Hiking in Skaftafell National Park - The Travelling Hiker

Are you thinking about visiting Skaftafell National Park during your next trip to Iceland? Then you’ve come to the right place. In this blog, I will share with you everything you need to know to spend a fantastic day hiking in Skaftafell National Park.

Skaftafell National Park is the perfect place for one-day hikes. Most people just limit their visit to the park to a guided glacier hike and a quick visit to Svartifoss waterfall. However, if you have one extra day in your itinerary, I recommend including a hike in this park. Trust me you will not be disappointed!

Skaftafell National park - Practical information

Skaftafell, located in the southeast of Iceland, is part of Vatnajökull National Park. It used to be a National Park on its own but it was recently integrated into the Vatnajökull National Park.

It is considered to be one of the most beautiful areas in Iceland. Its visitors get to experience an amazing contrast between green lush meadows and mountains, white glaciers, black sand, and waterfalls.

Getting to Skaftafell National Park

Skaftafell National Park is just off the Ring Road, in the southeast part of Iceland. The Skaftafell Visitors Center will be on the left of the road if you are coming from Reykjavik. It is approximately 4h driving from Reykjavik (330 km) and 1h 30 minutes (125 km) if you are driving from Höfn.

Important: Skaftafell National Park has a visitor fee that is paid as a parking fee. Its price will depend on the type of your car. You can find the different prices on this website.

Sleeping near Skaftafell National Park

There are several options on places to sleep depending on your budget.

Skaftafell Campground (€): If you are visiting Iceland on a low budget, the cheapest thing is to rent a camper and camp in the different campsites along the country.
Litla Hof Guesthouse (€€): If camping is not for you, you can sleep in a guesthouse with a private bedroom but a shared bathroom.

Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon (€€€): If you have some extra money to splurge, then why not treat yourself to a stay at this hotel with a spa?

Hikes to do in Skaftafell National Park

Skaftafell is a hiker’s paradise. There are plenty of one-day trails you can do depending on your fitness level. A map with the different hiking routes is available here.

Easy Hikes

S1: Skaftafellsjökull (Distance 3.7km; Time 1.5h): Short hike of 3.7km that will take you very close to the Skaftafellsjökull glacier.
S2: Svartifoss (Distance 5km; Time 2h): This hike will take you to the beautiful Svartifoss waterfall with its basalt columns behind it.

Challenging Hikes

S3: Skaftafellsheidi (Distance 17km; Time 5-6h): Beautiful hike that will take you uphill to get a spectacular view of the glacier tongue from above, border the peak of Kristinartindar, and descent with views of Morsárjökull glacier, ending at Svartifoss.
M2: Morsárjökull (Distance 20km; Time 6-7h): Hike to the lagoon where Morsárjökull glacier ends.

Difficult Hikes

S4: Kristinartindar (Distance 19km; Time 7-8h): S3 hike can be completed with an ascent to Kristinartindar peak.

equipment Skaftafell National park

The equipment needed to hike in Skaftafell National Park will depend on the difficulty level of the hike you will perform. In general, I recommend:

Breathable and fast-drying clothes: No matter the temperature, you are going to sweat so having clothing that will keep you dry is a must.
Sturdy hiking shoes: Some of the shorter hikes have partially paved trails. However, in all of them at some point, you will find yourself on unpaved trails so having good support is essential.
Backpack with food and drinks
Water & wind resistant layers (including gloves): These were a lifesaver during our hike as we got a lot of rain and wind. I would not have been able to complete this amazing hike if it wasn’t for my rain jacket and pants.
Hiking poles: These are not mandatory but can be very handy for longer hikes.
Crampons: If you are visiting during the summer months, these might not be necessary. However, we did our hike in mid-June and the ascent to the Kristinartindar was still covered in snow so this is something to keep in mind.

Note: These are all based on my personal experience in Iceland. If you are planning on doing one of the difficult hikes in Skaftafell, please talk to the experts in the Visitor Center. They will be the most suitable people to help you with any questions you may have.

Hiking Skaftafellsheidi Trail

Hike Summary

Trail Start/End: Skaftafell Visitors Center
Distance: 17,9 km. We did a slightly longer version that we found in All Trails
Elevation gain: 745 m
Route Type: Circular
Time: 8h

Going up Next to the Glacier

We started our hike at around 9:30 am. We wanted to start a bit earlier but it was hailing so hard that we had to wait in the Visitors Center until it cleared out.

The trail is well-marked with signs every few meters. It begins to the left of the Visitors Center and next to the Skaftafell Camping area. After a few hundred meters it splits into two. Depending on which path your take, you will do the trail in one sense or the other. We chose to do the trail counter-clockwise, so took the unpaved path to the right.

We started to slowly go uphill and after around 15 minutes we got the first glimpse of the lagoon where the glacier ends. The sky had cleared out and we were quite optimistic about the day. However, this didn’t last long and by the time we reached the first viewpoint of the glacier, it was quite cold and rainy.

We decided to push through it even though people around us were turning around and returning to the Visitors Center. This first part of the hike was quite tough. It is constantly going uphill and on top of that, we had the cold rain hitting our faces. The only thing that kept us going was the beautiful views.

Our effort was rewarded with a fantastic view of the glacier tongue at our feet.

Bordering the summit of Kristinartindar

At some point, we reached to a sign where the trail split into two. Either we could keep ascending to the summit of Kristinartindar or border it. We chose the second one because there were still a lot of snow patches and the weather conditions were really bad.

After enjoying a last view of the glacier, we started bordering the Kristinartindar summit and the rain was replaced by fog and wind. We advanced quite slowly because of the wind and the snow on some parts. Nevertheless, the views were amazing.

Walking along the ridge with views to the Morsar Valley

When you are almost done going around the peak, you will reach the ridge of the mountain and get some views of the valley and the Morsarjökull Glacier. From there, you keep following the trail by walking along the ridge!

The Descent to Svartifoss Waterfall

From there, we started the descent which in my opinion was the less impressive part of the hike. It was just going down along endless moss and rocks.

However, at the end of the trail, another highlight was waiting for us, the beautiful Svartifoss Waterfall. Svartifoss is one of the most unique waterfalls in Iceland. It is a 20 m drop with high basalt columns behind it which is what has made it so popular.

And that was it for our hike in Skaftafell National Park! This hike has been one of the most difficult hikes I have done so far because of the weather conditions. During the day we experienced hail, rain, super heavy rain, fog, strong wind, and ended the day with some more rain. I am proud that I pushed through these and completed this hike. The views of the glacier from above were so worth it!

Hiking In Skaftafell National Park – Skaftafellsheidi loop