The Veinestinden Hike on the Lofoten Islands, Norway

The Veinestinden Hike on the Lofoten Islands supposedly provides some of the best views in the whole Lofoten Islands. Supposedly? Yes, despite hiking all the way to the top, clouds and rain obstructed the views from the top for a few hours. Apart from this, I found the hike to be quite fun.

I was pretty excited while preparing for my hike to Veinestinden the last time I was in the Lofoten Islands. From the photos and the hike reports available online, everyone appeared to be rather enthusiastic about the views from the top.

View over Djupfjorden from the first part of the trail.

Likewise, I was looking forward to this hike. I had planned it carefully for a couple of years, wondering what the view would be like from the top. I was ready to tackle the reportedly strenuous hike to get to the top and enjoy the views.

That was not what the weather had planned for the day, though, despite the decent forecast. Read on if you want to get a feel for the trail—no photos of the views from the top this time around, only fog and rain. However, I will hike up there again in September 2022, so I will update the post with (hopefully) some photos from the top.

2022 update: I made it! I am still processing the photos to update this post, but in the meantime, you can watch the video of the hike on my YouTube channel here.

Outline of the Hike

• Getting there: From Reine, drive toward A. On the left, you will find a parking area right after the Djupfjordbrua (Djupfjord bridge). GPS Coordinates: 67.91196751879743, 13.074329496823921. You can park the car there.
• Start of The Hike: From the parking area, cross the road, and head toward the bushes on the side of the fjord. You will see a few trails leading into the vegetation. For the next few Kilometers, it’s all going to be boulders, bushes, and probably mud too.
• Photography & Scenery value: Scenic views over the Reinefjorden and surrounding mountains
• Difficulty: Hard, but kind of fun. The hike itself is not too hard in terms of distance or elevation. What makes this hike hard is mostly the first part through the bushes and the muddy parts of the climb. This demand a rather good core strength, so adequate fitness is required for this hike.
• Tip: If you can, spend the night up there in a tent.

On the Trail

As you leave the parking area by the Djupfjordbrua and carefully cross the road, you will already be able to see some of the dense vegetation on the side of the fjord. That’s where the trail starts.

For the next 2 KM, you will need to hike through those bushes. It’s very slow going as you will have to negotiate your way through little by little. If it recently rained, the trail is going to be muddy, very muddy.

Muddy Veinestinden trails. Probably as muddy as it gets.

This is why I hike with military-type boots on this terrain and in the Lofoten. They cover more than just above the ankle and allow you to plough through without worrying about getting your feet wet.

But I digress, back to the trail.

This part on the bushes is slow going but also fun in a way. I did enjoy finding my way through the bushes, scrambling up the boulders and in the mud.

After a couple of kilometres, you will reach a clearing, almost at the end of the fjord. There also seems to be an unmarked trail to Munken, so stick to the one on the right.

You will pass by the red hut, and the first part of the climb begins. It’s not easy to follow the trail here, and there seem to be two or three different ones. The terrain here is mostly rocky.

Next, you will reach the first flat area by the waterfall that flows into the fjord. Yep, you will have to cross the waterfall at the top. From there, the trail goes around the small lake and will start climbing again.

The trail is clearly visible for the first part of this second climb. Again, the trail will probably be a small stream if it rained. This part is relatively steep and has no flat areas along the way.

As you approach the top, the Traill will gradually flatten until it disappears completely. Keep going toward the top, as this is the easiest part of the hike. Once you reach the ridge..enjoy the well-deserved views!

Photos and Photography tips for the Veinestinden Hike on the Lofoten Islands

Despite the view from the top supposedly being one of the best, something which I hope I will be able to investigate further on my next trip, there are quite a few other scenic spots along the way.

Another view from the trail. The waterfall on the right is the one that needs to be crossed.

Rainshower during the first part of the Hike.

The part in the bushes offers goof views over the fjord and the mountains at its end. The small lake (Austerdalsvatnet) halfway through the hike is also a very scenic location.

Austerdalsvatnet

View from the trail after crossing the waterfall at the top of the first climb.

As you go up toward the top, the views towards Djupfjorden also appeared to be great, from what little I could see between the fog.

The top? Supposedly the views are on par or better than Reinebringen (check it out here). I could not verify this myself, unfortunately. During the last part of the hike, the top got engulfed in clouds and light rain. The wind was not particularly enjoyable either.

I waited up there for the clouds to clear for almost two hours before giving up and heading back down. At this latitude, such things can happen (…and probably will, more often than not).

Well, I’ll leave it for next time. At least this was a fun hike, and I can say I have a good excuse to go back soon ;)

Map of the Veinestinden Hike on the Lofoten Islands

Here is the map of the hike. If you need a GPS track, you can download the .GPX file from the Komoot activity.

A quick note on a slight detour on the way up. I lost the trail before the hut at the end of the Fjord and had to cross a boulder field. If you decide to use this track, stay on the right one when you approach the cabin.

Where to Stay

Camping on top is definitely a great option. The area around the summit is relatively large, with several spots suitable for a tent. Otherwise, there also is a camping in Moskenses.

Several different types of accommodation are also available around the Reinefjorden.

Additional Resources

• Check out the main page on Hiking in Norway for more Photo Hikes and inspiration.

If you have any questions about this hike, let me know in the comments below.