Iceland’s Skogafoss Waterfall Hike: The Trail Above the Falls- One of the many hidden gems in Iceland is the hike along the river above the Skogafoss waterfall, also known as the Skoga Trail or Waterfall Way. The river that flows to make Skogafoss (Skoga River) has 26 large waterfalls leading towards the main attraction. Skoagfoss’ might and size is quiet impressive but the hike above the falls I believe is even more thrilling as it is more peaceful then the loads of tour buses that Skogafoss brings.

Many tours buses and self driving tourists will immediately stop at Skogafoss, as it is easy to get to. You can see it right off of the road. But the best part of this stop is the Skoagfoss hike, the trail behind the waterfall.

This hike is actually the start of the Fimmvörðuháls trail. This trail takes 12-14 hours in good weather and ends at Thorsmark. From there you would need to schedule transportation back. We looked into doing this trail but it is very difficult to get transportation back as 4 wheel drive is needed, and rivers would be crossed. Public transportation only runs certain times of the day and certain times of the year, if you miss that time slot you could be in quite the dilemma. You can find lots of information on this day hike from this site.

But the good thing about this Fimmvörðuháls trail is a lot can be seen on this hike by just hiking out and back on your own time frame. If you just hike up to an hour out before you head back to Skogafoss you can really see a lot.

We originally planned to hike about 20 minutes before turning around but ended up hiking over an hour before we realized how much time had passed.

How To Get There

To get to the start of this hike you will first need to get to the Skogafoss Parking Lot. It is free to park in the lot.

Skogafoss is located 2 hours and 5 minutes from downtown Reykjavik. It is a very easy drive along Ring Road 1. The waterfall is easily seen from the road, you cannot miss it!

Where to Stay

We completed the Golden Circle and Bruarfoss hike the day before. Then stayed overnight in our Go Campers Campervan at Arhus Campground. This made our drive only 50 minutes, stopping at Seljalandsfoss in between.

At Arhus Campground they also have cabins to rent, a shared kitchen and dining area. The campsites at this campground were spread out, they had clean restrooms and they employees were super nice. I would highly recommend this place.

Skoagfoss also has a space for people to camp as well. But it is right at the waterfall, which to me seems unpleasant as there are always people in and out visiting the falls.

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What To Bring

Water- A hydration pack like this one would be fine, or we even love bringing our collapsible travel water bottles (here and here)

Snack- Especially if you are not sure how long and far you want to hike

Hiking Poles- these are completely affordable and pack-able

Shoes- a good pair of trail shoes like these or hiking shoes like these will do just fine

Backpack- I love my North Face Borealis but also have used Osprey day pack like this one

Backpack Rain Cover- this rain cover has been a lifesaver on my trips

Layers- Iceland’s weather is constantly changing.

For my complete Iceland packing guide check out my post here.

The Hike

Skogafoss

First, Skogafoss is definitely worth seeing and getting up close and personal to. Throw on your rain jacket and get right next to it! There is a reason this brings in so many tourists!

We arrived about 7:00 in the morning and there were already a few tour buses at the site. As we were approaching the waterfall many tourists were starting to leave, which gave us some time to enjoy it to ourselves.

I truly believe this waterfall has a rainbow by it at all times.

The Climb Above

Once you spend some time at Skogafoss’ falls start your trek up the stairs to see it from above. Many people choose to take this climb up as well.

It was interesting to see the sheer might of this water flow while walking up the stairs and viewing it from above.

The Trail

From there you will be able to see the marked trail heading to the Fimmvörðuháls hike. There will be some warning signs at the first part of the trail. This is necessary as some people do not realize how long of a trail this is.

Knowing it was a somewhat sunny day (in Iceland terms) with clear weather insight we felt safe taking the trail. We also were aware we were not going to be completing the entire trail, we were ready to turn around if weather conditions turned bad or we got tired.

This trail is relatively safe but as you get further in elevation I heard that is can be covered in snow in the summer months as well.

Many people who choose to walk up the stairs can see some of the first few waterfalls from the top and visit those as well, but as the trail gets further from Skoagfoss the people will thin out. After the first or second falls we were hiking alone with the sheep.

Turning Back

This great thing about this trail is that you can decide when you want to turn around and go back.

We hiked over an hour out before we decided we were going to be falling behind schedule soon. The hike back to the parking lot only took about 40 minutes (compared to the over hour walk to) as we were not stopping as much for pictures and taking in the views.

When arriving back to Skogafoss we realized how lucky we were to start early in the day as the parking lot was pack full of tour buses.

You can easily do this as a day trip from Reykjavik:

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