Stränder på Österlen - Sandhammaren och Mälarhusen
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08 June 2021 / 10 Comments

Sandhammaren in Österlen - a beautiful sandy beach

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Writer: Helena Bergström

Sandhammaren in Österlen is a beautiful sandy beach with soft, fine-grained sand, which has repeatedly appeared on lists of Sweden's finest beaches. The area is also a nature reserve and the seabed outside is home to Sweden's largest ship graveyard.

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Sandhammers

Sandhammaren is one of Skåne's most popular beaches, offering sun and swimming in the summer. You can also come here at any time of the year to hike along the Skåneleden trail. We received tips about the beach from several sources and were naturally curious.

Sandhammaren

Sandhammaren is located in the far south-eastern corner of Skåne. The beach is just under a mile east of Kåseberga, 2.6 miles east of Ystad and just under 2.5 miles south of Simrishamn.

Visiting Sandhammaren with a campervan - plenty of prohibition signs

We set the GPS on Sandhammaren. When we finally turned into the big Sandhammar road, we saw a sign that said "maximum 6 metres of vehicle length" would soon be in force. You don't see that sign very often... How would this go? When a new maximum length sign appeared, we stopped in the car park to continue on foot.

Skyltar vid sandhammaren

At the car park there were two signs, one declaring "camping forbidden" and another telling caravans to park here. We interpreted this to mean that we could park, but not stay overnight. Unfortunately, all the prohibition signs gave an unwelcoming feeling. Nowhere did it say that caravans were welcome to park, or how far to walk to the beach.

We left the motorhome in the car park and walked towards the beach along the road. We still don't know how long the walk was, but we estimate that it may have been 500 metres. When we finally reached the last car park, there was a height restriction instead. At least here it was clear that we could not have parked ...

Sandhammar beach

We have to agree that the beach at Sandhammaren is fantastic. The sand is as soft and fine-grained as it can be on the finest paradise beaches.

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Sandhammaren

However, you should remember to be careful when swimming. Currents at sea can be strong and treacherous. Here are some tips that you can read on the signs at the beach:

  • Avoid both when there is an onshore wind and high waves.
  • Go into the waterinstead of swimming. That way you can sense any currents in good time, before you get too far out.
  • If you get caught in an underwater current - do not try to swim in the direction of the beach. Let the current take you out a bit and then try to swim along the shore until you are out of the current. This will make it easier to swim towards the shore.

Full of wrecks on the seabed

Sandhammaren may look like a quiet and peaceful place, but the seabed outside is Sweden's largest ship graveyard. In the past, this stretch of coastline was notorious for dragging ships into the depths. Wind conditions in the Bornholm Gatte were unpredictable and the place became a nightmare for sailing ships.

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As early as 1566, Pope Pius V ordered the world's Christian seafarers to try to save distressed sailors and their ships. Despite this, ships continued to sink and even in the mid-19th century 10-15 ships a year were still stranded.

Sandhammaren på Österlen

Lighthouse and life-saving station

In the mid-19th century, Sweden's first lifesaving stations were established in Brantevik and Sandhammaren, two places with a reputation for looting and killing surviving sailors. During the 100 years that the lifesaving station was active, around 1500 distressed sailors were rescued in a boat that is now on display in a boathouse next to the Sandhammaren lighthouse.

In 1862, two lighthouses were built on Sandhammaren. The northern lighthouse was later moved to Rönnskär and the southern lighthouse was converted into a beacon. The lighthouse is now protected as a technical-historical memory.

Fyren vid Sandhammaren

Nature reserve and hiking trail

Sandhammaren is not only a beach but also a nature reserve. Close by are the Backåkra and Hagestad-Järarna nature reserves. The Skåneleden hiking trail runs through the reserves.

Skåneleden vid Sandhammaren

More beaches: Mälarhusens strandbad

We thought the beach at Sandhammaren was fantastic, but the signage made us feel unwelcome with a motorhome, so we decided to check out another beach. We drove to Mälarhusens Strandbad, which is just over five kilometres northeast of Sandhammaren.

Sandhammaren strand

We thought the beach was just as nice here, and we felt more welcome. There were no prohibition signs against motorhomes and we made it all the way down to the nearest car park with the motorhome.

Mälarhusens badstrand
Mälarhusens badstrand

See more in the neighbourhood

From Sandhammaren, it is only a short distance to the interesting Ales stones in Kåseberga. It is also not far to Medieval castle Glimmingehus. Other interesting destinations in the neighbourhood are charming Ystad and the fine Kronovall Wine Castle. If you like beaches, we recommend the beach in Skanör, which is very nice and where there is also a wider range of restaurants and cafés.

All our top tips for holidays in Skåne

Have you visited Sandhammaren?

Have you visited Sandhammaren, or perhaps one of the other beaches or nature reserves? Have you been here with a motorhome? Please tell us!

Facts about Sandhammaren

  • Municipality: Ystad municipality
  • County: Skåne County
  • Landscape: Skåne
  • Location: In Österlen, in the south-easternmost corner of Skåne.
  • Read more: You can find more information at Ystad municipality

Finding Sandhammaren

  • Car: Drive along Östra kustvägen and follow the signs.
  • Municipal: Bus 322 or 392.

Sandhammaren Nature Reserve

  • Nature reserve: Sandhammaren, Backåkra and Hagestad-Järarna.
  • Nature: Open sandy beach that is constantly growing, as sand is carried by the currents from Löderup and Hagestad, eastwards towards Sandhammaren. Within the beaches there are also heather and grass heaths, forests and marshes. The river Tyge also flows here.
  • Plants: Oak forest (funnel forest), lily of the valley and more.
  • Birds: Thrushes, warblers and flycatchers and the rare fieldfare.
  • Wildlife: In addition to birds, you can see moose, deer, rabbits, squirrels and sand lizards.
  • Outdoor recreation: Walking paths and opportunities for sunbathing and swimming. The Skåneleden trail (SL4 Österlen, stages 2 and 3) runs through the reserves.

Services and practical information

  • Guided tours: In the summer, there are guided tours of the lighthouse.
  • Food service: Coffee and light meals are available at the kiosk, which is open during the peak summer months.
  • Toilets: Toilets are available.
  • Parking: Parking is available, but with a motorhome you have to park a good distance from the beach. According to Visit Skåne, it can also be difficult to find parking spaces in the summer. They recommend driving towards the western part of the beach by the river Tyge. You should turn off the coast towards Bäckåkra and follow the road down to the beach.
  • Dogs and horses: Prohibited between 1 April and 30 September.

History at Sandhammaren

  • Mid-19th century: Sweden's first life-saving stations were established in Brantevik and Sandhammaren.
  • 1862: Two lighthouses were built at Sandhammaren, both designed by the lighthouse constructor Nils Gustav von Heidenstam.
  • 1891: The northern lighthouse was decommissioned and moved to Rönnskär, where it was lit in 1904.
  • 1907: The current maritime rescue society, SSRS, was formed.
  • 1945: Sea rescue operations were cancelled at Sandhammaren and moved to Kåseberga.

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08 June 2021 6:00
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  1. Frido says:

    Agree that angry signs just make you angry. I work for free to take care of an old village hall and its courtyard. It is in a good location and unfortunately it became a free campsite with pollution and mess as a result. In addition, the farmhouse was often rented out during the summer months and it wasn't much fun for the bride and groom to step out and be met by two or three caravans they didn't know (small courtyard). What to do, of course, some suggested Angry Signs but we solved it by painting a cute and fun camping prohibited sign, and it works so well! Have even seen people photographing it. No anger and it worked as I said. I would guess that all the angry signs at your place are due to bad experiences with campers, but it's a shame that they should spread unpleasantness... It has been fun to follow you on the Skåne trip. Have never been there.

    08 June 2021 - 7:30

    Reply

    • Comment by post author

      Helena says:

      What a great solution! A lot depends on HOW you communicate. In this case (when you can park in the furthest car park with a motorhome, but not the one close by), I would have liked a sign showing that "in this car park, motorhomes are welcome to park" (not overnight) and information about how far it is to walk to get there. You only see a long road and you have no idea how far it is to the beach. Glad you enjoyed following our Skåne trip! We have just left Skåne, but there will be a few more Skåne posts as we haven't had time to write about all the experiences yet.

      08 June 2021 - 8:09

      Reply

  2. Ditte says:

    Sandhammaren is really nice. So location since I was there now but then we stayed at a hotel in Ystad and were there on day trips. Worked fine
    It's a shame about "angry" signs because you can get your message across in a nice way.
    Thank you for your visit

    08 June 2021 - 9:08

    Reply

    • Comment by post author

      Helena says:

      Glad you were here! Yes, we obviously respect that you are not allowed to camp, for example, but here the whole feeling was that you were a bit unwelcome, and that's sad. If you are now directed to park far away, can you at least get a sign about how far it is to walk?

      08 June 2021 - 19:30

      Reply

  3. Amanda (Swedish Passport) says:

    Oh, I who was already keen to explore Skåne this summer did not become less excited after this post! It really looks absolutely magically beautiful! 🙂

    08 June 2021 - 11:31

    Reply

    • Comment by post author

      Helena says:

      The sandy beaches in Skåne are fantastic!

      08 June 2021 - 19:30

      Reply

      • Bosse says:

        We were there last summer and it was complete chaos. The car we had then was under 6 metres and we came a long way down the beach. This was early in the morning. When we were leaving a couple of hours later, we had to cross between cars standing along the road in all possible places and you wondered how people would get out of there. Looked like the law of the jungle and people seemed annoyed. Not very nice.

        09 June 2021 - 8:55

        Reply

  4. Daniela | Discovering The Planet says:

    Sandhammaren is definitely my favourite beach in Skåne, of those we have visited. But then we avoid your boring dilemma. I am also really fond of Måkläppens beach in Falsterbo. Unfortunately, it is forbidden to be on the sandbar most of the year.

    08 June 2021 - 13:06

    Reply

  5. bmlarsreseblogg says:

    Sure, an endless sandy beach is beautiful, but in my life as a mother of three little daughters, who loved to swim and especially on a shallow sandy beach, I got completely fed up with sand, sandy sandwiches, sand that crawled everywhere and came home in towels, clothes, etc. Thanks to Bohuslän's sun-warmed cliffs ....

    08 June 2021 - 18:43

    Reply

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