Snæfellsjökull National Park

Snæfellsjökull National Park is a national park located on the tip of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula in West Iceland. The park is home to the ice-covered volcanic crater that was the setting for Jules Verne's book Journey to the Center of the Earth.

Understand


The national park encompasses the tip of the peninsula, including the Snæfellsjökull volcano. It is perhaps the most easily accessible park from Reykjavík, only 3 hours away by car.

Landscape
Expect a huge variety of natural beauty, ranging from towering sea stacks to sandy beaches. The volcano is ice-capped year round.

Get in
The northern entrance to the park is just outside Hellissandur. Ólafsvík is otherwise the main town on this part of the Peninsula.

Get around
Most of the roads on the Western and SW-most parts of the peninsula are unpaved (to road 54). Road 574, Utnesvegur, leads around the park more or less by the coast, while road 570, Jökulhálsleið, leads east of the glacier outside of the park but close to the glacier. F575 between Utnesvegur and Jökulhálsleið leads over the highland, but requires four wheel drive.

Several companies offer tours to the summit.

Do
Walking, skiing, and/or snowmobiling will take one to the top of Snæfellsjökull. Beware of crevasses.

Lodging
Hotels exist in Hellissandur and Ólafsvík. The Hotel Hellissandur (with a restaurant) appears more reliable than Ólafsvík.

Stay safe
Beware crevasses. And weather.