In the area of Jostedalsbreen national park, near Loen, lies the Brenndalsbreen. And in Norway, the rule is: if it exists, you can hike to it! Okay, I just made that up on the spot, but it’s often true. Let’s address the elephant in the room right away, because you’re going to come across this word a lot in this article:
Breen is Norwegian for ‘the glacier’ and you pronounce it something like ‘BRAY-un’.
You may also come across the word as ‘bre‘, which means ‘a glacier’.
Brenndalsbreen is one of the many arms of the Jostedalsbreen, the largest glacier on mainland Europe. The total surface area of the Jostedalsbreen glacier is no less than 487 km²! The hike to Brenndalsbreen takes about 2 hours (including breaks) and is 8 kilometers long. Normally you climb 200 meters in elevation, but we’re a bit stubborn and kept climbing up to 300 meters.
How do you get to Brenndalsbreen?
The starting point of the hike to Brenndalsbreen is right behind the accommodation ‘Trollbu‘. It’s a 30-minute drive from Loen, along the Oldevatnet. If you navigate to Brenndalsbreen, you’ll be sent down a dead-end road a little earlier. So it’s best to use Trollbu as your destination. For 50 NOK (+/- €5) you can park your car there; make sure you bring cash!
Brenndalsbreen is fairly hidden away. That’s because the hike to this glacier arm is very close to Briksdalsbreen, its better-known little sister. Whereas Briksdalsbreen has its own parking lot, a restaurant and specially built, wheelchair-accessible walking paths, Brenndalsbreen is a bit less conspicuous. You can (clearly) see that in the number of fellow hikers you meet along the way, too. In our case: 0.
The heat wave of 2019
When we did this hike in the summer of 2019, it was seriously scorching hot in Norway. At the hottest point it was no less than 34 °C! That didn’t just mean that a hike to a glacier was pretty much the only comfortable activity, apart from swimming in a fjord or lake.. It also meant that there was so. much. meltwater. in the area. The waterfalls were wilder than we were used to, many rivers had burst their banks and there was even a local risk of landslides.
From Trollbu to the Brenndalsbreen
After arriving at Trollbu, we put sunscreen on our shoulders one more time, made sure our bottles were well filled with cold water and started the hike. The trail is fairly self-explanatory. You basically just walk across the property to the back and start the hike with a sharp turn to the right. The first part of the hike takes you over asphalt through some trees, and you quickly gain some elevation. After a few bends, it slowly gets flatter and the first sweeping views start to appear.
Mother Nature’s refrigerator
A treat for the eyes and for my well-being too, because GOSH, was I hot! In the distance we could already hear the rumbling of the glacier. I always find that such a magical sound. It sounds a bit like thunder, but you can still tell very clearly that it’s something else. Something that reverberates through the ground under your feet.
The closer we got to the Brenndalsbreen, the cooler the air became. As if someone had suddenly switched on the AC. What a relief! As soon as the trail flattened out a bit, it also became clear what the warm temperatures of recent weeks had done. We came across a little bridge that was flooded on both sides by the river that was actually supposed to run underneath it. There was really SO much water everywhere.
Flooded hiking trails
And the closer we got to the glacier, the more overwhelming the water became. On the last stretch, the trail was so flooded that it had become impassable. For a moment we saw our final destination go down the drain (ha-ha), but we soon discovered a little path running between the trees. The path was hard going and we had to dodge quite a few branches, but in the end we ended up on what looked like the ‘old’ trail. So we could still get really close to the foot of the glacier after all!
The extremes of Norwegian nature
The force coming off the glacier was hugely impressive. I normally find that amazing already, but because the Brenndalsbreen was melting so fast, it was extra overwhelming. The cold, the thundering waterfalls, the spraying water and the strong wind. I always feel so small when I come face to face with the extremes of Norwegian nature. Wonderful! And it was so nice to sit for a while – out of the wind and away from the splashing water – and eat a sandwich. When people tell me “But it’s so cold in Norway!”, I think back to this day with a smile.
Plenty to do in Loen
Personally, I enjoyed the hike to the Brenndalsbreen more than the Briksdalsbreen (we hiked both on the same day, so that’s perfectly doable too!). I love feeling alone when I hike, and at Briksdalsbreen that’s simply not possible.
In the area you can also pay a visit to Kjenndalsbreen and Bødalsbreen. The Kjenndalsbreen is truly very special to see, and you can stumble over to it within 10 minutes from the parking lot. It’s a bit busier than most places, because it’s SO incredibly beautiful and also easy to reach. You can almost always find a spot for your car, but make sure you bring cash for the toll! The Bødalsbreen feels a bit like landing on another planet. This is the quieter little sister again, just like the Brenndalsbreen is to the Briksdalsbreen.
Either way, there’s plenty to do in the Loen area! And that’s exactly why I love coming here so much. There’s so much to see and there’s something for everyone. And I’m not just talking about the countless ‘breen’s.
Want to read more about things to do in Loen? Then also check out my article about the Loen skylift!
