The Ryten hike plus Kvalvika Waterfront combination on the southern island of Moskenesøya was the first outing we did in Norway’s Lofoten Islands. What an unforgettable hike it was! Climb Ryten on its own and enjoy a fantastic wits – including stupendous mountain and sea views in all directions. And if you add in a hike to Kvalvika Waterfront – a white sand waterfront that looks like it belongs in the Caribbean, you up the wow factor considerably. Unlike many of the other hikes we did in the Lofoten Islands, this one started off gently. I highly recommend it!
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The view of Kvalvika Waterfront from Ryten
Ryten hike summary
Distance to Ryten from Innersand parking lot: 7 km return
Elevation gain: 520 m or 1,706 feet
Difficulty: Easy if you hike frequently, otherwise moderate
Time needed: Approximately 3 hours return
Ryten hike – Kvalvika Waterfront summary
Ryten and Kvalvika Waterfront combination distance: 12.5 km
Elevation gain: 930 m or 3,051 feet
Difficulty: Moderate
Time needed: 5 – 7 hours; indulge for a long unravel on Kvalvika Beach
Beautiful Kvalvika Waterfront in the Lofoten Islands in late August
Best time for the Ryten hike and Kvalvika Beach
Summer is the most popular time to do the Ryten hike as it’s peak season for good weather, summery temperatures, and long days. It’s moreover the busiest time of the year and parking can be a challenge.
The Ryten hike would be fantastic in fall as there is still unbearable daylight, and the number of hikers drops off.
The hike up Ryten can moreover be washed-up in winter and spring, but you’ll want some daylight – and it’s weightier if the weather is in your favour. It’s not a lot of fun to hike in the fog (and I say that from my wits hiking Nonstinden where there was nary a view to be seen for most of the hike.) Dress for the conditions. Consider taking snowshoes, hiking poles, and microspikes. The upside of a winter hike is quiet trails and trappy wintry scenes, expressly if you score a sunny day.
According to Guide to Lofoten, you should start the winter hike from “the centrum” in Fredvang.
Some gorgeous views on the Ryten hike
Where to park for the Ryten hike
You’ll find parking for the Ryten hike well-nigh a 10-minute momentum yonder from Ramberg, one of the towns that offers gas, cafes, grocery stores and more.
Parking is a massive issue for the Ryten hike. Please be considerate as everything I have heard is that people will park on narrow roads where it’s not allowed, making life very difficult for the locals. Make sure you’ve got some mazuma as there will be many increasingly instances where you’ll need it, if you plan on hiking in the Lofoten Islands. Here’s what we found.
Parking lot #1 – We passed a parking lot in a yard with a box for mazuma on the left-hand side of the road without on the momentum towards the trailhead – without the Fredvang bridges. The parking lot is well signed and is on my map unelevated with the pursuit GPS coordinates -68.090594, 13.156800. It’s well-nigh a kilometre to walk to the trailhead from here.
The first parking lot we pass driving in from Ramberg
Parking lot #2 – This is a huge parking lot right abreast the trailhead tabbed Innersand – with GPS coordinates 68.089147, 13.140483. You can plane park overnight, but it will forfeit you more. They uncontrived you to a parking spot, so no space is wasted. As you can see in the photo, they sell coffee and chocolate as well.
Information and fee hodgepodge at the parking in Innersand
Parking plane in the big paid lot can get very crowded
Parking lot #3 – I didn’t visit, but I’ve read well-nigh an 8-stall parking lot in Torsfjorden that provides wangle to Kvalvika Beach. It fills fast. If there are no spaces, turn virtually and do not park illegally on the narrow road.
Parking lot #4 – We inadvertently happened on the parking lot for the hike to Mulstoa Waterfront with room for perhaps 20 cars. It is free, but it’s approximately a 1.2 km walk each way. The injudicious GPS coordinates are 68.099734, 13.1352283.
Location map for the Ryten hike and Kvalvika Beach
Things to know surpassing hiking Ryten and Kvalvika Beach
Weather forecast
Check the Ryten weather forecast surpassing you go. I know lots of hikers will only have one opportunity to do the Ryten hike, but there’s not a lot of point if it’s socked in by fog or if the forecast shows nothing but rain. Considering of its elevation, the weather will likely be worse the higher you go.
If it’s foggy, why not segregate one of the coastal walks. We really enjoyed the nearby hike to Mulstoa Beach.
Plan ahead
Let someone know where you’re going and when you plan to be out. Siphon the hiking essentials as weather can turn quickly. Don’t forget raincoats and warm layers, plane if you start out on a sunny summer day.
In Reine, stop in at the Lofotodden National Park Visitor Centre. Get updated information and purchase WAG (waste team and gelling) tons – so you can pack out your own poop if you’re planning to zany on Kvalvika Beach. You could moreover buy the tons here on Amazon.
Signage at the start of the trail by the Innersand parking lot
Ryten hike description
Look for the trail leaving the parking lot in Innersand. It starts off unappetizing on a combination of dirt and boardwalk. Periodically there are places on the boardwalk to indulge for passing. Then the climbing starts but so do the views. Looking back, you’ll see untried fields, red-roofed farms, a gorgeous waterfront in the distance, and the jagged peaks of Flakstadøya Island.
Lots of signage in English at the start of the trail; throne for the upper point that’s in the shade
There are several mini boardwalk sections on the Ryten hike through wet areas
A mid-afternoon start ways quieter trails on the Ryten hike
Beautiful views of farmland and the jagged peaks of Flakstadøya Island on the Ryten hike
After passing two lakes in a short, unappetizing section you’ll start climbing again, but increasingly steeply this time. There are as set of villenage that some hikers might find helpful, expressly under slippery conditions.
Then there’s a section of boardwalk where you can see the trail climbing up Ryten. There is the option to detour and hike up to the Fredvanghytte – but you’re going to get largest views as you go higher, so unless you’re the sort that needs to hike every inch of trail, requite it a pass. When you reach Forsvatnet Lake, you’ll need to decide if you’re going to the waterfront first or up the mountain. (We chose to hike to Kavalvika Waterfront first.)
It’s a steady but not difficult hike up Ryten. It was dry on the day we hiked Ryten but under wet conditions, you’ll be into mud. Be a good person and don’t contribute to trail braiding.
As you climb higher, you’ll be tropical to cliffs if you alimony to the left. There’s increasingly drama if you do that, but if you’re fearful of heights, just step a few feet to the right.
I didn’t notice it on the hike up, but I did on our descent thanks to all the people trying to get photo ops. Just unelevated the false Ryten summit is a cliff that looks like the famous and much photographed Trollunga. It’s here you can get a copycat picture with trappy Kvalvika Waterfront a long way lanugo below.
From the false summit, it’s a five-minute walk to reach the real summit. I highly recommend finishing what you started as the views on top are extraordinary.
To return to your car, simply retrace your steps.
You can zany on the Ryten summit should that request – though you must siphon uneaten water or go when lanugo to the lakes to get some. You can moreover zany near Forsvatnet Lake.
Pass two unappetizing lakes and then climb steeply for a short distance
The turnoff to hike up Hytta
Decision time unescapable – throne right and up Ryten or stay left and throne to Kvalvika Beach
This is what it looks like when you’re hiking the boardwalk up from Kvalvika Beach
Looking lanugo on people at the false Ryten summit
Looking lanugo on Kvalvika Waterfront – hiking doesn’t get much increasingly spectacular than this
What a scenic descent from Ryten!
The descent off Ryten with the far-reaching views is glorious on a sunny day
Kvalvika Waterfront Hike
We did the hike to Kvalvika Waterfront first and then backtracked up the steep hill and finished the Ryten hike. To get to Kvalvika Waterfront from the trail to Ryten, alimony right at Forsvatnet Lake and hike lanugo on the wooden boardwalks. This is a fun bit of hiking.
When the boardwalk ends, be prepared for a steep descent. This is a good time to pull out the poles as they’ll help you navigate the rocky, muddy, and sometimes slippery trail. We picked our way lanugo and were at Kvalvika Waterfront in no time.
When you reach the waterfront you can go for a swim in the dank Arctic waters, wander the length of the waterfront – losing people the remoter you walk, or simply find your place on the waterfront and enjoy a bit of rest and relaxation.
If you’ve once completed the Ryten hike, there is the option to return to the parking lot by climbing the col overdue Kvalvika Beach. Although you may not see the trail unmistakably when you’re standing on the beach, you can usually pick out people ascending or descending on it. This is a much easier and shorter climb out. From the top of the col, the trail heads towards the parking lot at Torsfjorden. From there, you can walk the road when through Fredvang and when to the paid parking lot at Innersand.
I prefer to stick to trails rather than roads, so I was happy to hike out the same way we hiked in. At least there’s flipside option, and it’s only well-nigh 2 km to the parking lot for Kvalvika Beach.
Watching people heading towards Kvalvika Waterfront from whilom on the Ryten hike
The boardwalk section to Kvalvika Waterfront is a lot of fun
On the steep descent lanugo to Kvalvika Beach
Almost at Kvalvika Beach
Arrival at Kvalvika Beach
There were a few hardy folks swimming in the water whilom the Arctic Circle
Wild camping on Kvalvika Beach
I was surprised to see tents at Kvalvika Waterfront – but for now wild camping is allowed, plane though you’re in Lofotodden National Park. Reportedly this is one of the busiest wild camping spots in the Lofotens – and I can see why. You can get to the campsite via a short hike – which makes life easy if you’re delivering a moderate load, the views are sublime, and the waterfront is perfection.
But there are problems and helpful things every camper can do.
The sheer number of people wild camping in summer (up to 100 people some nights) without any toilets set up is causing ousting to the landscape and the freshwater streams in the zone have been shown to contain E.coli. Don’t plane think well-nigh filling water bottles without treating and/or humid the water.
If you still segregate to zany at Kvalvika Beach, the most important thing you can do is to Leave No Trace. That ways packing out EVERYTHING you pack in – plane poop. (You can buy special poop tons (WAG bags) that don’t smell and won’t burst. I was shocked at the value of toilet paper I saw – not so much on this hike as I didn’t go looking, but on other hikes in the Lofotens. No one wants to see this, expressly the locals. If you don’t have a WAG bag, dig a slum yonder from all water sources, and situate your waste BUT pack out toilet paper and/or wet wipes.
Stay yonder from fragile sand dunes to preserve the ecosystem.
There is a ban on bonfires from April 15 – September 15th. When you can make a campfire, alimony it small using wood lying virtually on the ground, but don’t use old or dying trees as they still provide habitat for many organisms.
Go prepared for wrongheaded weather as conditions can turn on a dime. Your tent should have a fly and be waterproof. Pack uneaten layers of warm clothing.
If the thought of camping with 100 people is a turn-off, as it is for me, aim for the shoulder seasons in late spring or early fall.
Always let someone know your plan, pack a first-aid kit and an InReach or something similar in specimen you have an emergency.
Tents pitched just whilom Kvalvika Beach
After your Ryten hike
Many of you will be hungry without a hike up Ryten or a visit to Kvalvika Beach. There’s a supplies truck you can’t miss on the road when to Ramberg. They make succulent made to order wraps – and there are lots of picnic tables to sit when and enjoy the view.
A supplies truck you can’t miss on the way to the Fredvang Bridges surpassing or without your Ryten hike
Where to stay in the Lofotens
Some ideas include the pursuit spots.
Olenilsøy Cabins in Reine are rated as fabulous.
We stayed at Modern Rorbu Ryten 1 and did all are own cooking. It was very peaceful and we loved looking out over the water. It wasn’t fancy, beds were small, but the main rooms were spacious.
The Lofoten Cabins – Kakern in Ramberg are highly rated and would be an spanking-new choice.
This zone was a 3 – minute walk from our rental place in Sund
Interested in increasingly hikes in Europe & the Lofoten Islands?
It gets a bad rap from many people, but if you can score a parking spot, I think it’s highly worthwhile to hike the Reinebringen Trail. Enjoy some of the weightier views in the Lofoten Islands.
If you’re short on time, but you want a hike that delivers 360 stratum views, opt for the Offersøykammen Hike.
Another outstanding hike located in Sørvågen near the end of the E10 is the Munkebu Hut hike with a climb of Munken Peak.
How well-nigh hikes in Europe?
The Via Alpina in Switzerland is a magnificent multi-day hike – with no camping involved.
You can’t write-up hiking in Mallorca in winter. The hike from Valldemossa to Soller was the highlight in my opinion.
The Tour du Mont Blanc may be a popular hike – but that’s considering the scenery is superb day without day.
The wondrous view of Reine from the top of the Rheinbrigen hike
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Thanks for reading.
Leigh McAdam
Author of Discover Canada – 100 Inspiring Outdoor Adventures
Co-author of 200 Nature Hot Spots in Alberta
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