Lakes in Iceland

Kerið Crater

Kerið crater lake is a volcanic crater with a pool of green-blue water at its bottom, beside Road 35 in Grímsnes, South Iceland. It formed about 6,500 years ago in the Western Volcanic Zone and measures roughly 55 meters deep, 170 meters wide and 270 meters across. The reason to stop is the color, with red and black slopes dropping steeply to the water. Kerið is on the way from Selfoss toward Geysir and Gullfoss, about an hour's drive from Reykjavík and roughly 15 minutes from Selfoss. Most visitors fold it into a Golden Circle day, and many tours include it as a stop. Two walks cover the site. A path circles the rim of the Kerið crater, giving a new angle on the water from each side, and a stairway leads down to the lakeshore. Doing both takes 30 to 45 minutes, so it is a short stop rather than a hike. The landowners charge a 700 ISK service fee, and parking is free, with restrooms on site. Kerið is open in daylight all year. In summer the moss on the walls is at its greenest, while in winter the lake often freezes and snow covers the red slopes. Wear shoes with grip, because the paths and steps get slippery after rain or frost.

Jökulsárlón

Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon is a lake of floating icebergs at the foot of Breiðamerkurjökull, an outlet glacier of Vatnajökull, right beside Route 1 in Southeast Iceland. Ice calves off the glacier face, drifts across the lagoon and eventually slips out through a short channel to the sea, so the scene changes from one hour to the next. Some bergs are the size of houses, and you can watch them from the shore for free. The lagoon is inside Vatnajökull National Park, about 5 hours' drive from Reykjavík, which is why most people break the trip in Vík or near Skaftafell, about 45 minutes west. Höfn is roughly an hour to the east. Ice that washes back onto the black sand across the road forms Diamond Beach, and the smaller Fjallsárlón glacier lagoon is about 10 kilometers west. Seals often hunt in the channel and haul out on the floes, and the blue ice looks best in low morning or evening light. The glacier lagoon has had its share of screen time too, from two James Bond films to the Justin Bieber video "I'll Show You." Give it at least an hour, or two if you add a boat trip and the beach. Walking the shore costs nothing, but a national park parking fee of 1,110 ISK per car applies for the day. The amphibian boat tour runs from May to November, lasts 30 to 40 minutes and costs 7,100 ISK for adults in 2026. For a closer look at the glacier face, the zodiac tour runs from May to October, takes about 1 hour 15 minutes and costs 16,600 ISK, with a minimum age of 10. In winter the boats stop, but the lagoon stays open and its parking lot becomes the meeting point for ice cave tours onto the glacier. Stay off the floes on the shore and at the beach, because they can roll without warning.

Mývatn

Mývatn is a shallow lake in North Iceland ringed by craters, lava pillars and steaming vents, a little over an hour's drive east of Akureyri on the Ring Road. Lake Mývatn covers about 37 square kilometers, yet its average depth is only 2.5 meters, and roughly 50 islands and islets break up the surface. The name means midge lake, after the clouds of tiny flies that hatch here every summer. Those midges feed the whole ecosystem. Larvae carpet the sunlit lake bed, fish and birds eat them, and more species of duck live here than anywhere else on Earth. Because of that, the lake and the Laxá river are protected by law and listed as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. Most of what there is to do in Mývatn sits within a short drive of the shore. On the south side, the Skútustaðagígar pseudocraters have easy marked paths, while the east side has the lava formations at Dimmuborgir, the tephra crater Hverfjall and the cave Grjótagjá. A few minutes east of the village of Reykjahlíð are the mud pots of Námaskarð, the Krafla volcanic area and Earth Lagoon Mývatn, the geothermal baths formerly known as Mývatn Nature Baths. Route 1 runs along the north shore and stays open year-round, though winter storms can close nearby mountain stretches, so check the official road-conditions map before driving. June to August brings the most birds, long daylight and the midges (a head net helps on calm days), while winter swaps the flies for snow on the lava and a chance of northern lights. Plan on at least one full day, and stay two nights if you want time for the baths and a sunset walk.

Krafla

Krafla is an active volcanic system just northeast of Lake Mývatn in North Iceland, with a caldera about 10 kilometers across and a fissure zone some 90 kilometers long. Its last eruptions, the Krafla Fires, came in nine episodes between 1975 and 1984, and the black lava they left still steams in places. Most visitors make two stops. The first is Víti, the explosion crater that formed at the start of the Mývatn Fires in 1724, where a path follows the rim above its green-blue water. A few minutes down the road, a marked loop at Leirhnjúkur leads through sulfur-stained ground, mud pots and the 1980s lava fields, and it takes one to two hours at an easy pace. The ground here is hot and thin in places, so stay on the marked paths and wear sturdy boots. On the way up you pass the Krafla geothermal power station, run by Landsvirkjun, which turns steam from deep boreholes into about 60 MW of electricity. Its visitor center is closed for winter 2026/27. The drive from Mývatn to Krafla is short. Take Route 863 off the Ring Road just east of Námaskarð, and you reach the parking lots in about 20 minutes from Reykjahlíð, or roughly an hour and a half from Akureyri. Parking at the Víti and Leirhnjúkur lots is paid, so check the signs for the current rate and payment method. June to September is the best time to visit, when the road is clear and the trails are easy to follow. In winter, snow can bury the paths, so check the official road-conditions map and travel warnings before heading up. Give the Krafla crater area two to three hours, and add Hverir at Námaskarð on the way back.

Fjallsárlón

Fjallsárlón is a glacier lagoon in Southeast Iceland where the Fjallsjökull outlet glacier slides down from Vatnajökull straight into the water. Icebergs that break off its front drift slowly across the lagoon toward the shore, and the glacier wall stands much closer to the viewpoints than it does at its famous neighbor. Jökulsárlón, about 10 km farther east along the Ring Road, gets the crowds. Fjallsárlón glacier lagoon is smaller, but the ice is closer and the shoreline is usually calmer, so it earns a stop even if Jökulsárlón is already on your list. If you only have time for one and want icebergs washing up on black sand, pick Jökulsárlón; for the Fjallsárlón glacier itself, pick this one. The lagoon sits just off Route 1, roughly 4.5 to 5 hours' drive from Reykjavík depending on conditions, or about 30 minutes east of Skaftafell. Parking is free, and a short walk leads from the lot to the shore and viewpoints. The service building holds the boat tour desk and the FROST restaurant. The best way to see the ice up close is from the water. In 2026 the operator runs a 75-minute iceberg boat tour from April to November for 11,300 ISK per person, plus a private boat, a 2-hour luxury trip and, from June to September, a glacier hike combined with a boat tour for 29,900 ISK. Book ahead in summer, when departures fill. You can visit the shore all year, though winter storms on this stretch of the Ring Road can slow or close the route, so check the official road-conditions map and the forecast before driving. Allow 30 minutes for a walk along the shore, or about 2 hours with a boat tour. Stay off the shoreline ice and well away from stranded icebergs, which can roll or break without warning.

Tjörnin

Tjörnin lake is the pond in the middle of downtown Reykjavík, with City Hall on its northern shore and the old town's timber houses around it. Its name simply means "the pond," and it is two connected ponds, Norðurtjörn and Suðurtjörn, ringed by footpaths. The pond began as a sea lagoon that was cut off more than 1,200 years ago and slowly turned to fresh water. Today it is fed by groundwater from the Vatnsmýri marsh to the south. Birds are the reason most people stop. Waterfowl here have been protected since 1919, when boating was banned so they could nest on the islets in peace, and five duck species breed at the pond regularly, mallards most of all. Greylag geese and gulls are always around too. Leave the bread at home. The city asks visitors not to feed it to the ducks, because it draws gulls that also prey on the smallest ducklings, and leftovers feed algae in the shallow water. If you want to feed the birds, oats or frozen peas are better choices. Paths circle both ponds and lead south into Hljómskálagarðurinn, a park planted from 1914 and named after its 1923 bandstand, and on into the Vatnsmýri bird reserve, whose paths are open outside the nesting season. A loop of Lake Tjörnin with a detour into the park takes half an hour to an hour. It is free and open at all hours, and from Austurvöllur square you are there in a couple of minutes on foot. Winter changes the scene. In hard frost both large ponds freeze, and Tjörnin has served as Reykjavík's outdoor skating rink for so long that the Reykjavík Skating Club dates back to 1892. Warm water keeps a patch open near Iðnó, where the birds crowd together through the cold months, so only head out onto the ice when it is clearly solid and locals are already skating.

Þingvallavatn

Þingvallavatn is the largest natural lake in Iceland, about 84 square kilometers of water filling the rift valley in Southwest Iceland, partly inside Þingvellir National Park. It lies where the North American and Eurasian plates pull apart, and it averages 34 m deep with a maximum of 114 m. Most of its water arrives underground, filtered through lava from the highlands, which is why the springs on the north shore are so clear. Silfra, a flooded fissure that opens into the lake inside the park, is where people snorkel and dive between the plates on guided trips. The lake drains through a single river, the Sog, and volcanic islands such as Sandey rise from the middle. Lake Þingvallavatn is also one of Iceland's best-known fishing waters, home to brown trout, stickleback and four distinct forms of Arctic char. On the national park's shore the season runs from April 20 to September 15, from land only, since boats and float tubes are banned there. Until May 31 only fly fishing is allowed and every brown trout must be released. A day permit costs 2,500 ISK per rod at the service center at Leirar or online, and Fishing Card holders can fish the park's shore too, though the Kárastaðir land is excluded. The lake is about 45 minutes' drive from Reykjavík and sits beside the first stop on most Golden Circle days, so you can see it year-round from the viewpoints and roads around the rift. Summer brings the long evenings that suit a walk or a cast along the north shore. In winter, check the official road-conditions map and weather warnings before you drive Route 36.

Askja

Askja is a volcanic caldera in the Dyngjufjöll mountains of the northern highlands, inside Vatnajökull National Park, with a floor about 1,100 meters above sea level and rims rising to roughly 1,500 meters. Getting there takes a full day on 4x4 roads, and the reward is Iceland's deepest lake lying beside a warm, milky-blue explosion crater. In the southeast corner of the caldera lies Öskjuvatn, often called Lake Askja, which is more than 200 meters deep. It formed after the great 1875 eruption, when the roof of the magma chamber collapsed. Beside it sits Víti, a smaller crater from the same eruption, and that eruption spread pumice and ash across East Iceland, forced farmers off land in Jökuldalsheiði and helped push a wave of emigration to North America. The walk starts at the Vikraborgir parking lot, which has toilets. The marked trail to Öskjuvatn and Víti is 2.5 km, rated easy, and the park allows about two hours for it, across bare pumice and lava. People do bathe in Víti, where the water is usually above 20°C, but the path down is very slippery when wet, the mud on the eastern bank can be hot and rocks fall from the crater walls. Askja is an active volcano monitored by the Icelandic Met Office, so check the official volcano and weather warnings and ask the park rangers about current conditions before you go. Rangers are based at Drekagil and Herðubreiðarlindir in summer, and in high season one is at Askja daily and leads guided walks. There are no shops, restaurants or gas stations anywhere in the area, so fill the tank before leaving the Ring Road. The Askja highlands can only be reached in summer, once the F-roads officially open. From Route 1, drive the F88 past Herðubreiðarlindir, which has river fords at Grafarlandsá and Lindá, or take Route 901 to the F905 and F910, then continue to Drekagil and the last 8 km on the F894 to Vikraborgir. Expect about three hours each way from Mývatn in a capable 4x4, which is why many visitors join a guided 4x4 tour from Mývatn or Akureyri instead.

Grænavatn

Grænavatn is a small crater lake in Krýsuvík on the Reykjanes Peninsula, right beside Route 42, and its water is a milky green that looks almost painted on. You can see it from the car and be on the rim in a minute, which makes it one of the easiest geological stops near Reykjavík. Geologists describe it as a pair of maar craters, blasted open when rising magma met groundwater, probably more than 6,000 years ago. The lake is more than 40 meters deep. Its color comes from thermal algae and minerals in the water, and it reads strongest on a bright day with the sun high. From Reykjavík, Grænavatn is about 45 minutes away by way of Hafnarfjörður and Route 42, past the lake Kleifarvatn. The Seltún geothermal area is only a couple of kilometers north on the same road, so the two pair easily. Park at the roadside pullout by the crater and give yourself 15 to 20 minutes to walk part of the rim. The crater edges are loose gravel, and wind across Krýsuvík can be strong. In winter, and whenever there is volcanic activity on the peninsula, check the official road-conditions map and travel alerts for closures before you set out.

Hnausapollur

Hnausapollur is a round crater lake in the Fjallabak highlands of South Iceland, right beside road F208 about 9 km north of Landmannalaugar. Locals also call it Bláhylur, the blue pool, and on a clear day the deep blue water explains the name, though plenty of drivers bound for Landmannalaugar pass within a few hundred meters without noticing it. The crater formed in an explosive eruption when rising magma met groundwater, leaving a steep-sided bowl that later filled with water. Its walls of red and black scoria make the color of the Hnausapollur crater lake look even stronger. A short track leads from F208, the northern Fjallabak road, to a parking area on the crater rim, so the first view takes almost no effort. From Reykjavík, the drive takes about 3 hours. For the best angle, follow the path along the west side of the crater and climb the steep hill at its northern end. The loop to the top and back is under 2 km and takes about 45 minutes, with loose, slippery ground near the summit. If you only want photos from the rim, 15 minutes is enough. F208 is an F-road, so you need a 4x4, and like other highland roads it opens only in summer once the snow clears. This northern stretch has no river crossings before the Landmannalaugar turnoff, but always check the official road-conditions map before setting out. Without a 4x4, a guided highland day trip that stops here is the easier option.

Kleifarvatn

Kleifarvatn is the largest lake on the Reykjanes Peninsula, a deep body of water ringed by bare volcanic ridges about 40 minutes' drive south of Reykjavík. The road along its western shore is one of the most dramatic short drives near the capital, with black sand beaches and twisted lava formations at almost every bend. The lake sits on the fissure zone of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and no visible river flows in or out, since most of its water arrives and drains underground. Its greatest recorded depth was 97 meters in 1975. After the earthquakes of 2000, water began draining through new cracks in the lakebed, and about a fifth of the surface area has disappeared since. To reach Lake Kleifarvatn, take Route 42 (Krýsuvíkurvegur) south from Hafnarfjörður. The road is paved and fine in a regular car, but wind and winter conditions change quickly here, so check the official road-conditions map before you set out. Pull-outs along the shore let you stop for photos or walk down to the water. Most visitors pair Kleifarvatn with the Seltún geothermal area, a few minutes farther south, and spend an hour or two between the two. On clear winter nights, the dark shore is far enough from city lights to make a good spot for the northern lights. Local folklore even places a monster in the lake, though nobody has produced a photo yet.

Lagarfljót Lake

Lagarfljót is a long glacial lake in East Iceland that stretches southwest from the town of Egilsstaðir, and it's best known for the Lagarfljót worm said to live in it. The lake reaches 112 m at its deepest point, and that depth, plus water too silty to see into, is a big part of why the story has lasted so long. The legend goes back centuries. An entry for 1345 in the Icelandic Annals records a strange sighting on the lake, and a folktale collected in the 1800s tells of a girl who kept a small worm on a gold ring until it grew into a serpent and she threw it into the water. In 2012, Icelandic TV aired a video said to show the Lagarfljót monster swimming, and a local truth committee later declined to rule it out. Skeptics blame drifting debris and rising gas bubbles. Either way, the lake you see today is murkier than it was a generation ago. Since the Kárahnjúkar hydropower project began diverting a second glacial river into Lagarfljót in the mid-2000s, its sediment load has risen sharply, which gives the water its flat, gray-brown color. Egilsstaðir sits on the north end of Lake Lagarfljót, and the Ring Road crosses it on a bridge into Fellabær, so most Ring Road trips pass right by. It's about three hours' drive east of Akureyri. To see more than the bridge view, follow Route 931, which loops around the lake from Egilsstaðir. On the east shore, the road runs through Hallormsstaðaskógur, Iceland's largest forest, with the Atlavík campsite right on the water. The west side leads to the trailhead for Hengifoss, a 128-meter waterfall. Allow two to three hours for the loop with a few stops, or half a day if you hike to Hengifoss. Summer is the easiest time to drive around the lake. In winter, check the official road-conditions map before you set out on the loop.

Álftavatn

Álftavatn is a lake in the Fjallabak highlands of South Iceland, roughly halfway along the Laugavegur trail between Landmannalaugar and Þórsmörk. The name means Swan Lake, and the huts on its shore are where most hikers on a four-day Laugavegur trek spend their second night, in a green valley ringed by dark, moss-streaked peaks. The descent from Hrafntinnusker is 12 kilometers with about 490 meters of downhill, usually four to five hours on foot, and the first sight of the lake from the Jökultungur slopes is one of the best moments of the whole trek. From Álftavatn, the trail continues 16 kilometers to Emstrur. Expect river crossings on both legs, including Grashagakvísl on the way in and Bláfjallakvísl further on, which can run high after rain. The Iceland Touring Association (FÍ) runs two Álftavatn huts with 72 sleeping-bag places, plus a large campsite with toilets and paid showers. A warden is on site in summer, roughly from late June to mid-September, depending on when the highland roads open. Book hut beds through FÍ well before summer, and note that bookings for the 2026 season opened as fixed five-night Laugavegur bundles. If you have a spare afternoon, the unmarked climb up Brattháls takes 1.5 to 2 hours round trip and looks straight down on the lake. Drivers can reach Álftavatn on the F210 Fjallabaksleið syðri, but only in a high-clearance 4x4 that can handle unbridged rivers. Outside the summer season, the huts are locked.