Day trips

Svolvær

Svolvær, known as the gateway to Lofoten, is an excellent base for hikers. Surrounded by mountains and the sea, all of our day-hikes are accessible by foot from Svolvær town centre. These 3 day hikes options range from 4-6 hours depending on the one you choose. For a longer hike, it is possible to combine Option 2 with Option 3 to complete the 3 ridges walk above Svolvær: Fløya, Blåtinden and Tuva, which takes around 8 hours. Alternatively, it’s also possible just to hike part of the day-hikes if you’d prefer a shorter walk. Our routecards give you all the options to help organise your day.

Leknes

The quiet town of Leknes is a great place to stay while you explore the surrounding areas. Most day hikes are situated around 5-10km outside of Leknes itself. You can take a local bus, taxi, or rent a bike to access these hikes. We will provide you with all the necessary travel notes to help you with your plans. Our day hikes in this area range from 4-5 hours depending on the one you choose.

Å

Å is known to be Lofoten’s best-preserved traditional fishing village with a history dating back to the early 1800s. From Å we describe 1 day hike in the area which is accessible via a 10-minute bus ride to nearby Moskenes. This hike takes around 6 hours to complete and offers spectacular views onto the nearby Reinebringen and Munken summit. The ascent to Gylltinden is very steep and is an optional part of this day hike as we grade the access to the summit as a “Black”.

Our approach to the Lofoten Islands
The remoteness of the Lofoten Islands is a significant draw for many hikers, offering a sense of adventure that is hard to find elsewhere. Upon our first visit, we hoped to be able to link up the mountain huts and towns to create a neat point-to-point hiking holiday across the islands. However, we soon discovered that due to how isolated some parts of the islands are this wouldn’t be possible. Instead, we have put together a series of exciting day-hikes from three unique bases in Lofoten: Svolvær, Leknes and the charming fishing village of Å.

We provide all the navigational information in the form of Routecards and GPX tracks, and leave it up to our clients to choose their preferred hiking options in each place. Each day hike varies in length and technical ability, discussed in more detail below.

Latest research on the Lofoten Islands was carried out by Alpine Exploratory’s Nicky in August 2024.

The Terrain
The mountains in Norway are not to be underestimated! The terrain encountered in the Lofoten islands is predominantly steep and rocky. Most days are generally a combination of mountain paths, followed by steep, exposed, rocky sections nearer the summits. There are also short sections of scrambling where hands will be needed for stability. These sections are on the high end of normal mountain walking, but they are not climbing routes or Via Ferrata. On the rocky sections the path is less well-defined, sometimes cairns mark the way, generally visible on the horizon for navigation in poor visibility. Throughout Summer there is a good chance of some snow patches lying on the higher paths but the lower paths are likely to be snow-free.

Is it for me?
If you’re a confident hiker with experience of mountain walking for 6 hours over consecutive days, then you should love the Norwegian hiking style. We recommend taking extra care when considering this trip for those with niggles in their knees and ankles that tend to get worse on uneven terrain. The terrain is consistently rocky and uneven underfoot, more so than on our Alpine trips. Good knowledge of navigation is also key. Some of the routes, such as the ascent to Fløya, have regular waymarks and signposts throughout the trail. On other routes, such as Merraflestinden and Tuva, the signposts are few and far between, and it’s important to have our navigational materials on you at all times. We do not recommend this trip to hikers who have a fear of exposure or heights.

Difficulty
We grade the Lofoten Islands as Purple3 overall. The majority of the day hikes fit into the category of Red3, as the ground is consistenty steep and rocky despite the shorter distances. Then the rocky, exposed sections by the summits, and some of the steep, slippery descents, bring the grade up to Purple overall. There are also two Black sections (both of which are avoidable) at the summits of Tjeldbergtinden and Gylltinden. We provide more details on these in our Routecards.