Heden

Heden is Halmstad's designated nude bathing area, at the far southern end of Östra stranden, the six-kilometre sandy beach that runs south from the city along Laholm Bay. The nude section lies where the small river Fylleån reaches the sea, beside Hagön campsite and inside the Hagön nature reserve, roughly 6 km south of the town centre. The setting is open and low: a long, pale sand beach backed by dunes up to about 10 m high, with heathland and wet meadows behind that are kept open by grazing and heather burning; only a small pine and birch wood in the north of the reserve gives any shade. The water is very shallow for a long way out, which means it warms up faster than at Halmstad's deeper beaches and suits waders and children, though on windy days the bay can still produce currents. The tourist board notes that Heden has appeared several times on lists of Sweden's best naturist beaches. Paths through the reserve are informal trampled tracks rather than marked trails, and there are no services on the nude stretch itself; the campsite is the nearest place for supplies.