fields lies the shallow, 2-km2 Gurre Sø surrounded by relatively untouched forest. South of Gribskov is the expansive deer garden Store Dyrehave where the star-shaped trail system used for the royal Par force hunts still dominates. To the north you will find Tisvilde hegn Arresø.

Flora and fauna
While not exactly rich on fauna by most standards, for a densely populated area like Denmark - and Zealand in particular, the range of animals to be spotted here is richer than almost everywhere else in the country outside the Wadden sea. Mammals living in the park includes many species of deer (red-, roe-, fallow- and sika deer) which constituted a large part of the royal interests in the northern forests. You can also see foxes and the European Badger, and if you are extremely lucky you can sometimes spot Osprey or the White Tailed Eagles. More common sightings are the Common Buzzard and to some extent the Honey Buzzard and Sparrow Hawk.

Get in
The national park borders Helsingør to the east, the Zealand North Coast to the north, Frederiksværk and Hundested to the west and Hillerød and Fredensborg to the south, and can be easily accessed by bike or even by foot from these cities.

Route 205 between Helsingør and Frederiksværk pass through the northern part of the park, while routes 6 and 16 between the same destinations pass through the southern part of the park. Routes 213, 235, 227 and 267 pass through the park in a north-south direction.

Bus 362 from Helsingør stop by Esrum Møllegård. Bus 940R between Hillerum and Gilleleje on the north coast stops at the bus station Mårum Station in the park area.

Fees and permits
There are no fees to enter the park, and the only fee you are likely to encounter is the compulsory angling license if you plan on fishing in any of the lakes; 35 kr/day, 100 kr/week or 140 kr/year.

Get around
Gribskovbanen (The Grib forest railway) is one of the oldest private railways in the country. It was built between 1880 and 1924, mainly to haul lumber between Grib Forest and Copenhagen, which was a tedious venture to do over land, but it has also carried passengers nearly since its beginnings. Today it mainly carries commuters to Hillerød where passengers can continue with the S-train to and from Copenhagen, but during the summer its also packed with vacationers going to their holiday homes or the beaches on the North Coast, or on small treks in Gribskov (stops: Gribsø, Kagerup & Mårum).

Another way of getting around would be on a bike, from Hillerød two marked bicycle routes takes you towards the North Coast. Route 32 towards Helsinge and Tisvildeleje (Tisvilde Hegn) takes you along the western boundary of Gribskov, and route 33 takes you directly through Gribskov to Gilleleje. Besides those two bicycle routes there are ample of paths through the forests, and scenic thinly trafficked roads to take you throughout the park.

Royal remains
While the royal connotations in the parks name mainly refers to the 3 grand royal palaces of Northern Zealand; Kronborg in Helsingør, Fredensborg Slot in Fredensborg and Frederiksborg Slot in Hillerød, these are in the respective cities, and are not part of the national park - although they can be visited as part of an excursion to the park. There are ruins related to the royal history of the lands contained in the park, that relate to the kings of old, though you'd probably need a strong interest in archaeology or history to go out of your way to see these sites.



Eat
Esrum Møllegård tourist centre has a café, open 11.00-17.00 Tu-Su, and a small shop where you can buy some basic snacks and groceries.

Backcountry
In Nyrup Hegn and Klosteris Hegn there is free camping which is rare in Denmark



Go next

 * Helsingør - known as the home of Hamlet
 * Zealand North Coast - has plenty of beaches
 * Hillerød and Fredensborg - small cities with large castles, just south of the park