Malingsbo-Kloten, Nature reserve in Bergslagen, Sweden

Malingsbo-Kloten is a nature area in the borderland of Örebro, Dalarna and Västmanland counties, designated by the government in 1977 to promote outdoor recreation. Its core villages are Malingsbo, Kloten and Björsjö, around which a nature reserve was formed in Smedjebacken municipality. The landscape ranges from flat country to pine heaths, cut diagonally by the biological Norrland border.

The Swedish government designated Malingsbo-Kloten as a nature conservation area in 1977 to promote outdoor recreation. When Sweden's new environmental code took effect in 1999, this status was replaced by that of a nature reserve. The area had already been shaped by 17th-century Finnish settlers who cleared forest and grew grain, and by 19th-century ironworking, which faded in the early 1900s.

The villages of Malingsbo, Kloten and Björsjö were founded in the 17th century by Finnish settlers recruited with tax breaks to clear forest and grow grain. Their slash-and-burn farming left traces still visible: small tarns named Paskalampi and Väckalampa survive after 400 years. Ironworking later dominated, and Kloten once had 1,000 inhabitants; around thirty remained in 2013.

The right of public access does not apply here; overnight stays are directed to old forest cabins from the logging era and to campsites with sanitary facilities. Sveaskog has built many paths, trails, wind shelters and rest areas with Nature Protection Agency funding. The 250 km Bruksleden trail between Västerås and Avesta passes through Malingsbo.

The reserve's protection dates from 1977, when the government set the area aside to promote outdoor recreation; the nature reserve around Malingsbo, Kloten and Björsjö was formed at the same time. Since 1999 Swedish nature conservation areas have been classed as nature reserves. The right of public access does not apply here, so overnight stays are steered to old logging and timber-floating huts and to campsites with sanitary facilities.