Attractions and Places To See in Grýtubakkahreppur - Top 6

A beautiful road in itself. The scenery was great. As we struggled up the hill with our heavily loaded bikes after four days of silence in the highlands, we found the traffic to be quite heavy. Several vehicles drove very close by, despite oncoming traffic.

Best cycling road between Akureyri and Goðafoss. Longer than the N1 mountain road, but filled with amazing stuffs to see. Laufás turf houses museum, the town of Grenivík, the birch forests, the bridges over the Fnjóska river ... Away from the traffic of the main road, much more enjoyable.

Laufás Museum is the best on in the region, and cyclist have everything like food, toilets and water beside it. The big compound comprise a nice church and many rooms to explore inside this turf houses settlement. Everything inside look light the time have been frozen between the 17th and 20th century.

Note for cyclists : From Gil skáli (moutain hut), just past the bridge to Hvalvatnsfjörður you have to choose between a single track or to continue on the main path. This single track is only suitable for hikers and experienced riders, either with full suspension and hard tail bikes with large volume tires. If you are bikepacking, the weight will make it very difficult, prefer the main path.

This valley combine everything that make an unforgettable bikepacking ride. Fantastic scenery with snowy peaks, lush green valley, friendly river crossings, with black sand beach, feeling of remoteness like beyond the edges of the know world... Worth the trip, but definitely an adventure ! Be prepared for staying a night in a ruff environment, bring spare food and navigation devices, even if the weather forecast seems good. The nearest help is at least 5 hrs away by car, keep that in mind when you come here ;-) ...

Both the path and the shoreline have a breathtaking scenery. Worth the trip, but very remote! Be prepared for staying a night in a ruff environment, spare food and navigation devices, even if the weather forecast seems good. The nearest help is at least 5 hrs away by car, keep that in mind when you come here ;-) ...

Amazing landscapes all along the trail, unusually lush and green forest, not seen often in Iceland, making it a pleasant experience! Tackle this trail only if you have a light bikepacking setup : When you leave the asphalt after the N1 main road, Most of the trail used to be the river bed, expect some "baby head" (large pebbles) along the way, the start of the trail is ruff. After that it's not over: The soil thawing can be very late, up to June. My setup was the bare minimum : 45 mm tubeless tires running below 21 psi (for 80kg rider). Fatbike are ideal for this trail. The scale of the map don't show it, but the path goes up and down multiple times along the Fnjóská river, with sometimes gradients up to 18%. Not advised before late May, the thaw will make it too muddy, this side of the valley doesn't get many sun, the snow can take a while to melt. If you have a touring bike with pannier, the East bank of the Fnjóská is a nice alternative, with early May exposure to the sun and well maintened smooth gravel road.