KiteInsider

Map › Sweden › Öckerö / Hummerviken

North Sea / Baltic Europe: Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Poland, Baltics (Lithuania/Latvia/Estonia), Sweden, Norway · Gothenburg · Västra Götaland County · Öckerö / Gothenburg

Öckerö / Hummerviken

also known as Oeckeroe / Hummerviken, Hummervik, Öckerö, Hummerviken

wavesadvanced onlylow crowds
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Öckerö / Hummerviken has no other spot on this map within 40 km of it. straight-line distance

SeasonApr, May, Sep, Octthe months riders and schools nameHow windy8 ktsynopticLaunchsmallaccess rules on record, belowWaterwave18.3°C in summer · 7 things riders flagLevelIntermediate to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level sectionSchools2named at this spotFrom the airportno transfer time publishedLandvetter Airport (GOT)

When it fills in

Frontal rather than thermal. The wind comes and goes with the weather system, not on a daily clock, so there is no afternoon fill-in to wait out and no reliable evening drop; the front's timing is the session's timing.

Hummerviken is on the west side of Öckerö, out in Gothenburg's northern archipelago, and it works only when the wind sits between W and NW. There is no beach.
You launch off rock, and shallow reefs sit barely under the surface a short way out, which is why this is a spot you learn from a local rather than from a forecast.
The bay is partly sheltered, but open to everything from SW round to NW, and the exposed island position makes it blow harder here than on the mainland in the same front. The months that deliver are April, May, September, October; the western end of Öckerö takes the autumn storms.
Waves are small to medium, so it suits someone who wants a frontal day, not a cruise. Beginners have no business here, and intermediates should walk the rock line with someone who rides it before rigging. Access is road 155 out of Gothenburg plus the archipelago ferries, which run around the clock.

The wind

Direction

beachwater
onshoreUsual winds run SW

Character

synoptic

fills in: Frontal rather than thermal. The wind comes and goes with the weather system, not on a daily clock, so there is no afternoon fill-in to wait out and no reliable evening drop; the front's timing is the session's timing.

Typical strength

No local log of rideable wind exists for the bay. Model monthly means for the island run about 8 kt in June-August and about 16 kt in January-February, which is a climate average across all directions and tells you nothing about what a W-NW front delivers on the day.

Stronger than the mainland on the right frontal direction because of the exposed archipelago position, though the rocks and the shallow reefs limit what the launch and the inside water are worth.
Frontal wind, and only from W to NW. The months worth planning around are April, May, September, October, with autumn storms notable at the western end of Öckerö.

Also on record

Monthly averages run from about 8 kt in June-August to 16 kt in January/February, but those are model-derived and not a local rider log.

Direction to shore

onshore to cross-on in W, WNW and NW on the west/northwest-facing outer archipelago shoreline.

Dominant direction

Usual winds run SW, WSW, W, WNW, NW; the spot itself only works W to NW.

Forecast

Month by month

  1. Jan76
  2. Feb75
  3. Mar54
  4. Apr, riders' month44
  5. May, riders' month43
  6. Jun47
  7. Jul63
  8. Aug55
  9. Sep, riders' month46
  10. Oct, riders' month70
  11. Nov63
  12. Dec67

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Apr, May, Sep, Oct.

  1. 16Jan5°
  2. 16Feb4°
  3. 12Mar4°
  4. 11Apr7°
  5. 11May13°
  6. 11Jun17°
  7. 13Jul18°
  8. 12Aug18°
  9. 11Sep17°
  10. 15Oct13°
  11. 13Nov9°
  12. 14Dec6°

avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted

MonthForce 4+KnotsFromAirWater
Jan76%15.9 ktWSW1.8°C4.5°C
Feb75%15.7 ktS2.8°C3.9°C
Mar54%11.8 ktS3.1°C4°C
Apr44%11.4 ktNE6.4°C7°C
May43%11.1 ktW12.6°C12.9°C
Jun47%11.3 ktSW15.6°C17°C
Jul63%12.8 ktWSW16.4°C17.8°C
Aug55%11.6 ktWSW17°C18.1°C
Sep46%11.2 ktS14.8°C17.2°C
Oct70%14.5 ktSSW10.4°C12.8°C
Nov63%12.9 ktE5.4°C8.7°C
Dec67%14 ktNE1.8°C5.5°C
modelled

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (2022-2024), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds. The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

ERA5 reanalysis grid point (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical weather API — ECMWF ERA5/ERA5-Land reanalysis, not a ground station · 2022-2024

The water

Type

wave

Standing depth

No. Rock instead of beach, small-to-medium waves and shallow reefs where a learner area would be.

Tides

Tide is irrelevant for kiting; spring-tide fluctuation in the area is up to about 24 cm.

Temperature

18.3°C summer · 2.7°C winter

Wetsuit

Boardshorts reportedly work for one or two summer months, a 3/2 from April-June and September-October, a drysuit outside that. August water in the area averages about 18.3 C and February about 2.7 C.

4–18°C water
Small and medium waves over a windswept rocky shoreline with barely submerged reefs. Hummerviken Bay is partly sheltered and still open to wind from SW round to NW.

Your level

not for beginners hereintermediateadvanced
The ratings disagree: intermediate in some places, expert in others, and locally it is called a spot for locals because the reefs are barely submerged. Take it as intermediate with local knowledge, advanced or expert on the stronger wave days.

The scene

What riders come here for

wave ridingstrong-wind sessionsstorm frontswindsurfing crossover
A quiet rocky local spot, not a managed kite beach. Summer brings swimmers and general outdoor traffic around Öckerö and Hjälvik, while the best kite days are spring and autumn fronts.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

2 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: small

access rules on record

Somewhere else

No neighbour on record

No other spot in the atlas sits within reach of this one.

Launch

A small launch and landing area, no beach, just rock. Hummerviken sits at the end of Norgårdsvägen, at the sign where the public road stops, and that same parking serves the boulderers who climb the rocks above the bay.Rigging room is the binding constraint: riders land off the flagpole at the parking area, or give up on the bay and launch from Hjälviks badplats to the north, riding the waves back down south. Lappesand is the local answer when you want flat water and a launch that does not fight you.

Space

small

Hazards riders report 7

  • Rocky skerries and islands ring the bay: a navigation problem on any downwind run.
  • The islands are ferry-only, so road rescue is slow or absent.
  • Rock launch and landing with no sandy beach.
  • Barely submerged/shallow reefs.
  • Small-to-medium waves in stronger W-NW wind.
  • The outer archipelago blows harder than the mainland and is exposed in autumn storms.
  • Cold water outside high summer; drysuit-level protection may be needed.
Rules & access
2026: no kitesurf-specific rule page exists for Hummerviken. At neighbouring Hjälviks badplats the municipality's 2019 beach rules ban dogs 1 May-30 September, ban camping and ban fires except at the fixed grill place, with allemansrätten otherwise.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Rider tips

  • Learn somewhere else: take lessons and first solo sessions on a sandy west-coast beach.
  • Walk the launch and the downwind reef line before you rig; the reefs sit barely under the surface.
  • Only bother on a W to NW forecast; the spot does not work in anything else.
  • Spring and autumn fronts are the good days, and they need cold-water gear.
  • Drive to the end of Norgårdsvägen, to the sign where the public road stops, and park there.
  • Read the signage before rigging near the bathing area so you know which local rules you are under.
  • Rigging space is the problem, not the wind: the flagpole by the parking is what riders use to land, and Hjälviks badplats to the north is the easier launch if you are willing to ride back down.
  • If you want flat water and a clean launch rather than a rock-lined wave bay, go to Lappesand instead.

Getting there

Airport

Gothenburg Landvetter Airport (GOT)

Route

From Gothenburg it is road 155 toward the northern archipelago plus the Trafikverket ferries, which run around the clock. On Öckerö, take Norgårdsvägen and follow it to the end at the public-road sign.

Cost level

medium

Staying

Öckerö and Hönö next door have island rooms and restaurants; Nimbus Öckerö has lunch, a cafe, rooms plus conference space about 40 minutes from Gothenburg.

No-wind days

Walk Öckerö's marked trails, go over to Hönö Klåva, swim at Hjälviks badplats, boulder at Hummerviken, cycle between the islands or head back into Gothenburg.

Photos

general view over Öckerö island, closest non-church candidate
AleWi / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
captioned Öckerö, Northern Archipelago scenery
Alexey Komarov / CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

FAQ

When is the best time to kite at Hummerviken?

The best months are April, May, September and October, when frontal W-NW weather systems produce the wind this spot needs.

Is Hummerviken suitable for beginners?

No, there is no beach, only a rock launch with barely submerged reefs, making it a local-knowledge spot best treated as intermediate with local knowledge or advanced.

What is the wind like?

The spot only works in west to northwest wind, and its exposed archipelago position can make it stronger than on the mainland.

What are the hazards?

Rocky skerries around the bay, barely submerged reefs, a rock launch with no sandy beach, and limited road and rescue access on ferry-served islands.

Also in season in AprilSkåne - MalmöVitsandVivesholm

Last updated: August 2026