The hike up Ryten is one of the most beautiful hiking trails in the Lofoten Islands. The ascent of Ryten is truly a classic hike in Norway and is therefore also a very popular hike. Due to a new starting point of the hike (incl. large parking lot), you can combine the Ryten very well with one of the most beautiful beaches in Lofoten: Kvalvika Beach.
Where the new starting point of the Ryten hike is, where the most beautiful viewpoint of the hike is and what else you have to consider, you can read now in our travel report about the Ryten hike.
Ryten Hike
Ryten Hike | Short Info
On this hike you will climb one of the most beautiful mountains in Lofoten: Ryten. From a great vantage point you have a spectacular view of the nearby Kvalvika Beach and if the weather is fine you can see for miles along the Lofoten Islands.
- Length: approx. 7.8 km
- Circular route: no
- Altitude difference: 544
- Duration: approx. 4 hours (without Kvalvika Beach)
- Difficulty: medium
- Starting point of the hike: see Google Maps
- Route as GPX: Download
Ryten is not the highest mountain in Lofoten, but still offers one of the most beautiful viewpoints in Lofoten and a landscape that is just beautiful and very diverse. Mount Ryten is 543 meters high and is located in the southern Lofoten not far from the museum village of Nusfjord.
The hike up this imposing mountain is one of the most popular and also most beautiful in all of Lofoten. Accordingly, you will meet many other tourists on this tour.
New Parking Lot for Ryten & Kvalvika Beach
Due to a new parking lot on a nearby farm in Fredvang, there is a great starting point to reach both the summit of Ryten and Kvalvika Beach. You can find the parking lot here on Google Maps. Parking here costs 100 NOK (10 €) per vehicle and can be paid at a cashier in cash or with a card.
The great thing is that you can not only park here all day for the money, you can also spend the night here in your campervan or motorhome. Great to start the hike very early the next morning.
Directly behind the parking lot starts the well-built hiking trail and you walk the first few hundred meters totally easy over a flat field.
The Hike on the Ryten
Already on the first meters over the field you walk on wooden planks and this will not really change for the rest of the hike. The reason for this is clear, because the ground is really wet, almost muddy and that on the entire hike.
But we didn’t know at this point that we would get completely wet feet despite waterproof shoes. After the first meters were very flat, it then quickly went steeply up the mountain.
Partly you have to pull yourself up here on chains next to the way. But it is not as worse as you think. Even our dog Aaro had no problems getting up here.
After about 40 minutes you reach a kind of rock plateau where you have a first fantastic 360° view and can not only look back to the starting point but also admire the nearby Ytresand beach.
It gets Wet & Muddy
Immediately after that it goes further uphill and you walk further over the already known wooden planks. But these are really necessary, because the ground is really wet and muddy most of the time. And this is not because it had rained shortly before.
Because it is here simply always wet. It’s like walking across a bog. Everywhere there are small puddles, water springs out of the rock in various places and there are always small rivulets, so that a large part of the surface is virtually under water. One feels here in places like on a rice field in Asia.
This means that you won’t get to the top on dry feet. Because even though the path is largely covered with wooden planks, these wooden planks are not everywhere. And also sometimes these planks end in the middle of a puddle, so you can’t get around it at all unless you can jump really far.
Also, it’s not always easy to find the right trail, because often there are several almost parallel paths and you are all the time trying to find the path that is probably the least wet and muddy.
The Ryten Viewpoint
On the further way you can already catch the first view of Kvalvika beach on the left side. Soon you will reach our highlight of the hike and in our opinion one of the most beautiful viewpoints of Lofoten.
It is a small rock that rises a bit above the abyss (and therefore reminded us a bit of Trolltunga) and from which you can take very impressive photos with the Kvalvika Beach in the background in the right perspective.
You can find the so-called Viewpoint Rock here on Google Maps, but you can’t miss it during your hike.
If you go a little further uphill you will reach the actual summit of Ryten. There are also no more beaten paths but only a large plateau.
You can walk around freely and also go to the other side of the summit from where you have a great panoramic view of the brilliant landscape of Lofoten.
The Turnoff to Kvalvika Beach
When you have seen enough up there and are on your way back, you have the possibility to walk down to Kvalvika Beach after about half of the way. The turnoff is not very easy to find, because there is no good signposting and no clear path. You can find the turnoff here on Google Maps.
The first part of the path to Kvalvika Beach is very well built, because you walk again over wooden planks, which are about 1 meter above the ground. Every few meters there are stops where you can avoid oncoming hikers.
After about 500 meters, however, the wooden planks unfortunately stop and you walk again through ankle-deep mud and puddles.
From here the path becomes very muddy and also very steep and there are still about 300 meters of elevation down to the beach. We decide not to go this way anymore, because on the one hand the way seems too long and on the other hand we didn’t want to walk through this deep mud.
But before we turn back we take a closer look at Kvalvika Beach from a distance and also fly over with our drone to capture the brilliant panorama before we start the hike back to the Ryten parking lot.
Alternative starting point for the Kvalvika Beach Hike
If this way to Kvalvika Beach is also too strenuous for you or you just want to walk exclusively to Kvalvika Beach and don’t want to use the hiking trail to Ryten, there is also an alternative starting point for the hike that will only take you to the beach.
You can find the parking lot for the starting point of the hike here on Google Maps. Here, however, there is only space for about 10 vehicles, so that especially in high summer the parking lot will be full very quickly.
Unless you are here very early in the morning. Otherwise, you should switch to the large parking lot described above.
Tips for the Ryten Hike
Accomodation near the Ryten
Fin Hytte Med Sjøtomt
In this typical Norwegian vacation accommodation with the unpronounceable name you have all the things you need in a rustic beautiful wooden cabin.
The cottage is located directly on the fjord and so you have direct access to the sea. From your own terrace you look out over the incredible nature in front of you and are only a few minutes away from the starting point of the Ryten hike. Check the prices at Booking.com*
Best Time for the Ryten hike
It took us 6 hours for the entire hike, but that included numerous photo stops, the small detour to Kvalvika Beach, and a very curious dog who wanted to sniff everywhere.
You can therefore do the hike in 4 hours, if you do not dawdle so much and do not run the detour to Kvalvika Beach. Nevertheless, we would recommend you to start the hike as early as possible, because in the morning there are hardly any other people on the trail.
We started the hike at 07:30 and were almost alone. We could even let our dog run free, which he visibly enjoyed.
When we were on the way back at around 11 o’clock several other hikers came towards us, so we had to wait frequently at the narrow wooden planks to let others pass.
The Afternoon Sun is Best
One drawback to starting early, however, is that Kvalvika Beach is in the shade until early afternoon, so it can’t show its full visual potential. It is only around 4pm (depending on the time of year) that the beach is illuminated by the afternoon sun and looks really great.
If, on the other hand, it is cloudy then of course it doesn’t matter so much. Otherwise, the hike is of course only recommended in the summer and so you should start the way (depending on snow and weather conditions) between May and September.
Ryten Hike with Dogs & Children
On our hike our dog Aaro accompanied us and we had a great time together. Also for smaller dogs this hike is in our opinion easily manageable. Due to the numerous puddles and water points on the mountain, there is also enough drinking water for your dog on the way.
Also children should have no problems on the hike on the Ryten, if they have some hiking experience.