Hiking Sulur Mountain - Akureyri - The Travelling Hiker

If you are looking for a small challenge during your visit to Akureyri, you should consider hiking Sulur Mountain. Sulur is just outside Akureyri town and the hike is a moderate to difficult one. However, when you reach the summit you will see the best views of the fjord.

Does this sound interesting? Then keep reading this blog to find out everything you need to know about this hike.

Súlur Mountain

Súlur Mountain is just 9 km outside of Akureyri and it is a very popular destination for both locals and tourists who want to enjoy the beauty of this region.

The mountain has two peaks, the highest being 1.213 meters.
The lower part of the mountain is mainly an endless green marsh.
The peaks, on the other hand, are made of light rhyolite which is a volcanic material from eruptions that happened 9 million years ago.

Getting to Súlur

The hike begins at the parking located at the end of Súlurvegur road (exact location on the map on the right).

The best way to reach the trailhead is by driving your car. It is only a 10-minute drive from Akureyri.

If you don’t have a car, then you can always start your hike directly from Akureyri but this will add 3 to 4 km to an already challenging hike (depending on where you’re staying).

I followed the Súlur Mountain Trail on the All Trails app to know which trail I needed to follow.

Important: On the map on the right I have highlighted the main points of the trail so that you get an idea of where the trail goes. However, this is not a GPS and should not be used to track the trail you need to follow.

Accommodation in Akureyri

There are many options for places to stay in Akureyri depending on your budget.

Camping Hamrar (€): This will be your go-to option if you are traveling with a camper van.
Akureyri Backpackers (€€): Another budget-friendly option is to stay in a hostel. If you choose Akureyri backpackers, you will be lodging in the center of Akureyri.
Akureyri Luxury Apartments (€€€): These apartments are located a bit far from the center but they have everything you can imagine to guarantee you a fantastic stay in Akureyri.
Centrum Hotel (€€€): If you prefer the comfort of a hotel, then yo can choose a centric hotel like this one.

My Experience Hiking Mount Sulur

Hike Summary

Trail Start/End: Parking at the end of Súlurvegur (see map above)
Distance: 11,2 km.
Elevation gain: 863 m
Route Type: Linear
Time: 6h

Equipment Needed

This hike is challenging so the following equipment will be very handy during your hike.

Waterproof hiking shoes or boots. Along the hike, you will have to cross a couple of creeks and many marshlands which can get very muddy if it has rained recently.
Hiking poles. There is a lot of elevation gain in this hike so hiking poles will help with your knees.
Rain pants and jacket. The weather in Iceland can change abruptly so it is always recommended to have rainproof gear.
Crampons. Even during the summer, it is common to find snow patches as you get closer to the peaks. While not absolutely mandatory if hiking in the summer months, they can be useful to have.

The beginning of the hike

The hike began right next to the car parking. Only a few meters in, we had to cross over a fence with some ladders that were available.

Immediately after that, the trail split into 3 different hikes, but there was a sign showing us the way to Sulur and the remaining distance (5km). At this moment, we were very confident about this trail since we had done way longer trails in the past. Little did we know that it was 5 km of constantly going uphill.

The first part of the trail is relatively easy. However, you have to cross two creeks along the way. The second one is a bit wide and unless you have waterproof shoes, you will most likely get your feet wet.

Endless marshlands

After crossing the two creeks we started slowly walking uphill through endless fields of moss and marsh. The hike might seem easy but the progress was very slow due to the mud that was there because of the rain. We had to constantly deviate from the trail to avoid it.

There were some wood bridges that would help you cross the biggest parts. However, in many parts, you either had to do a little detour or go through the mud which kept slowing us down.

The views in front of us and behind us were amazing though!

Getting higher

The progress was very slow and the trail kept getting steeper. In addition, the weather started to change and it began raining.

We had to cross several snow patches, which kept getting larger as we got higher. To make it a bit more interesting we did not have any crampons so we had to cross them very slowly. We got to another cross paths in which you could either keep going up or turn right to Lambagatan.

By the time we were approximately 3 km into the hike, the sky was completely covered and the rain was getting stronger. We still had a long way ahead of us but visibility was getting very low. The views in front of us were fantastic but, we decided that the safest thing was to turn around and descend.

The Descent

We were very disappointed that we had to turn around and start descending. However, this was the best decision to take as very soon after we were covered in super dense fog. We could barely see a few meters in front of us.

The whole descent was a mix of foggy and rainy weather. By the time we got back to our car, we were completely soaked.

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Hiking Sulur Mountain – Akureyri