Shelters, tents and wild camping in Denmark

Shelters and primitive overnight sites run by Naturstyrelsen are free, for sleeping and for an evening by the fire. You may stay up to two nights in a row.

Most are first come, first served. Some can be booked up to three months ahead on book.naturstyrelsen.dk. A booking runs from noon to noon, covers the shelter itself rather than the whole site, and has to be confirmed six days before or it is cancelled. Arrive by 20:00.

If the shelter is full, you may pitch your own tent next to it.

Not every shelter belongs to the state. Municipalities and private owners run shelters too, and some charge a small fee per person, so check the listing on udinaturen.dk.

In about 275 state forests you may pitch a tent for one night without asking anyone. The rule of thumb is 1-2-3: one night in the same spot, at most two tents, and tents for at most three people.

Pitch only among the trees, not on beaches, dunes, meadows, heath or fields, and out of sight of houses, farm buildings, campsites and roads. Naturstyrelsen's map shows which forests allow it.

Fires belong at the fire pits. Away from them you may use a camping stove with an enclosed burner, on a safe base.

On Naturstyrelsen land you may sleep in a hammock, on the forest floor or on the beach. A tarp over a hammock counts as a tent, so that is only allowed in the free-tenting forests and at the overnight sites.

Outside those places, tents are not allowed on beaches, in forests or on open land.

Private forests are open on roads and paths from 06:00 until sunset, and you may not stay within 150 m of buildings there. In public forests, keep 50 m from houses people live in, and on private beaches 50 m from homes.

Anything more, such as a tent on a field, needs the owner's permission. Without it you can be fined.

Light fires only at the fire pits (bålpladser) and bring your own wood. In dry spells the municipality can ban fires, and Naturstyrelsen then bans camping stoves in its free-tenting forests too. Brandfare.dk shows the fire risk, but local bans are not listed there, so check the municipality's website.

Dogs must be on a lead in forests, on open land and in dunes all year, and on beaches from 1 April to 30 September. Dogs are welcome at Naturstyrelsen's shelters and overnight sites, on a lead there too. Off the lead is only allowed in the dog forests (hundeskove).

Sweden and Norway have a right to roam (allemansrätten, allemannsretten) that lets you camp almost anywhere. Denmark does not. The free-tenting forests were inspired by the Swedish rule, and in June 2026 the government said a commission would look at a Danish version. Until something changes, the rules above apply.