Gamle Strynefjellsvegen

Why this route?

At the head of Nordfjord, Olden, Loen and Stryn sit side by side, each with its own valley reaching in towards Jostedalsbreen. From here the route climbs Hjelledalen and crosses Strynefjellet on a road built for horse and cart. Gamle Strynefjellsvegen was completed in 1894, its walls laid by hand and its edges lined with guard stones. When the main road with its long tunnels opened in 1978, the old one was left in peace. Today it is a National Tourist Route, and it has been a protected monument since 2009.

Down by the fjord: glaciers, waterfalls and cruise ships. Up on the mountain: gravel, silence and banks of snow early in the season. But the old road does not let everyone through — check the length of your motorhome first.

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Stops along the route

1. Olden — gateway to Oldedalen

Olden lies where the Oldeelva river meets the fjord. In summer cruise ships call here, and many of their passengers are heading the same way as you: up Oldedalen towards the glacier.

Motorhome tip: The Fv 5724 up the valley takes vehicles and combinations up to 19.5 metres, and a short tunnel and two avalanche galleries are signed at 4.2 metres. Drive early or late in the day, when there are fewer coaches. Gryta Camping by Oldevatnet has its own dump station.

2. Briksdalsbreen — the glacier at the head of the valley

After 22 km up Oldedalen, past Oldevatnet, the road ends at Briksdalsbre Fjellstove. From there it is 2.5 km on foot up to the glacier, and expect to get wet as you cross the bridge by Kleivafossen. The glacier, an arm of Jostedalsbreen, has retreated a long way since the 1990s and no longer reaches down into the lake.

Don't miss: Walk back down on the newer path south of the river, so you don't return the way you came.

Motorhome tip: Parking is paid, but you can stay the night in your motorhome. A camera reads your number plate, and you pay at the machine or online afterwards. The «troll cars» drive you most of the way up, May–October.

3. Loen — a thousand metres straight up

Loen Skylift takes five to seven minutes from the edge of the fjord to the top of Hoven, 1,011 m above sea level. Queen Sonja opened the cable car in 2017. At the top there is a restaurant and hiking trails.

Motorhome tip: If you ride the cable car, parking at the fjord station is free. Lo-Vik Camping is by the fjord in Loen, with electric hook-ups and a dump station.

4. Lodalen — Lovatnet and Kjenndalsbreen

The Lodalsvegen road follows the green lake Lovatnet in towards the glacier. In 1905 and 1936 rock from the Ramnefjellet mountain crashed into the lake, and the flood waves took 134 lives in Nesdal and Bødal. About 20 km from Loen the road ends; from there it is a quarter of an hour on foot to Kjenndalsbreen. The road into Kjenndalen is closed in winter.

Motorhome tip: This is the narrowest road of the trip. According to the Norwegian Public Roads Administration's road database, almost half of the first ten kilometres is under four metres wide, and the last four to Bødal are narrower still. Beyond that it is a private toll road. Use the passing places and be ready to reverse for coaches. Sande Camping by Lovatnet is open all year.

5. Stryn and Oppstrynsvatnet — shopping and emptying

Fill up, shop and empty your toilet in Stryn. Then the Rv 15 follows Oppstrynsvatnet eastwards — the lake is 16 km long and 230 metres deep.

Don't miss: Jostedalsbreen National Park Centre in Oppstryn, with exhibitions on the glacier, avalanches and climate, and a garden of plants from the country around the glacier.

Motorhome tip: Stryn Camping, right in the centre, is open all year. Strynsvatn Camping, by the lake 12 km from Stryn, has drop-in pitches for motorhomes.

6. Hjelle and Hjelledalen — where the old road began

Before cars, travellers took the boat across the lake to Hjelle, and from the jetty the road climbed Hjelledalen. Hjelle Hotel has welcomed guests since the 1890s. At the top of the valley stands Jøl bru, a stone arch bridge from 1883, now a footpath and cycle bridge beside the main road.

Don't miss: An hour's walk from Glomnes near Hjelle brings you to the mountain farm Segestad, where the cliff drops straight into Oppstrynsvatnet.

Motorhome tip: Folven Adventure Camp, 3.5 km up the valley, is the nearest campsite before the old road. You don't need to book a pitch for a motorhome.

7. Videseter and Videfossen — up the bends

Three kilometres above Jøl bru, at Ospeli, you turn off the Rv 15 onto the Fv 258. The road winds up to the Videseter hotel, which has stood here since 1903 — with a break after an avalanche took the building in 1960. Right next to it, Videfossen plunges into the gorge, and from the viewpoint you look down Hjelledalen and up towards Skåla (1,848 m).

Don't miss: Øvstefossen by the turn-off. A short path with steel railings leads down alongside the waterfall.

Motorhome tip: Use the car park built for Videfossen; the hotel's spaces are paid.

8. Over the mountain — from Tystigen to Vassvendtjønnin

Videdalen opens out, and at Tystigen you reach Stryn Summer Ski Centre below the Tystigbreen glacier. From late May, for as long as the snow lasts, the chairlift runs up to around 1,300 metres. Just above it the 8-metre length limit begins. At the county border stands a boundary stone dated 1894, and here the gravel starts. A few kilometres on you reach the highest point, 1,139 m above sea level, by the Vassvendtjønnin tarns.

Don't miss: The stonework. In many places the road rests on dry-stone walls, and the guard stones stand shoulder to shoulder along the edge.

Motorhome tip: In the ski season you can sleep in your motorhome in the car park at the ski centre, for a fee and with a toilet. On fine days there are queues on the road up and the car park fills — come early.

9. Grotli — on the watershed

Here the streams run east towards Ottadalen — you have crossed the watershed. Grotli Høyfjellshotell, 898 m above sea level, has welcomed guests since 1905 and has a mountain café. Here you rejoin the Rv 15.

Motorhome tip: Heading east, the Rv 15 runs down Ottadalen towards Skjåk and Lom. Dønfoss Camping in Skjåk, just over 30 km from Grotli, has around 100 pitches for motorhomes and caravans.

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Practical info for motorhomes

Roads: Gamle Strynefjellsvegen (Fv 258) runs 27 km from the Rv 15 at Ospeli, just below Videseter, to Grotli. According to the Norwegian Public Roads Administration there are two limits, and both apply to the whole combination, including a car or trailer behind the motorhome:

• Ospeli–Tystigen, up to the summer ski centre: 12.4 metres
• From Tystigen over the mountain to Grotli: 8 metres and 8 tonnes axle load

If your motorhome, including anything you tow, is between 8 and 12.4 metres long, you can drive up to the car park at the ski centre and turn there, but not over the mountain. The length is in your vehicle registration document. Avoid fine days in the ski season, when there are queues and the ski centre is full. From the county border almost all the way down to Grotli, around 16 km, the road is gravel; on the Stryn side it is sealed. It is mostly 4–5 metres wide, but on the Stryn side a fifth of it is under four metres, and at its narrowest under three. The Skjåk side has more than a hundred passing places and lay-bys. No tunnels, no height limit.

The road is closed in winter. In past years it has opened between 15 and 29 June and closed between 15 September and 11 October. In the first weeks after opening it is sometimes closed at night or in bad weather.

The alternative is the Rv 15 from Ospeli to Grotli, through the Ospeli, Grasdal and Oppljos tunnels — almost 11 km of tunnel from 1978, signed at 4.0 metres. The main road takes combinations up to 19.5 metres and is open all year, but it is a mountain pass that can close in bad weather. Take the Rv 15 if your motorhome, including anything you tow, is over 8 metres long or has an axle load over 8 tonnes, outside the old road's season, or if you would rather not drive a narrow gravel road. The tunnels on the Fv 60 between Olden and Stryn are signed at 4.0–4.1 metres. Check vegvesen.no or call 175 before you set off.

Parking: At Briksdalsbreen, and at the summer ski centre in the ski season, parking is paid and you can stay overnight in your motorhome. At Loen Skylift it is free for passengers. Parking in passing places is forbidden.

Overnight stays: Use the campsites, especially in July. On uncultivated land (utmark), the Outdoor Recreation Act requires that you cause no nuisance to others, that tents stand at least 150 metres from an inhabited house or cabin, and that you stay no more than two nights at a time without the consent of the owner or user. Follow the signs, and never drive off the road into the terrain.

Campsites:

• Gryta Camping — by Oldevatnet in Oldedalen, with a dump station
• Lo-Vik Camping — by the fjord in Loen, with a dump station
• Sande Camping — by Lovatnet in Lodalen, open all year, with toilet emptying
• Stryn Camping — in Stryn centre, open all year
• Strynsvatn Camping — by Oppstrynsvatnet, drop-in for motorhomes
• Folven Adventure Camp — in Hjelledalen, April/May–October
• Dønfoss Camping — in Skjåk, east of Grotli

Fuel: Fill up in Stryn, which has several stations. The last before the mountain is an unstaffed Circle K pump in Hjelledalen, by Folven. There is none over the mountain; on the east side the nearest are at Nordberg and Bismo in Skjåk, 33 and 42 km from Grotli.

Waste disposal: Not in the toilets along the tourist route. The National Tourist Routes point to Stryn, Bismo and Lom. Gryta, Lo-Vik and Sande Camping have dump stations for guests.

Ferries: No ferries on the route.

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Combine with

• Trollstigen and the Geirangerfjord — from Grotli west on the Rv 15 and down the Fv 63 past the turn-off to Dalsnibba, around 37 km to Geiranger.
• Sognefjellet and Jotunheimen — east through Skjåk to Lom, around 60 km. That route starts there.
• Fjærland and Jostedalsbreen — south from Olden over Utvikfjellet and past Skei, around 90 km to Fjærland.

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Weather

In July the normal temperature is around 15 degrees in Stryn and around 11 at Grotli. The west side gets the most rain: normally just over 80 millimetres in July in Stryn, against around 50 at Grotli, and more as autumn comes. Snow can lie along the road over the mountain until well into June. Check yr.no for «Gamle Strynefjellsvegen», Stryn and Grotli.

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This route is part of Bobilvei's hand-picked motorhome routes in Norway. Every route is quality-checked with a focus on motorhome suitability, parking and local experiences.