Hike and Backpack the Lofoten Islands in Northern Norway

Norway's Lofoten islands provide an wide range of stunning long and short day-walks to overnight to multi-weekbackpacking routes.  

The Lofoten archepelago is an extraordinary chain of granite mountain-islands off the coast of northern Norway, 120 miles north of the Arctic Circle but kept temperate by the Gulf Stream.  Here, crags and spires rise abruptly thousands of feet from the sea,  with fishing villages and remote white-sand beaches clinging to the rocky shoreline, and hundreds of large and small lakes and white granite boulders speckling the lush green fields in between.  A wide variety of outstanding walks  venture along the wild coastline and up among the crags and lakes of the mountains, including an extended backpacking route that goes from one end of the chain of islands to the other.   Historic fishermen's cabins called 'rorbuers' offer atmospheric lodgings in the small villages, and spots for wild camping on the beaches and beside the high lakes provide flexible options to stage your days.  Museums, cod-drying racks and small ports full of active fishing boats showcase the island's long seagoing and fish-drying history (the Lofotens' were the largest source of the world's  salted cod for centuries!)  The islands are accessible by ferry from the town of Bodo on the northern mainland of Norway, and also by air from the town of Evenes at the northern end of the Lofoten island chain.  Roads and ferries provide convenient transport all around the islands and also provide world-class locations for cycling.

 

• Suitable Activities: Backpacking, Day Hiking, Global Adventures
• Seasons: Year-round, May, June, July, August, September
• Weather: View weather forecast

• High Point: 3,809 ft

• Land Manager: Land Manager Varies
• Parking Permit Required: see Land Manager
• Recommended Party Size: 12
• Maximum Party Size: 16
• Maximum Route/Place Capacity: 16