The Tømmerrenna Lumber Slide about 20 km north of Kristiansand is probably the craziest and coolest hike in all of Norway. And it’s not because you’re hiking up a high mountain, overlooking a beautiful fjord or walking to a risky rocky peak. The hike itself is just so cool, because you walk through an old raft channel.
So basically a disused wooden log flume that goes for miles through the forest, across a river and through tunnels.The Tømmerrenna hike is like a wild water ride in an amusement park, except that the water is missing. But that doesn’t dampen the fun.
Where the starting point for the Tømmerrenna is, how long you will be on the way and what the highlights are you can find out now!
Tømmerrenna Hike
Tømmerrenna Hike | Short Info
On this hike you walk along an incredibly long wooden water slide through forests, over rivers and through tunnels. Simply spectacular!
- Length: about 4 km
- Circular route: no
- Meters of altitude: none
- Duration: approx. 2 hours per route
- Difficulty: easy
- Starting point of the hike: see Google Maps
The Tømmerrenna Lumber Slide through an old raft channel is unique in all of Norway. In the past it was actually used to carry logs from the forest to the river. It was built from 1952 to 1957 and when the water was turned on it took a week before the first logs could be transported.
Probably in 1977 the last log slid along here and after that the log flume was restored and opened to the public.
Nowadays, the wooden gutter actually still looks like it did a few decades ago. You can see that some boards have been replaced, but in Germany this construct would probably never have been approved as a normal hiking trail.
Because every few meters there are fist-thick holes in the wood, it crunches when you walk over it and you don’t necessarily feel safe when you are several meters above the forest or even a river and the only thing that prevents you from falling down are a few rotten boards.
Also, the girders of the suspension bridges that the trail uses to wind its way across the river are already extremely rusted and the bridge sways and wobbles as you walk across. This is anything but confidence-inspiring!
On the Tømmerrenna, however, you can walk along without a guide and without safety precautions, but at your own risk. But it’s also a lot of fun!
We have never walked such a cool hike in our lives. The hike is almost dead straight, almost completely flat and also pretty narrow. If someone comes towards you, you have to lean to the side to get past each other.
The highlights of the Tømmerrenna hike are the 2 suspension bridges on the way and the several hundred meters long tunnel through which you have to squeeze.
The tunnel is pitch dark and in some places only 1.30 meters high. So here you almost have to crawl. In addition, you have to take good care of your head.
By the way, most of the route is along railroad tracks, which belong to the museum railroad Setesdalsbane. This railway rarely runs anymore, but it’s still cool to imagine riding an old steam locomotive through this beautiful valley along the Tømmerrenna.
The hike itself you have done after about 2 hours and you have to go back the same way to get back to the starting point.
Parking & Starting Point of the Hike
The best place to start the Tømmerrenna hike is at the free parking lot near Steinsfoss Teknologisenter. You can find the parking lot here on Google Maps. This parking lot is unfortunately a bit small, but about 100 meters before there is a large parking lot from the Teknologisenter where you can also park and even stay overnight in a campervan.
To get to the hike you only have to walk over the bridge and then the starting point is directly on the left. You can find it here on Google Maps.
Tømmerrenna with Dogs & Children
