A Guide to the Kjeragbolten Hike

Kjeragbolten Hike- When my husband first marked Kjeragbolten as must do hike in Norway I was all for it; but as our trip approached the thought of this hanging rock started to get to my nerves a bit. I kept reminding myself we had just hiked Angel’s Landing at Zion National Park, which was supposed to be rated a riskier hike than Kjeragbolten.

Kjerag was our first hike to complete the Triple Crown of hiking for Norway. Which includes Kjeragbolten, Pulpit Rock and Trolltunga. Be sure to check out my post on my Two Weeks in Norway Itinerary .

How to Get There

We based ourselves right outside of Stavanger and had a rental car from Budget for our time in Norway. So we took the 2 hour drive to the parking lot of the hike. This drive was very scenic and had lots of curvy roads that were fun to drive. And lots of sheep! So watch out!

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Public Transportation

If you don’t have a car available many people use Tide Buss to get themselves there from Stavanger. From the bus you will want to go to Øygårdsdalen as that will be the parking lot to the hike. Visit Norway has a lot of great information on their site about reaching this hike by bus.

Parking

There is a steep parking fee (as is the case with most hikes in Norway) of 200 NOK (about 23 USD). The parking fee made us cringe, but we tried to view it as the small cost of our full day activity (If we were in a city we would be paying for tours, museums etc.). At the start there is a restaurant and restrooms; make sure you stop here as there will be no restrooms along the trail.

Stats

Distance: 12 km (7.5 miles)

Elevation Gain: 570 meters

Time: It takes most people 6 to 8 hours to complete.

When to Go:

We did this hike on July 1st 2018. It was definitely warm out, as Norway was experiencing an unusual heat wave. But even with the warm temperatures there were still some snow on parts of the trail. Most of the snow was just off to the side of the trail, but toward the end we did hit some patches we could not avoid. If you’re not traveling in the summer make sure you check the road conditions as they sometimes have to close the road to the parking lot due to poor conditions.

The Hike:

Begin your hike at the car park and make your way up the hill. Throughout the entire trail make sure you follow the red ‘T’ markers to stay on the route. The first part of the hike is the most strenuous part as you hike up hill straight away. There are chains along parts of the path for you to use if you wish. I first thought I didn’t need them, but in some spots as the intensity of the slope heightened I definitely used them as support. Parts of the path can also get very slippery on a rainy day.

After a hike straight up you get to rest your legs as you descent down into a green valley. This helps give your legs a break by using some other legs muscles to get down, and the stroll along the flat part of the valley isn’t not bad on your eyes as well! A lot of people use these more shaded areas in this area for overnight camping to get early starts on the trail.

There were still some uphills to conquer before dipping into the second valley area of the trek. The incline sections are steep and cover elevation change quickly. Always pace yourself and go at a speed your are comfortable with. Snack and water breaks are always a must for me to keep my energy levels up. You do want this to be enjoyable, so stop and take in the Norway views.

Once you reach the leveled off area of the largest uphill the trail becomes fairly leisurely, and this is when the sights start to get even better. If you conquered those uphill climbs you’re due the reward of the views! The last part of this trail went by so fast, as we were able to casually walk it pretty easily with out having to hold on to any chains. Just keep your eye on the red ‘T’s to stay on the trail.

At last we reached final leg of the trek. In the photo below you see two of the red ‘T’s to mark the trail. The route to the right we followed on our way back, but first to get to Kjerag you want to take the one below into the ravine area. Since this ravine area stays in the shade this was the only snowy area of the hike we couldn’t avoid walking in. Once in the ravine just look ahead and there it is!

When we arrived there were only about 2-4 people in line to take their turn to step out on the rock. We immediately got in line and were glad we did, since while we were eating our lunch the line grew significantly. Getting up early to beat the crowds is completely worth it.

After our photos we hung out here for lunch and gave our legs a rest before the trek back. We even saw a few base-jumpers take off from other parts of the fjord.

How Was Step out on Kjerag?

I definitely was nervous about stepping out onto the rock. But as you can see in the photo below its not a bad leap. Everyone was polite about letting you take your time to get your prized photo. Be patient, take your time, and take a sure steps. I was surprised how comfortable I felt once on it!

The Trek Back

Besides the step out on the rock, my favorite part was our detour back. We were not pressed on time as this was our only activity scheduled for the day. So we decided to take the less direct trail back off to the right of Kjerag. This offered much better views of the fjord then the waiting area by the Kjeragbolten. We walked along this edge for awhile until we decided to head back to the main section of trail.