The Romsdalseggen Ridge Hike in Norway is one of the best hikes in the country. This hike will bring you to amazing overlooks of the town Andalsnes, and the mountains and streams leading into the small town. This is an intense and difficult hike, but perfect for a nice clear day. Here is where you will find all you need to know on the hike, how to get there, bus information, where to stay and more.

This was our last major hike during out 14 days in Norway. We also completed the Triple Crown of Hikes in Norway which includes, Trolltunga, Pulpit Rock, and Kjeragbolten. One of my other favorites was this via ferrata in Loen, Norway. Be sure to check out my post on my Two Weeks in Norway Itinerary .

Stats

Distance: 11km (7 miles) this is a one way hike, point to point.

Time: 5-8 hours

Elevation Gain: 970 meters ( ft)

Difficulty: Difficult due to the rocky trail, drop offs and extreme decent and ascents.

What Do I Need to Bring?

Water– it gets pretty hot so hydration bladders are great to have and easy to pack

Hiking shoes/Sturdy Gym Shoes– I am wearing my favorite Ahnu hiking shoes

Sunscreen– it can get bright on that Norway rock face

Snacks/Sandwich– we packed peanut butter sandwiches, granola bars, fruit, and jerky sticks

Hiking Poles– these are great pack-able ones for traveling

DayPack- I used my The North Face Borealis for this trip but I am also a fan of the Osprey day packs

Rain Jacket– you never know what the weather will do in Norway

Rain Cover– these pack small and have saved our bags multiple times, always in my daypack when I am hiking

Camera/Cell Phone

Light Layers- the valleys and elevation changes made for a constant change in temperatures. As walking up and down hills my body heat changed so often. Light layers are key for this hike. Even long sleeves helped for protecting ourselves from getting sun burnt. On this hike I wore an exercise tank, and my REI 3/4 zip. But I also love my Columbia Tamiami to both stay warmer in the early mornings but also light enough to layer and still wear as it has SPF protection in it.

***You can check out my for Norway summer packing list here.

When to Go

The best time to go on this hike would be in the summer months of July through September. The bus system only operates during these months. This is also recommend because of the extreme elevation, it can often be very foggy and snowy at the top of the ridge. The drop offs can become very dangerous in hazardous weather conditions.

The best part of this hike is the views. Try your best to go on a clear day, we based ourselves in Vestnes. We went to Alesund for a day when the weather wasn’t looking the best and saved the clearest day for this hike. It is nice to have that flexibility if you can.

How to Get There

We based ourselves out of the small town of Vestnes so we can easily reach this this hike as well as spending a day to visit Alesund. We had a rental car so we drove into town to use their bus system for this hike. Since this hike is point to point there are a few ways you can start this trail.

Option #1: Use their bus system (more on this below). This is the most popular route if you have a group hiking together.

Option #2: You can have someone drop you off at the trail head and then meet you at the end point when you are finished hiking. You will still need to pay the toll in Vengedalen, with credit card only to get into the car park.

Option #3: Begin the trail in town and hike the opposite way, having someone pick you up at the end. Again your ride will need to pay the car park toll in Vebgedalen. I wouldn’t recommend this as some spots of this trail is narrow. It is dangerous to have two way traffic on the ridge. I would advise against this route, we saw a few people going this direction, they often were waiting for large groups to pass in the narrow spots.

Bus Information

The Romsdalseggen Ridge bus is operated by Visit Romsdal from June 30th to September 30th of each year. They only operate at this time due to snow and bad weather along the trail during the non-summer months.

You can catch the bus at Åndalsnes train station every day during those dates.

Bus Times: The first bus takes off at 9:30am everyday. During the weekends through July 6th and August 18th they do add another bus at noon and ocassionally has a bus leave at 8:30am as well. You can find more updated time schedules here. They will continue providing buses as long as people are waiting.

To purchase a ticket you can buy ahead online here or purchase at the train station. We bought ours at the Visit Andalsnes counter at the train station. The tickets for the bus cost 150 NOK (approx. 18 USD).

I will say I hope they start a better line system, it was pure chaos getting on the bus. No lines were formed and people were pushing their way onto the bus. We got lucky but this was the site once we were on the bus. Two buses came at 9:30am that day as well.

The 20 minute bus ride will take you to the Vengedalen car park. Which will drop you off directly in front of the trail head.

Parking

If using the Romsdal busing you will need to leave your car in town. There are lots of street parking in town but do be aware that some parking is limited to 3 hours. There are some free parking lots, you can use this map here to download. We parked by the Grand Hotel Bellevue as it was central to both the train station and end of the hike.

The Hike

The Start

Once off the bus and at the trail head the trail markers are pretty clear. Always look for the Red T’s or Red dots marking the trail, often found on rocks. There is a gate to get on to the trail, make sure you close it behind you. You will walk over a few small bridges and continue on the trail. You will eventually see a large ridge on your left side. This is the back of the Romsdalseggen Ridge, you will have to climb up this before you really get to the really good sights. But for now enjoy the flatten trail.

Before heading up you will pass by a stream, if flowing steady it is safe to fill up your water bottle here. We brought water in our hydration bladders.

Eventually the trail comes to a split. You will head left, up hill to continue on to this path.

The Ascent

This is quiet the steep mountain side, lots of boulders and lose rocks. I was glad to have my travel hiking poles to help keep my balance on this part of the trail. Take breaks as needed. This section of the ascent is the largest at 800 meters.

Once over the steep side, the hardest part of the trail, you will be rewarded with some pretty incredible views at the Blanebba Viewpoint. Our clear and a little too sunny of a day gave us a beautiful never ending view of the valley.

This is the perfect time to rest your legs and eat that lunch you packed. The best views are from this sight, spend some time here soaking it in. You will see different angles of the valley from the rest of the hike but I believe this first view is where you can see the farthest.

The Return to Town

To head back you will basically walk along the ridge to the right. This part of the hike does have some rocky areas, and exposed drop offs. This section of the hike is often compared to the Angel’s Landing hike in Zion National Park. It has a few areas where you may need to use a chain for assistance and tight spaces where only one person can go at a time.

This section did begin to get crowded. We got stuck behind a few people that seemed weary of heights. Which is understandable as there is a real danger of walking off the ridge if you are not careful.

After awhile the descent levels outs giving your legs a rest, a perfect place to take a break and take in the sights.

The very last section of this trail is a rather steep decent. Some sections will have rock steps to make the climb down easier and have chains that you can use as assistance. This last section does do some damage to your knees. Straight down, but take it slow so your knees don’t hate you later.

Rampestreken ViewPoint

If you choose to you can step on to the Rampestreken viewpoint on your way down. This area will be more crowded as visitors hike this trail the other way just to see this view point. But totally worth waiting a few people deep in line to get one last look in, even though you will be ready to sit by this point of the trail.

From the view point it is only about 1 kilometer until the end. Be careful in this section of the trail as I heard it can be quiet muddy and slippery. If was very dry when we went. By here my knees were aching and ready to be back at the car.

Tips

Keep an eye on the weather. Norway’s weather can change in a second. This trail can be very dangerous if caught it bad weather. Plus the ridge top view is why you go on this hike. If its rainy and foggy you often can’t see much from the ridge. There is a real risk of walking off the edge in foggy weather.

Don’t go if you have an extreme fear of heights.

If short on time you can always just hike the opposite way to the Rampestreken viewpoint for some incredible sights as well. It is about 3 hours round trip.

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