30/05/2017
A copied weekly statement from Safe Travel regarding accessibility on popular hiking trails and roads.
We advise all of our travelers to check out their website www.safetravel.is before heading out to explore.
Both road conditions and the weather forecast should be checked multiple times a day for the forecast is not a 100% reliable such a long time in advance – check out: www.road.is + en.vedur.is
Weather and road conditions:
Nothing remarkable in the weather forecast as of now.
The highland roads are all still impassable and will stay that way for some time! Those travelers that wish to visit the highlands must do so with a scheduled tour in a modified vehicle. We‘ve had a few incidences where visitors think that having a 4x4 vehicle is enough to do this – that‘s of course not the case! The damages can cost thousands of dollars so it‘s important to inform our guests of this! Here you can find the estimated opening times from Vegagerðin.
NOTE: Some GPS devices may lead tourists on to closed mountain roads because it determines it shorter in kilometers. In good conditions, it takes longer and at this moment they are simply impassable!
Popular tourist sites:
Roads to Landmannalaugar, through Kjölur, Sprengisandur and Kaldidalur are CLOSED. Not all these roads will be closed with a clear closure over the road so it‘s important that our visitors are informed of this.
Road F206 (towards Lakagígar) has partially opened to Fagrifoss waterfall for all 4x4. River crossing on the way.
Þórsmörk is open for 4x4. Básar is accessible for most 4x4. No rental cars should go to Langidalur but cars can park in Básar and people hike over from there. A walking bridge goes over the bigger branch of the river. River Krossá is bigger in the valley of Húsadalur so only bigger 4x4 vehicles and drivers with experience should go there as it‘s much deeper. River levels rise when raining! Trails are free of snow except on Útigönguhöfði mountain.
The road from Geysir to Gullfoss from Tungufljót is like Swiss Cheese – a lot of pot holes and puddles that can potentially damage your car! New staircase is now open.
The 800 m. trail to Dettifoss & Selfoss is now open and free of snow. The area of Hrafnagilsfoss is closed because of mud and nesting geese. Roads on either side of the canyon (864 and 862) are closed.
Conditions in Reynisfjara are good but due to the unpredictability of the waves, conditions are ALWAYS dangerous. It‘s not that the waves are big, it‘s the fact that they are sneaky. Every 7th, 10th or 12th wave goes a lot further up the beach than the rest and this can catch visitors by surprise that are too close to the water. The sand is very fine and the sheer pulling factor of the wave makes it easy for it to pull visitors out to sea. If you know that your guests are going there by themselves – make sure they are informed of this.
Kirkjufjara by Dyrhólaey has been CLOSED due to increased dangers in rockslides and deadly sneaker waves.
Similar danger can be found in Djúpalónssandur beach in Snæfellsnes peninsula.
Popular hiking trails:
Mt. Esja: To hike up to „The Rock“ (Steinn) is fine, conditions are good. Wind-chill factor plays a big role at the top so bring warmer clothes than you think you’ll need!
Skaftafell: All trails are open and in good conditions except for S3 (Skaftafellsheiði) and S4 (Kristínartindar), they are closed due to snow and mud. We recommend speaking to the wardens in the Info Center for updates. There you can also get a hiking map of the area.
Laugavegur and Fimmvörðuháls: Both these trails are closed for those who are not experienced mountaineers! There are no scheduled busses running to or from Landmannalaugar and hiking conditions in there are not good at all!
Reykjadalur: The trail is in good condition, can be very wet on the first quarter if raining. Important to watch every step as it’s easy to skip and fall. Bubbling mud pots all around!
Glymur waterfall: Landowners have put the log over the river. Important to wear good shoes as trail goes up steep gravel slopes. Possible to cross the river on foot above the waterfall, hiking pole recommended for balance.
Avalanche danger: Low (level 1/5)
Low danger in mountainous areas in the Eastfjords, northern Westfjords and in Tröllaskagi peninsula. Further info can be found here: http://en.vedur.is/avalanches/forecast
Best regards / Með bestu kveðjum
Safetravel team
Travel SAFE
of May one could in two instances see the effect of that. One was a van blowing of the road due to a powerful gust and up north the Road Administration in cooperation with Icelandic rescue teams escorted a lot of cars across a mountain road because of snowy conditions even though it already is the m...
