Best Hiking Books – Norway

For one of the best Hiking Destinations like Norway, there are surprisingly very few English books on the trails in the Country. I am not entirely sure why that may be. Perhaps it is so vast, and there are so many trails that it would be futile to attempt a “best of” or similar guide.

Still, a few very interesting hiking books are available, mostly on specific areas like the Lofoten or the South of Norway. I’ve grouped the best I could find in this post so that you don’t have to. I have purchased all of them all myself already, and used them to plan past trips in combination with online resources, as well as to plan my upcoming trips.

Norway Hiking Books

Norway Hiking Books

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Hiking the Lofoten islands by David Souyris and Magdalena Brede

Hands down, the best and most reliable guide on hiking in the Lofoten Islands. The book starts with a concise but comprehensive introduction to the Lofoten Islands and hiking in the area. There are a total of 60 different hikes and an 11 days trek. All the best and most popular hikes, like Ryten and Reinebringen, are in this book. Additionally, the book includes several lesser-known locations that are equally as spectacular.

Each hike includes a small but clear topographic map, a difficulty level rating from 1-5m, great photos from each location and expert advice. This really is an invaluable resource if you are planning a hiking trip to the Lofoten. The difficulty rating, assessment and overall quality of the hikes in this book really are unbeatable. The book isn’t really pocketable, but still easy to carry. Hard to find, but definitely more than worth its price. Also available in French and German.

Very pocketable, like all Rother guides, this is one of the most comprehensive hiking guides on the South of Norway.

With a total of 50 hikes divided over 160 pages, this guide offers plenty of panoramic routes from easy to challenging. With the typical color coding for easy (blue), red (medium) and black (difficult) hikes, there is a bit of everything for everyone wanting to explore

This is a small book, but the photos are great and give a good idea of the scenery you can find on each hike. Additionally, the small top maps give you a decent idea of what type of terrine and elevation gain you can expect for each hike. To sum it up, this is a great guide for anyone visiting the south of Norway and wanting to explore some hikes in Norwegian nature. with 50 hikes to choose from; there’s far more you can hike on your vacation!

Another Rother walking guide. Very pocketable, like all of them, and packed with useful information. This guide includes all the best hikes you can find in the Lofoten and Vesterålen. If you only need one book for the Lofoten, I’d actually recommend the one at the top of this list, Hiking the Lofoten islands by David Souyris and Magdalena Brede. This is, however, a close second and has the additional benefit of including hikes in the Vesterålen region, should you want to explore that as well.

Needless to say, the descriptions of the hikes are of great quality. Clear information on each trail and good tips for each hike. The photos are great, and the difficulty rating of each hike is very accurate.

Also, GPS tracks are available on the Rother Website. Note, this guide is also available in German and Dutch.

As the title says, this guide is about multi-day treks in the south of Norway and, as such, is suitable only for expert hikers.

At 264 pages long, it is not very pocketable, but it is useful for planning the longer, multi-day treks described in this book. For this purpose, this is an invaluable guide.

The first part of the book offers a very comprehensive overview of what you need to know not only to plan the ten long treks described in this book but also to hike in Norway in general.

The second part goes in-depth describing the hut-to-hut treks listed below, including public transport options to get to the trailhead.

Here’s the list of treks:

Jotunheimen
Jotunheimen Besseggen route

Jotunheimen classic route
Jotunheimen traverse route
Rondane
Rondane summits
Rondane traverse route
Dovrefjell
Dovrefjell traverse route
Trollheimen
Trollheimen Trekanten triangle route
Trollheimen SignaTur route
Trollheimen fells to fjord route
Ryfylke
Lysefjord circuit

In conclusion, this book is a must-have if you are planning to trek any of these routes or if you want to explore some new areas in Norway.

Before going any further, you should note this book is in German. I could not find an English version of this exact same book, and, to be honest, I don’t speak much German either. The reason I purchased it is because of how comprehensive this book is. It includes hikes in the Lofoten, Senja, and Vesterålen. A collection of trails that cannot be found anywhere else in one book.

Also, this book comes with a very handy map. The map isn’t really a topo or hiking map; it’s more of a touring map showing all the locations of the hike and their difficulty level in each one of these regions. This is very handy for planning your itinerary and hikes if you are planning to visit the area.

Overall, there are some good hikes that are ant available in the other books on this list. Also, it’s the only book that offeres a good overview of the hikes on the Island of Senja. This is the main reason I decided to purchase it. I can’t read much of the descriptions of the hikes, but understanding basic such as the color-coded difficulty level, the elevation profiles, and total distance/duration, does not require understanding German. Photos don’t, either. Plus, for me, a good occasion to learn a few more German words.

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