Iceland, Skaftafell Park, Skaftafell C.G. to Foot of Glacier
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 2.97 mi
- Elevation gain
- 299 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Easy
- Elevation loss
- 299 ft
- Max elevation
- 350 ft
- TrailRank
-
39
4.7
- Min elevation
- 220 ft
- Trail type
- Loop
- Time
- one hour 42 minutes
- Coordinates
- 385
- Uploaded
- August 30, 2012
- Recorded
- August 2012
near Skaftafell, Austurland (Lýðveldið Ísland)
Viewed 5427 times, downloaded 187 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
This is nothing more than an easy stroll from the Park Center and Campground to the foot of the nearest glacier.
The path is paved for most of the way, making it easy for people with difficulty walking or for parents with small children or babies in strollers. The path has markers where you can stop and learn about the local natural history if you wish to rent the guide from the visitor center.
The visitor center has a museum of the local geography and ecology, including some history of glacial exploration. The cafe is decent, but expensive. There are times of the year when it feels like 95% of all of Iceland's population descends on this park to party. Like a giant, nationwide spring break - complete with keggers. If you like your nature walks to be quiet, don't go during this period.
The paved path will terminate near the gravel bed at the base of the glacier. You can continue on, but watch out for mud and even quicksand left by massive ice boulders that melt into the gravel.
We hiked up alongside the creek formed by glacial meltwater. It allowed a hands-on, up-close view of the glacier. It's almost hard to tell what's rock and what's ice at this stage in the glacier's travel because it's picked up so much debris that it is rocky and black.
The path is paved for most of the way, making it easy for people with difficulty walking or for parents with small children or babies in strollers. The path has markers where you can stop and learn about the local natural history if you wish to rent the guide from the visitor center.
The visitor center has a museum of the local geography and ecology, including some history of glacial exploration. The cafe is decent, but expensive. There are times of the year when it feels like 95% of all of Iceland's population descends on this park to party. Like a giant, nationwide spring break - complete with keggers. If you like your nature walks to be quiet, don't go during this period.
The paved path will terminate near the gravel bed at the base of the glacier. You can continue on, but watch out for mud and even quicksand left by massive ice boulders that melt into the gravel.
We hiked up alongside the creek formed by glacial meltwater. It allowed a hands-on, up-close view of the glacier. It's almost hard to tell what's rock and what's ice at this stage in the glacier's travel because it's picked up so much debris that it is rocky and black.
Waypoints
River
249 ft
Glacier
Foot of glacier with water pouring out. Small lagoon with small icebergs. The big piles of sand and gravel are from where big chunks of the glacier melted and deposited the debris.
Mountain hut
286 ft
Skaftafell Visitor Center
Comments (3)
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I heard they make beer in Iceland using glacier melt water. True?
Technically all beer in Iceland is made with melt water since something like 95% of their water is from glacier, snow, and rain run off. But, yes, more specifically, there are one or two beers made there where they truck in huge glacial boulders and melt them down for the water to brew. I tried them. They weren't any cleaner tasting to my palate.
I have followed this trail View more
Information
Easy to follow
Scenery
Easy
Great for up close view of a glacier without a lot of trouble. I'd skip the natural history guide that you can rent - I didn't think it was very interesting.