Vestdalur to Vestdalsvatn from Seyðisfjörður

From the car park by the road bridge at Vestdalseyri, take the track up past the lower falls, Vestdalsfossar and Arnarfossar, and on west along the south side of the Vestdalsá to a footbridge. Cross to the north bank. The path climbs the valley in steps past more waterfalls, under the cliffs of Bjólfur, with old cairns and stone path edges from the former post and trade route. It reaches Vestdalsvatn at its north-east corner. Return the same way; the old route carries on over the heath to Hérað.

It is 15.3 km there and back with 594 m of ascent; allow about 5½ hours. The grade is Moderate: a steady climb on rough, sometimes wet ground.

The tourist board gives this as a summer walk, June to September. Snow lingers in the upper valley and the lake stays frozen for much of the year, and mist is common on the heath, so keep to the cairned path. In 2004 a Viking Age grave was found near the lake: a woman buried around 940 with hundreds of beads.

The car park at Vestdalseyri is free. The only road into Seyðisfjörður climbs over the Fjarðarheiði pass from Egilsstaðir and is often difficult or closed in winter storms: check umferdin.is. Strætó route 93 runs from Egilsstaðir to the town.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.