Safe Travel

Weather:

In genral autumn weather, some wind, rain/sleet showers can be expected. Cold during the night. 
Friday: The whole country: Very strong southwesterly wind with rain, heavy rain in the highlands and south and west parts. Temperature ranging from 5 to 10 deg. C. 

F-roads are closing quickly these days. To be up to date see www.road.is

Þórsmörk/Goðaland: The road is only suitable for 4x4s. It is not advised to attempt crossing the river Krossá unless you are on a larger modified 4X4 and have experience crossing it. There are walking bridges over Krossá both from Básar to Langidalur and on the way to Húsadalur. The rivers on the way to Básar/Goðaland have also been very difficult in the past few days and only recommended for big jeeps.

Fjallabak:  Snow on some roads already and difficult driving conditions with cars getting stuck in the snow. To keep up to date with road conditions see www.road.is Roads can quickly become impassable/closed.

When not winter conditions: Fjallabak N only for 4x4s. F225 were recently fixed. F208 was fixed from Hrauneyjar to Landmannalaugar but not south from there, that part of F208 is in bad condition, espcially that part that was flooded by the Skaftá river in August. Other roads in the area are also in bad shape. Smaller 4x4s recommended to park before the river Námskvísl and walk over the walking bridge (should not take longer than 5 minutes.) Fjallabak S is only passable for bigger jeeps and modified vehicles. In Bláfjallakvísl river there‘s a deep spot that‘s hard to direct inexperienced drivers from and it has „drowned“ a few cars this summer.  

Kaldidalur: Closed/impassable!

Kjölur:  Closed/impassable!

Lakagígar: Road F206 is already covered with snow, Hellisá river is deep and difficult to cross. This route is only passable for very big jeeps.

Askja: All roads to there are closed/impassable.

Huts in the area north of Vatnajökull have closed.

Snæfell: Road is closed.

Sprengisandur: Closed/impassable!

 Kverkfjöll:  Road is closed. VERY important to follow instructions by the icecave and not go near it all year around!

Conditions in popular tourist sites:

Conditions depend entirely on the weather so that must be checked every day. Many trails are now wet and muddy and therefore it‘s important to wear proper footwear as the mud is slippery and can cause accidents.

Reykjanes: Construction going on by Gunnuhver where they are fixing the decks and more. Valahnjúkur is closed due to dangerous conditions! The road to Selártangar is in very bad shape.

Þingvellir: Road closure on road 36 from the Visitors Center to the eastern crossroads of Vallarvegur (361) until October. Detour around the closure via road 361.  

Geysir: Nothing remarkable about conditions.  Please stay on marked paths.

Gullfoss: Nothing remarkable about the condition.  Please stay on marked paths.

Western Iceland: Dangerous area around the landslide in Hítardalur. Please do not go there! Nothing remarkable about other conditions in West Iceland.

Snæfellsjökull National Parl: It has snowed on the Snæfellsjökull glacier and the fresh snow hides the old cravasses, so going there without a guide is highly not recommendet.  Road 570 closed/impassable.

Westfjords: In general winter conditions can be expected on roads higher than 100-200 m above sea level. The mountain pass over Dynjandisheiði (and other gravel roads) are in very bad condition, big potholes and when it rains it gets muddy. Note that at bridges are sharp edges and deep holes, show caution because it’s easy to damage cars.  

Látrabjarg and Rauðisandur: Worth mentioning that in heavy rain Látrabjarg becomes very slippery and trails become muddy. The road to Rauðisandur is very steep, threads the mountain with out protective rails which can be challenging for inexperienced drivers.

Hvítserkur: The road is wet and lots of potholes. Nothing remarkable about the conditions on the walking path.    

Goðafoss: Nothing remarkable about the conditions. 

Mývatn: Wet and slippery on trails around Krafla and Víti. The road to Hverfjall is wet and has big potholes. 

Dettifoss og Selfoss: Road 864 is closed, 862 only for 4×4. There is snow in the area, wet and slippery – caution must be shown.

Hengifoss: Nothing remarkable about the conditions.   

Reynisfjara: The beach can always be dangerous due to the unpredictability of the waves. It‘s not every wave – it‘s every 7th or 10th or 12th wave that goes a lot further up the beach than the rest making it difficult to assess danger upon arrival. There are no rocks in the ocean that break the waves and only a few meters of shore there‘s an underwater cliff so the pulling factor of these already powerful waves becomes even greater. On top of this the sand is very fine ash which makes it extra difficult to get away from these waves. Rocks have also been falling by the cave.
Same applies to Djúpalónssandur in Snæfellsnes Peninsula and Kirkjufjara beach but it‘s CLOSED for this reason.

Svínafellsjökull: Civil Protection advises against travel on Svínafellsjökull due to landslide danger and guided tours on the glacier are discouraged. Travelers are advised to stop only for a short while at viewpoints by the glacier tongue.

Dyrhólaey: The road to Háey is only for 4×4 vehicles.

Seljalandsfoss: Nothing unusual about the conditions – the trail behind the waterfall is wet and one must be careful when going back up the rocks on the west side.

Fjaðrárgljúfur: Important to stay on the trails and not go over ropes that indicate closures as nature is very vulnerable. 

Conditions on hiking trails:

Esja: Important not to underestimate the elevation gain but there’s nothing unusual about the conditions.  

Reykjadalur: Nothing remarkable about the conditions. Important though to follow trails as the area remains sensitive to traffic.  

Básar: Trails are in good condition but because of frost during the night they can be slippery in the morning and throughout the afternoon.

Fimmvörðuháls:  The past few days have been cold and wet. Autumn is there and bad weather conditions a fact.  The huts have closed. A challenging hike and conditions vary a lot on the weather! Fog on the top and even snow is common which limits the visibility. You‘ll hit snow just after Baldvinsskáli and walk for about 4 km. Snow can be very wet and slushy so it‘s more time consuming and hiking poles are recommended. Foot prints in the snow should never be 100% relied uppon. Important to keep in mind that access to water is very limited after the river, on the pass itself.

Þórsmörk: Trails are in good condition  but because of frost during the night they can be slippery in the morning and throughout the afternoon.

Landmannalaugar:  All marked trails are open but there is snow in the area and because of that and frost during the night they can be slippery in the morning and throughout the afternoon

Laugavegur: The huts between Landmannalaugar and Þórsmörk have closed so it’s not recommended to do the hike. Winter conditions on the way and as huts have closed there’s no shelter for bad weather.

The hut in Langidalur will close on October 2. Básar (Þórsmörk) will be open until end of September but after that only for reserved groups and/or at weekends. Volcano Huts in Húsadalur is open year round. The hut in Landmannalaugar is also open most of the year.

Þakgil: Campsite has closed.

Kjalvegur: Road F35 is closed and snow in the area.

Kerlingafjöll:  Snow above 800 m. Apart from that, nothing remarkable about the conditions.

Skaftafell: Snow at the top of Kristínartindar. Apart from that, nothing remarkable about the trails.  

SE of Vatnajökull: Nothing remarkable about the conditions.

Víknaslóðir: Huts are closed.

Jökulsárgljúfur: Walking paths can be slippery.

Ásbyrgi: Main walking paths in good conditions but can be slippery. Smaller walking paths are wet and muddy and will be kept closed until conditions get better.

Hornstrandir: The scheduled boats have stopped sailing there. Winter conditions in general.

Glymur: Log has been removed so there is no way but wade through the river. The current is quite strong and river very cold so wading through is not for everyone.