ATTENTION: Weather Alert!

Weather:     

The next few days the weather forecast is cold, snowfall in North and East Iceland now and then, strong wind in south east Iceland Friday and Saturday.

Road conditions: 

Winter conditions on all roads; ice and/or snow – many roads are extremely slippery these days. Winter tires are necessary and slow down when driving in winter conditions; icy/slippery roads, snow on the roads, poor visibility, etc.

Conditions in popular tourist sites:   

Conditions depend entirely on the weather so that must be checked every day. 

Reykjanes: Krísuvíkurvegur (42) part of it is gravel road has been fixed a bit, but drive slowly though. Construction going on by Gunnuhver where they are fixing the decks and more. Valahnjúkur is closed due to dangerous conditions! The road to Selártangar is in very bad shape.  

Þingvellir:  Snow and ice. Please stay on marked paths.  Microspikes are recommended. 

Geysir: Snow and ice. Please stay on marked paths. Microspikes are recommended. 

Gullfoss:  Snow and ice. Please stay on marked paths. Microspikes are recommended. 

Western Iceland: Dangerous area around the landslide in Hítardalur. Please do not go there! There’s a lot of snow and ice everywhere now, microspikes are recommended. Important to stay on marked paths.

Snæfellsjökull National Park: Snow and ice everywhere. Fresh snow on Snæfellsjökull glacier hides the old cravasses, only go there with a guide.  Road 570 closed/impassable. Important to show caution at/around sea cliffs. 

Westfjords: In general winter conditions on roads and some mountain roads are already closed. Note that at bridges are sharp edges and deep holes, show caution because it’s easy to damage cars.   

Látrabjarg and Rauðisandur: The road to Látrabjarg has no winter service so it can become impassable very quickly. Worth mentioning that in heavy rain Látrabjarg becomes very slippery and trails become muddy. The road to Rauðisandur is very steep, threads the mountain with out protective rails which can be challenging for inexperienced drivers.  

Hvítserkur: The road has lots of potholes. The walking path can be icy/slippery at this time of year. 

Goðafoss: Ice and snow on the trails. Microspikes are recommended and important to stay on marked trails.

Mývatn:   Be careful when walking on the ice on the lake. Even though the ice is pretty solid now there are spots where it can be weak and danger of falling through. The roads to Hverfjall and Krafla/Víti are impassable.

Dettifoss og Selfoss: Roads 862 and 864 are closed.

Hengifoss: Snow in the area. Paths can be slippery in the mornings because of night frost and muddy after rainfall.  Microspikes are recommended.

Svínafellsjökull: Civil Protection advises against travel on Svínafellsjökull due to landslide danger and guided tours on the glacier are discouraged. Travelers are advised to stop only for a short while at viewpoints by the glacier tongue. 

Dyrhólaey: The road to Háey is closed because of snow and ice. When walking around, do not climb over fences/chains. Stay on marked paths/areas. Show extra caution when it’s windy.

Reynisfjara:  Do not enter the cave! Rocks fall from the “ceiling” and going there you can get caught in the waves. 

The beach can always be dangerous due to the unpredictability of the waves. It‘s not every wave – it‘s every 7th or 10th or 12th wave that goes a lot further up the beach than the rest making it difficult to assess danger upon arrival. There are no rocks in the ocean that break the waves and only a few meters of shore there‘s an underwater cliff so the pulling factor of these already powerful waves becomes even greater. On top of this the sand is very fine ash which makes it extra difficult to get away from these waves. Rocks have also been falling by the cave. 
Same applies to Djúpalónssandur in Snæfellsnes Peninsula and Kirkjufjara beach but it‘s CLOSED for this reason.   

Skógafoss: Danger of icicles falling from the rocks near the waterfall. Do not stay too close.

Seljalandsfoss: The trail behind the waterfall is wet/icy/slippery and one must be careful when going back up the rocks on the west side. Some days the trail behind the waterfall is closed becuase it’s too dangerous. Microspikes are recommended and it’s necessary to wear good walking shoes.

Fjaðrárgljúfur:  Trails are very slippery. Good hiking boots and micro spikes are recommended. Please stay on marked trails to protect the nature. 

   

Conditions on hiking trails:   

Hiking in Iceland requires proper equipment even on shorter hikes as trails are often not like the ones travelers are used to. Please study our equipment list as preparation is key for successful travel in Iceland. The way down can often be harder than the way up so hiking poles are a good tool to help tired knees. 

Esja: Important not to underestimate the elevation gain and weather. Now there is heavy deep powder snow on the mountain and danger of avalanches in steep slopes so it’s important to stay on the trails but they are covered with heavy snow as well.  It’s necessary to be dressed/equipped for winter and bad weather because the weather conditions can change very quickly.  Recommended to bring microspikes, in case if the trails are slippery/icy.

Reykjadalur: Snow and ice in the area. Trails are extremely slippery/icy. Proper hiking shoes and micro spikes required. Important to stay on marked trails because the nature in the area is very sensitive, plus there are dangerous hot springs around.

Básar: Snow and ice in the area.

Fimmvörðuháls:  Winter is there with snow and bad weather conditions are a fact. The huts have closed. A challenging hike and conditions vary a lot on the weather and at this time of year only go there if the weather is very good! Fog on the top and even snow is common which limits the visibility. Snow for some kms at the top. Foot prints in the snow should never be 100% relied uppon. Important to keep in mind that access to water is very limited after the river, on the pass itself.  

Þórsmörk: Snow and ice in the area.

Landmannalaugar: Trails (and the whole area) are covered with snow. Hut is closed.

Laugavegur: The huts between Landmannalaugar and Þórsmörk have closed so it’s not recommended to do the hike. Winter conditions with lots of snow and as huts have closed there’s no shelter for bad weather. 

The hut in Langidalur has closed. Básar (Þórsmörk) is closed and the warden only comes to open for reserved groups and/or at weekends. The hut in Landmannalaugar is closed. Volcano Huts in Húsadalur is open all year round. 

Þakgil: Campsite has closed. 

Kjalvegur: Road F35 is closed. 

Kerlingafjöll:  Road F35 is closed. 

Skaftafell:  Deep snow on the trails, challenging and only for people wearing proper hiking boots. Recommended to check for information at the information center.

SE of Vatnajökull: Snow and ice on trails. Important to stay on marked trails/paths. Microspikes are recommended. 

Víknaslóðir: Huts are closed. 

Ásbyrgi: Very deep snow in the area and roads are impassable except for jeeps. Microspikes are recommended for icy/slippery trails.

Dettifoss: Roads 862 and 864 are closed so it’s not possible to drive there. 

Jökulsárgljúfur: The hiking trail between Ásbyrgi and Dettifoss is closed because of winter conditions. 

Hljóðaklettar: The hiking trail between Ásbyrgi and Dettifoss is closed because of winter conditions. 

Mývatn: Deep snow in the area. Be careful when walking on the ice on the lake. Even though the ice is pretty solid now there are spots where it can be weak and dnager of falling through.

Dimmuborgir:  Lots of snow in the area that covers cracks/holes in the lava. Important to stay on marked trails because of that.

Hornstrandir: The scheduled boats have stopped sailing there. Winter conditions and no hiking. 

Glymur: Log has been removed so there is no way but wade through the river. The current is quite strong and river very cold so wading through is not for everyone.