Den Jyske Skovhave

The Jutland Forest Garden

The Jutland Forest Garden south of Skørping is an ideal place to explore the green diversity of Rold Skov. Here, you can walk among trees and shrubs from large parts of the northern hemisphere and experience a special forest area with nature, history and space for dogs.

Denmark’s oldest dog forest

When the Jutland Forest Garden was inaugurated in 1970, Denmark’s first official dog forest was established here. Today, the Danish Nature Agency manages more than 150 dog forests, but the dog forest in the Jutland Forest Garden was the first of its kind.

The dog forest is a free space where dogs may walk off-leash – but always under the owner’s full control. The entire forest garden is fenced, so dogs cannot run out of the area. The fence also helps protect the planting from deer, which may bite the buds off the trees, especially in winter.

A forest garden with trees from around the world

More than 150 different species of trees and shrubs grow in the Jutland Forest Garden. The first experiments with non-native tree species began as early as the late 19th century, when forest ranger Hintz tested species other than beech and Norway spruce.

One of the most impressive trees in the forest garden is a grand fir from 1896. The tree is more than 43 metres tall and contains over 32 cubic metres of timber. You will find it by the westernmost path in the forest garden, where it stands alongside large Douglas firs from the same experimental period.

From idea to forest garden

In the 1940s, the well-known forest ranger Jens Hvass came up with the idea of creating a dedicated forest garden. He had many new species planted, and in 1970 the Jutland Forest Garden was inaugurated – together with Denmark’s first dog forest.

The Jutland Forest Garden is located just south of Skørping and is a lovely destination for forest walkers, nature lovers and dog owners.