Grønliåsen (Oldtidsveien + Kongeveien)

Directions: Hauketo stasjon - Hauketo gård - Nebbejordet - Oldtidsveien - Kjærlighetsbenken - Toppen av Grønliåsen - Branntårnet - Kongebordet - Fløysbonn - Kongeveien - Ødegården - Tårnåsen skole - Turvei E20 - Prinsdal stall - Hauketoveien - Hauketo stasjon

This trail goes from Hauketo station over Grønliåsen to Fløysbonn, and takes the King's Road (Den Fredrikshaldske Kongeveien) on the way back. Grønliåsen is a popular area for diverse outdoor activities, located between the city district of Søndre Nordstrand in Oslo and the municipality of Nordre Follo. Oldtidsveien and Kongeveien are both protected historical routes that have been used for hundred or even thousand of years (in the case of Oldtidsveien).

The route starts at Hauketo station. Take the pedestrian bridge over the road to Øvre Prinsdal vei (public trail E20), and follow the signals in direction to Grønliåsen. You will pass by Hauketo farm, which belonged to the royalty in the XVII century, and is declared a protected heritage building of the city of Oslo. Few meters after, the blue marks will lead you to a path across the Nebbejordet neighbourhood. After passing a bus stop, you will turn to the right to take Oldtidsveien.

Oldtidsveien is a millennial route heading southwards from Oslo. You will find many burial mounds dating from the Iron Age on both sides of the way. The trial goes for the most over bedrock, a reminder of the far past of Grønliåsen: a mountain chain eroded and shrunk by the weight of glaciers to its present shape. On your way to the top, you will pass by 'The Love Bench' (Kjærlighetsbenken), from where a glimpse of the Oslo fjord can be spotted over the top of the trees. Shortly after, the fireplace at Solkollen will appear up to the left, few meters away from your path. Once you arrive to the top of Grønliåsen, you will get a nice view over Bunnefjorden, Nesodden, and the hills to the west from the inner Oslo Fjord. Even more majestic and 360 degrees around will be one that you will enjoy if you climb to the top of the fire tower (Branntårnet) when you reach it.

Continuing on your way, you will come to a point where apparently Oldtidsveien and the blue marked trail separate from each other. Do not worry about which way to take, as they converge again a short distance ahead. You will cross the gravel road coming from Åsland skibru to Ødegården and find Kongebordet ('The King's Table') few meters after. This is a historical resting place, halfway in the Scandinavian mile between Ljabru and Haugbro (called 'Hillerasten'), documented to have been already used around 1200 AD by the king Sverre Sigurdsson. Whether the large stone lying on the ground was already there, or was recently placed in this location, is still a matter of discussion.

As you come out of the forest in Fløysbonn, take the path in the narrow strip of trees slightly to your right. Turn to the right in Fløisbonnveien and walk up the street until Kongeveien. Kongeveien was adapted to wheeled carts around 1660 by order of the king Christian IV, as the main route southwards from Christiania (Oslo) to Fredrikshald (Halden). Nowadays, it alternates forest trails with paved roads for vehicular traffic. Cross the Ødegården neighbourhood and take the forest trail between Grønliåsen and Hellerasten.

As you arrive to Tårnåsen school, a recently opened floodlit trail to the right will take you to the border between the Nordre Follo and Oslo municipalities. Walking down the path at the back of the Gimleveien kindergarten, you will come back to Kongeveien, to the east of Tårnåsen center. Thereafter, the way is regulated as route E20 until Ljabru, under the network of public trails of the city of Oslo. Kongeveien shows its most majestic side in this stage, between Tårnåsen and the Prinsdal stables, running down an impressive canopy of pines, birches, spruces, alders, hazels, and rowan-trees, populated by a diverse array of avian species. After the stables, you will take Øvre Prinsdals vei passing by Prinsdal sports park, Prinsdal school, and Hauketo school. To come back to Hauketo station and complete the route, you can either walk down the street until the Hauketo farm, or turn left in Hauketoveien, as depicted on the map.