About Húsafell
Húsafell is a wooded valley at the head of Borgarfjörður in West Iceland, where birch forest and lava fields run up to the edge of the highlands. It is the last settled spot before the roads climb toward Langjökull, which makes it a natural base for the caves, waterfalls and glacier trips of upper Borgarfjörður.
The Húsafell estate has been a farm and church site for centuries, and its best-known object dates from the 18th century. Pastor Snorri Björnsson used a basalt slab, now called the Húsafell stone, as the gate to his stone sheep pen. It weighs roughly 186 kilograms, and strongmen still travel here to try lifting it and carrying it around the pen.
Today the birch wood of Húsafellsskógur shelters a campsite, holiday cabins and Hotel Húsafell, along with a geothermal swimming pool, a golf course and a small grocery store. Local sculptor Páll Guðmundsson, from the Húsafell family, carves faces into local stone. Marked trails start at the hotel, including the route into the Bæjargil ravine, which takes two to three hours and involves river crossings.
From Reykjavík, Húsafell is about a two-hour drive via Borgarnes and Reykholt. The lava-fed cascades of Hraunfossar and Barnafoss are about 7 kilometers west, and the Víðgelmir lava cave is roughly 12 minutes north by car. Guided ice tunnel and snowmobile trips onto Langjökull also meet in Húsafell, so book those ahead and treat the valley as your starting point.
Plan at least half a day, or stay a night if you want to hike. The Húsafell Canyon Baths, small hot pools in a ravine above the valley, can only be reached on a guided walk from the hotel. In summer, the Kaldidalur road (F550) runs south from Húsafell toward Þingvellir, a scenic shortcut for 4x4 vehicles once it opens.
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