Viskan paddle — Lifts, Stores & Water refill
Borås → Åskloster (river mouth) → Varberg. Route runs downstream the whole river.
How to read km: distance along the river channel, km 0 = Öresjö outlet (north edge of Borås). Borås centre ≈ km 5. Values are ±1–2 km (OSM data + meanders). Left/right bank = looking downstream.
Data sources: obstacles, shops and water taps from OpenStreetMap (Overpass API); flow context from SMHI. Anything marked *verify* I could not confirm on the ground.
1. LIFTS (portages)
At low August water: line or carry — do not run. Get out on the correct bank *above* each dam; scout from upstream.
Mandatory (dam / power station — cannot be run)
| km | Place | What | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ~17 | Rydboholm | 2 dams + power station, ~6.8 m | ~500 m carry. Rydboholms Wärdshus here (food/beds) |
| ~22 | Viskafors ⛔ | Power station, 25.5 m fall in a rock canyon | Most dangerous point. LONG portage. Strong intake current *above* dam — take out well upstream, left bank |
| ~38 | Rydal | Weir + power station, ~4.5 m | ~500 m carry. Hostel/museum/café |
| ~44.5 | Stämmemad (Kinna) | Dam + power station, ~8 m | Start of the Kinna portage cluster |
| ~46 | Kinnaström (Kinna) | Dam + weir + power station, ~4.5 m | In town — longer walk through Kinna |
| ~50 | Kungsfors (Skene) | Power station, ~16 m | At the Häggån confluence |
| ~91 | Kullagård (Veddige) | Dam + run-of-river power station | Standard put-in for the easy final stretch to the sea |
Potential — check on site
| km | Place | What | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ~4 | Central Borås (Druvefors) | Small weir | Short lift or line |
| ~28–30 | Seglora | Rocky rapids + dam | Reported "very rocky, dangerous" — ~150–200 m carry |
| ~30–70 | Sundholmen / Horred / Åsby | Natural rapids (not dams) | Line/scout. Horred: keep left, strong current on the right |
| ~76 | Horred–Veddige stretch | Dam / old mill weir (*verify*) | Assume a lift until confirmed |
| ~101.5–101.6 | Near Åskloster mouth | OSM-tagged "dams" — likely flood embankments/levees, not cross-river barriers (*verify*) | Probably paddle through |
Roughly 7 mandatory portages + ~4 potential/line points. Budget 20–40 min each.
2. STORES (food resupply)
Within ~2.5 km of the river, ordered by km. You don't pass many between towns — stock up in Borås, Kinna/Skene, and Veddige.
Borås (start, km 2–10) — everything
- Willys Knalleland (km 5.1, 70 m) · ICA Supermarket Knalleland (km 5.3) · ICA City Knalleland (km 5.6)
- ICA City Centrum (km 6.5) · Lidl (km 7.0) · Maxi ICA Stormarknad (km 8.5)
- Coop Sjöbotorg (km 2.1) · Coop Byttorp (km 4.6) · Stora Coop (km 7.5) + several convenience stores
Viskafors (km ~21)
- Tempo Viskafors (km 20.7, 200 m) — last shop before a long gap; good top-up before Rydal/Kinna
Kinna / Skene (km ~46–53) — full resupply
- Coop Kinna (km 46.4) · Hemköp Kinna (km 46.4) · Frendo Kinna (km 46.2)
- ICA Kvantum (km 48.5, 160 m) · Lidl (km 48.6)
- Willys Skene C (km 52.6) · Coop Skene (km 52.6) · Mark's livs (km 52.6)
Horred (km ~76)
- Horreds Servicebutik (km 75.6) · ICA Nära Horred (km 77.7) — small-town resupply
Veddige (km ~91) — last real resupply before the sea
- Hemköp Veddige C (km 91.2, 450 m)
- ICA Supermarket (km ~95, 420 m) — just downstream of Veddige
Gaps with no shops: Viskafors→Kinna (~km 21→46, ~25 km) and Kinna/Skene→Horred (~km 53→76, ~23 km). Carry enough for these.
3. WATER REFILL
Do NOT drink untreated Viskan water (legacy textile-industry contamination in the sediment). Refill from taps; filter only as backup.
The interactive map now has every water source plotted so you don't have to search on the water. Confirmed public taps are rare in OSM (only 3), so we added the reliable Swedish standbys as their own map layers:
| Map layer | Count near route | Reliability |
|---|---|---|
| 💧 Water tap (confirmed) | 3 | certain |
| 🪦 Cemetery (kyrkogård) | 15 | very high — nearly all have a potable tap |
| ⛽ Fuel station | 22 | high — tap/toilet/snacks |
| ⚓ Marina/harbour | 1 | high (near the mouth) |
| 🚻 Public toilet | 7 | medium — may have a tap |
| ⛺ Campsite | (in camp layer) | high — sites have water |
| 🛒 Grocery store | 40 | ask/use their tap |
Named standbys: Rydboholms Wärdshus (km 17) · Rydal café/hostel (km 38). You pass churches (with cemetery taps) at Seglora, Kinna, Skene, Björketorp, Horred, Fotskäl, Veddige and Åskloster.
Suggested top-up rhythm (matches the store gaps): Borås → Viskafors → Kinna → Horred → Veddige. Carry 3–4 L per person between these.
*Check the SMHI Åsbro gauge + YR.no rainfall a few days before departure — a dry July means a very thin, rocky upper river (Borås→Kinna).*