What to do in Northern Norway

The northern part of Norway are less visited than the famous spots in the south.  However, northern Norway is absolutely worth a trip.

In case you missed it, I wrote a blog post with tips for traveling to Norway: Norway Travel Advice and another post describing my favorite spots in Southern Norway: What to do in Southern Norway.

To get to northern Norway, you can fly or take a cruise, but we chose to drive our rental car.  We had some very long 8-10 hour drives, but the views made every moment in the car worth it!  While in northern Norway, we spent our time in Lofoten and Senja.  This blog post will include photos and a quick description of some of our favorite hikes and viewpoints in the northern part of Norway!

 

#1: Kvalvika

• This is a secluded beach in Lofoten than can only be reached by hiking.  We packed our bags and hiked in just before sunset.  As we descended down to the beach, the sky lit up with one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen.  Once we got down to the beach, we set up our tent on the shore and fell asleep to the sound of waves crashing on the beach.  We were almost alone, sharing the beach with a handful of other campers and dozens of sheep.

 

#2: Reinebringen

• This was a steep, challenging, and slightly dangerous scramble to a breathtaking viewpoint above the town of Reine.  The trail was washed out and was mostly slippery mud and dirt- be sure to check posted signs, trail conditions, and a weather report before doing this hike.  The views from the top were some of the best we saw in all of Norway.

 

#3: Festvågtind

• This was another steep and precarious scramble in Lofoten that led us to amazing views! If you do this hike, I highly recommend you check out Henningsvær, an adorable fishing village nearby with tons of cute shops and restaurants!

 

#4: Segla

• The photos I have seen of Segla on social media blew me away! Sadly, we went when it was too foggy to see much.  I am also not 100% sure we were on the correct hike to view the famous huge rock that we had hoped to see. Nevertheless, the hike was wonderful and being above the clouds was an incredible experience!

 

#5: Rago

• This is definitely a hidden gem in Norway! The exact location is complicated to describe here and took us a lot of research to find. The hike was a little confusing, and I would not recommend it in the rain like what we did.  This was still a beautiful place and if you want more information about how to find it, please feel free to send me an email or DM me on Instagram!

 

Aside from these hikes, there was a ton of natural beauty and peaceful solitude in northern Norway!  We visited adorable fishing villages and white sand beaches that looked like the Caribbean, we camped for free on the seashore, and enjoyed the scenic drives and viewpoints along the coast.  Some other photos from our visit to northern Norway can be seen below!