Skógar - Fimmvörðuháls - vegur og stígur
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 16.81 mi
- Elevation gain
- 3,199 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Difficult
- Elevation loss
- 3,199 ft
- Max elevation
- 3,022 ft
- TrailRank
-
44
5
- Min elevation
- 89 ft
- Trail type
- Loop
- Time
- 5 hours 31 minutes
- Coordinates
- 3206
- Uploaded
- October 2, 2012
- Recorded
- September 2012
near Eyvindarhólar, Suðurland (Lýðveldið Ísland)
Viewed 10369 times, downloaded 245 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
Really cool track from Skógar waterfall up towards the mountain pass Fimmvörðuháls.
This is one of Icelands most popular hiking tracks as the pass leads the traveler between the two glaciers Myrdalsjökull and Eyjafjallajökull (both which have erupted recently).
This track uses a fairly good jeep track to gain altitute and ends up at Baldvinsskáli hut. From Baldvinsskáli there is approx another 100 m of altitude to the actual pass itself. Most of it not cycle-able so you have to carry the bike, but well worth it because from the top there is an easy ride to the new hills created during the eruption in 2010.
!!!Pls note: To get there its best to go the all the way up to the other hut(Fimmvörðuskáli) westwards to get to the volcano site. The old signs point to the old hiking track which makes you lose unneccesary altitude!!!
When you are back at the bridge over Skógá you have the choice of following the jeep track back down the same way or alternatively follow the singletrack down along the river which is much more fun and offers a fantastic view of countless waterfalls.
Mind the hikers - there can be alot of them.
Bring enough water. The rivers coming from the glaciers are quite murky and there are not so many streams along the way.
View: 5 out of 5
Technicality: 3
Difficulty: 4
Flow: 4-5
Overall: 5
This is one of Icelands most popular hiking tracks as the pass leads the traveler between the two glaciers Myrdalsjökull and Eyjafjallajökull (both which have erupted recently).
This track uses a fairly good jeep track to gain altitute and ends up at Baldvinsskáli hut. From Baldvinsskáli there is approx another 100 m of altitude to the actual pass itself. Most of it not cycle-able so you have to carry the bike, but well worth it because from the top there is an easy ride to the new hills created during the eruption in 2010.
!!!Pls note: To get there its best to go the all the way up to the other hut(Fimmvörðuskáli) westwards to get to the volcano site. The old signs point to the old hiking track which makes you lose unneccesary altitude!!!
When you are back at the bridge over Skógá you have the choice of following the jeep track back down the same way or alternatively follow the singletrack down along the river which is much more fun and offers a fantastic view of countless waterfalls.
Mind the hikers - there can be alot of them.
Bring enough water. The rivers coming from the glaciers are quite murky and there are not so many streams along the way.
View: 5 out of 5
Technicality: 3
Difficulty: 4
Flow: 4-5
Overall: 5
Comments (6)
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Our absolutely favourite track from 4 days riding in Iceland. Even though the climb was very difficult facing strong headwind and we could not see much of glaciers through clouds with ash particles. Still, the downhill more than rewarding. Nice views of the river with its 23 waterfalls and the superb singletrack.
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Superb ride. The ride up is on a gravel 4WD track, but the scenery is still stunning, especially if you can see the ice-caps on either flank. Note: the GPS track above follows the 4WD tack back down to the bridge (first 3rd), which is an ok ride, but not single track. We opted for the red track (there are only two, the 4WD track is blue) and it is single track and more scenic, fun and technical. Couple of pinches and black sand sections that will test your metal, but 95% rideable.
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This is an amazing trail. The terrain is hard work at times due to the ash and dust. We kept thinking we had flat tyres. A steep start that continues into a steady climb but well worth it for the descent. One point I would like to make is choose the time of the year wisely. We done this on the 15th May 2016 and the ground was very soft and still plenty of snow from below the first bridge. Still enjoyable but some of the sections covered in snow was a bit stop/start. Plenty of Hikers on the way down and up the river so just let them know you are there and they are accommodating. Would love a craic at this around end of July or August. There is a few blind corners with drops straight into oblivion so beware. Thanks for the details and route Ballenapez you made our Iceland trip easy. The details above are spot on follow this with ease.
One other point the steps at the Skogarfoss are very busy when we got there we hopped over the fence and down the grass beside. A nice steep descent down rough grass was a nice way to finish the ride rather than carrying the bike down past walkers. Steps would be doable if there wasnt so many tourists ;-)
Glad you enjoyed Mrmtbire :)
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Amazing. Hard climb due to the rocky path, but the great views made it light. The way back was really complicated in some points, especially the muddy parts. The steps, as has been mentioned, are horribly crowded. I bolted out and found the path I had followed on the climb