Are there many hiking trail in western Norway? Not sure our exact itinerary yet but we will be spending some time in Bergen and Balestrand, so the Sognefjord and Lustrafjord area. Might take in the Gudbrandsdal Valley and Jotunheimen Mountains. My wife and I would like to do some 5-10 mile hikes and I also do a lot of trail running. Would be nice to stay in towns where I can get in a early morning trail run. I am having a hard time finding info on hiking trails. I am aware of a couple of the famous hikes but would like to get away from the more crowded areas. What books or web sites have info on hiking in western Norway?
Posted by
Yorkshire
1209 posts
Cicerrone guide books are excellent.
The DNT site might well have maps .
Posted by
Paris
9564 posts
In Balestrand there are some hikes that you can get to just above town. I found a little information on them in Rick's book and looked for a more detailed map or something — but never really found anything. Finally I just headed up to the starting point and found that the signage is so good that you don't really have to worry about maps etc.
I did two of the easier hikes on subsequent days, but given that they all involve elevation, they weren't “easy” to me — but the second in particular definitely gave gorgeous viewpoints. There were two or three more hikes that departed from the same point that went even higher and further.
Posted by
Medford, OR, USA
5835 posts
Norwegian Trekking Association (DNT) is a go to resource.
https://english.dnt.no/summer-trails/
Use google translate to read the route finding tool:
https://ut.no/
Searching for hikes near " Balestrand": https://ut.no/utforsker/stedsnavn/737706/balestrand/turforslag
One tour suggestion: https://ut.no/turforslag/114988/fra-saurdal-til-balestrand-over-spenane
In Oslo visit the DNT store/office for maps and advice:
DNT Oslo og Omegn
Storgata 3, 0155 Oslo, Norway
Also note that the Oslo Nordmarka hiking trails are a short metro ride from central Oslo.
https://www.visitoslo.com/en/product/?tlp=2982953&name=Nordmarka-wilderness-area
I have only been to the Oslo DNT store but found the Bergan equivalent using Google Maps:
Bergen og Hordaland Turlag
Tverrgaten 4-6, 5017 Bergen, Norway
https://www.bergenoghordalandturlag.no/forside-engelsk/
Posted by
OP
40 posts
Edgar, thanks so much for the links! Very useful.
Posted by
Toronto area, Canada
162 posts
I found this nice PDF online that describes "25 great hikes in the Sognefjord area":
https://sf3ee73ce94bda5de.jimcontent.com/download/version/1422969697/module/9913601798/name/25%20Hikes%20Sognefjord.pdf
The file is about 16MB and took a while to download from that site, you may need to be patient.
Posted by
Long Beach, California, USA
3391 posts
I've done quite a bit of hiking in this area and what I will say is be prepared for the ground to be soggy! Even up high mountainsides the ground can be very wet and spongy in places - like the ground has soaked up water and releases it like a sponge when you step on it. The water wells up around your feet. Waterproof shoes are an absolute must.