4 best hikes on Senja Island, Norway - experience the midnight sun

About the hike

Hesten is the mountain just next to Segla’s the most popular peak on Senja island where probably most of Senja’s Instagram pictures are taken. In general, the trail is rather popular, which means that in the summer periods this location can get relatively busy. Similar to Segla, Hesten is dropping sharply into the fjord just below the peak and offers wonderful views onto the popular Segla peak but also over Fjordgård and the Mefjorden.

How to get there?

Trailhead: GJ5F+97 Fjordgård, Norway

You can find the trailhead in the village of Fjordgård in the northern part of Senja. When you travel west along Road 862 take a right turn in direction of Fjordgård near Mefjordbotn. Drive through the tunnel and stay left, where soon you will cross a second tunnel. Follow this road for about 4 kilometers into Fjordgård. You can park your car on a free parking lot by turning left behind the Segla Grill Restaurant and heading up the hill towards the school. You can also follow towards the trailhead and might find parking there. To reach the trailhead follow the road to the ski slope left when walking down from the school, – take a left when the road splits and you will be at at the start of the hike in a few minutes.

Trail Description

The trailhead can be found at the bottom of the ski slope where you will find a wooden shelter on the right side. Follow the way up the ski hill, there are several wooden boardwalks where you will be crossing little streams through an area with a few trees. Continue walking up into a rocky field, here you will have several possibilities going left rather soon to reach the ridge between Segla and Hesten or walking towards the low point between the two peaks Hesten and Staveltippen to your right side. To reach the top of Hesten either follow the ridge straight up or follow the path when you decided to orient yourself right. The final bit to reach to summit will go steep up and you need to hold on to some of the rocks. Watch your step and you will soon be on top of the peak.

If you decide to go up during winter to catch the aurora / northern lights the best option is to follow the right path towards to low point on the ridge between Hesten and Stevlitippen

It is not recommended to continue to the top as it gets very slippery and dangerous. However, you can enjoy fantastic views towards Segla from a distance to the ridge. Make sure you have crampons and hiking poles with you.

Photography possibilities

Enjoy the views directly at the ridge between Segla and Hesten. This spot is perfect to get a nice scaling with a person standing in your photo. You can even see the mountains behind Segla towards the west. There are little flowers everywhere in the summer which make a perfect bokeh.

• Check for the best times to enjoy the midnight sun in Juli this is usually between 11pm and 3am in the morning. On a clear day the sun will go down and rise in the North / East and you have the chance to experience a perfect red glow on a clear day.
• It is recommended to follow the path up from Hesten towards the West. However, this additional 30-45 minute hike will challenge you to climb some more rocks. You will have a perfect view over Fjordgård and might get some reflections of the neighboring mountains in the water on a clear day.

About the hike

Husfjellet is a nice and rewarding hike which is considered moderate with a slight uphill climb. Husfjellet is not as steep as the Hike up to Hesten or Segla and will offer amazing views towards Southern and Northern Fjords. While the main part of the hike is not really exposed and you are able to keep a good distance from the edges on your left and right side, the top part might is an open space, that might be windy at times.

How to get there?

Trailhead: C7WX+9J Skaland, Norway

You can find Husfjellet on the northwestern coast of the island in proximity to Skaland and Bøvær. You can directly park your car or camper at the Berg church in Skaland, which Is located on your right side approximately in the middle of the town.

Trail Description

To hike up Husfjellet you will follow a fairly gradual uphill climb. Start at the church where you will find a description of the hike. You will firstly hike towards west then turn east on a path towards the forest. After around 20 minutes the path will get steeper through a rockier area with the birch woods. After that bit, the path is clearing up. You will follow a marshy area on wooden boardwalks before the climb up to Husfjellet. Even though the wooden boardwalk is in place waterproof footwear is still recommended especially when it is rainy. After this section, begin ascending Husfjellet. The trail gets rockier but still rather easy to hike. Once you approach the summit head to the right (North) to reach the peak, there are a few exposed trails that you need to follow in order to get the best views over Erstfjorden, Steinfjorden and Okshornan. Watch your step as the ridge has a descent of more than 400m.

Photography possibilities

• The views towards Okshornan are especially breathtaking. Placing a person in your shot will give this place a sense of scale. On a clear day the sun will go down behind or touch Okshornan mountain range which will reward you with the perfect orange light.
• Looking west you have an exposed and steep rock coming out of the ground. If you are a bit daredevil you can make your way up there and have someone take a photo of you sitting, standing, jumping or hand standing (definitely not recommended) on the outcrop. Please watch your step and if you are afraid of heights don’t go there, the drop is about 400m.
• Towards the South you can see many small island rock formations in the fjord towards Hamn which you can capture with a tele lense.

About the hike

From the top of this area, you can enjoy perfect views over Ørnfjorden, Husoy, Segla, Barden and Breitinden. It is the perfect spot to enjoy the midnight sun as you have a panoramic few over the entire island. Keipen is located west of Grytetippen and I recommend conquering both peaks once you are up there. It is around an additional 30 minutes climb from the gap between Keipen and Grytetippen to either of the peaks – where you reach Keipen when you head towards the right side and Grytetippen towards the left side. This hike is a rather steep hike during the entire climb, so make sure you are in decent shape and have enough supplies for the hike. We spend almost 5 hours up there as we discovered both peaks and waited for the clouds to come in from the ocean.

How to get there?

Trailhead: FPGR+9C Mefjordbotn, Norway

• There are two different starting points and trailheads for this hike. The first option is to park your car along road 862 next to Mefjordvatnan lake. There is room for approximately 8-10 cars directly on the road but it might be full once you arrive.
• The second option is parking on the right-hand side before you reach Ørnfjortunnelen towards Fjordgård This is the starting point for many routes, which is also the starting point for other popular hikes such as Barden and Daven.

Trail Description

This trail is marked during the entire trip to the top. Sometimes you may have difficulties to see trail markers but as it is a popular hike they are maintained quite well. Especially, the first part of the hike can get extremely muddy and wet even on sunny days due to the river running down the mountain so make sure to have appropriate footwear.

Starting at the parking lot next to the road 862 and Medfjordvatnan (lake), the trail is leading up the mountain on the left side of the river. The trail eventually turns south and meets with the one coming from the other parking near the tunnel at around 560m altitude. From the parking lot near the tunnel, follow the electrical cables until you reach the gap close to Davenkollen. At around 270m altitude you will head right towards Daven and follow the ridge further up until you will reach the other trail. Now follow the ridge and head towards to steep rocky hillside that. Now the toughest part starts and leads you straight towards the gap between Keipen and Grytetippen. Once you arrived at the gap you can decide which peak you want to check out first.

Photography possibilities

• There are various photo possibilities on the top of the peaks. On Grytetippen you have a perfect view towards the West and the South with good views of various peeking out rock formations such as Keipen. In the distance, you can spot Segla and Hesten peeking out on top of Fjordgård. There is a stone arching out as a perfect spot for positioning a person and get some scale while for example taking drone photos.
• From Keipen you have a panoramic view over the entire island. The fjord just below is nicely bowed and in the distance you can see the little island

About the hike

From the top of this area, you can enjoy wonderful views over Torskefjorden, Osterfjorden and Gryllefjorden. It offers amazing views over the little island Torskøya.

The hike leads you through a gras or swamp land with two little lakes and some lake houses situated around them. You will then hike up a rather steep rocky area which is only partly marked to the top of Tetinden at 541m.

How to get there?

Trailhead: 825M+8W Grunnfarnes, Norway

• The starting point is a small parking area in the village of Grunnfarnes which can be reached by car from Gryllefjord after a 75km drive. First take highway 86 towards the east of the island, finally take a left onto the scenic road FV232 towards Grunnfarnes. It is a bit closer if you are coming from Finnsness – around 55km. Follow highway 86 this time towards the west until you reach a crossway, where you take a left onto the scenic road FV232 towards Grunnfarnes
• In order to reach the trailhead you need to take a right when arriving before shortly before you arrive in Grunnfarnes. You will see a few houses, follow the road until the end, where you will find a small space to park your car. 

Trail Description

From the trailhead follow the track through the greens on the left side of the parking area. Soon you will arrive at to Storvatnet the first lake. Follow the path on the left bank of the lake by following blue markings. Now you will turn left at a small brook. Continue following the marked trail to an old telegraph line and poles and continue along this line until the blue markers tell you to take a new left turn. Now the path will lead you through sparse birch forest. At the end of this terrain you will continue on dry heather and rocky ground. The way up on the trail offers you several possibilities for good views towards the South/West and over the little lakes. Soon you will arrive at the little registration box where you can sign in that you reached the top. Enjoy the views!

Photography possibilities

• There are several photography possibilities during this hike and on the peak. Especially interesting where the little lakes on the right side. When hiking downwards we could capture some nice reflections of the glow on the mountains in the water. However, watch out this area will probably be full of Mosquitos.
• The best view from top of Tetinden is towards the island Torskøya. The top of Tetinden is building a ridge so it looks really stunning when placing a person on the ridge and seeing the scale of the area in the back. Don’t forget to check out the glow on the mountains when you have great weather on the opposite side towards South/West from the top.