The Ultimate Trollveggen Hiking Trail – Hiking Stabbeskaret On The Troll Wall In Norway

Are you looking for a less crowded hike in the Trollstigen area? Then hiking up to the Stabbeskaret viewpoint is exactly what you should do! The Trollstigen and Rauma area is filled with stunning hikes and hiking up a mountain is one of the top things to do near Åndalsnes.

But the Trollveggen Hiking Trail pretty much has it all! A crazy beautiful trail head, an adventurous hike and viewpoints that will take your breath away!

But truth be told, when we did this hike we got a little confused from time to time. We saw people heading into other directions, going off trail and never returning the same way.

But in this guide I’ll go over every single detail that you need to know to ensure you’ll have an amazing hike. And as usual I’ll also give you a retelling of my personal experience on this trail.

The Ultimate Trollveggen Hiking Trail – Hiking Stabbeskaret On The Troll Wall In Norway

If there’s one hike in Norway that’s completely underrated then it’s the Trollveggen Hiking Trail up to the Stabbeskaret viewpoint! It’s one of the most beautiful and impressive hiking trails nearÅndalsnes.

You’ll hike through a spectacular landscape where you can start at one of the most impressive trailheads I have ever seen. It’s not everyday that you can start a hike by looking down on one of the craziest roads in entire Norway! The Trollstigen road is world famous due to the fact that it creeps up the mountain in incredible loops and to top it off there’s a giant waterfall at each side.

If I am being completely honest the Trollveggen Hiking Trail was actually one of my favorite hikes during our entire 2 week road trip through Norway! And to think I wasn’t even sure that morning if I wanted to do it!

I had never been so happy that I convinced myself to go for it!

Even more, if the weather forecast for the coming days would have been better I definitely would have done another hike in this area!

Planning your trip to Norway

🏨 Find the best accommodations on Booking.com
💰 Get reliable travel insurance from World Nomads
👩 Find a reliable tour guide, such as this Troll Road Private Tour

🚘 Rent a car to travel around Norway with SunnyCars.com

🎒 Pack a power bank, hiking shoes and trekking poles.
📚 Read Nordic Tales, Lonely Planet’s Norway and Nordic Islands by Stefan Forster

🗺 How to reach the Trollveggen Hiking Trail

The trail head of the Trollveggen Hiking Trail is actually the main parking lot of the Trollstigen Visitor Center. After parking down your car or jumping off the bus you simply cross the bridge that will take you to the viewing platforms. Before starting your hike I highly recommend to take a peek at the final viewing platform. This one will give you an incredible view over the Trollstigen road winding up the mountain.

🚘 BY CAR

If you’re coming from Åndalsnes you’ll have to drive up the winding Trollstigen road up to the visitor’s centre. My biggest advice here is to go early, then you’ll have this road nearly all to yourself and you can easily take your turns. We even drove up with our camper van from WeCamp and he did it like a champ!

Once you arrive at the top you’ll see a big parking lot at the Trollstigen visitor centre. There’s no parking fee and there are restrooms and a small souvenir shop right next to it.

🚌 BY BUS

There’s no public transport going fromÅndalsnes to Trollstigen. Again, the best and easiest way to travel through Norway is to rent a car or a camper van. There is public transportation available from other big cities like Alesund or Bergen but all involve a lot of changes and it will take you a very long time to reach your destination.

Once you’ve explored the viewing platform you simply need to walk a few meters back. On your left you’ll see a two wooden arrows and one of them leads to Stabbeskaret. This is the one that you’ll need to follow!

🏕 Where to stay near the Trollveggen Hiking Trail

The area aroundÅndalsnes is filled with stunning camp sites and we had the pleasure to stay at two of them! We stayed at the Åndalsnes Camping & Motell and the Trollveggen Camping. Out of these two the Trollveggen Camping is definitely the most scenic one! Here you’ll set camp right next to the impressive Troll Wall. And yes, we did see our camp site all the way down in the valley when we reached the Stabbeskaret viewpoint!

Another camping option is theTrollstigen Camping and Gjestegård, it’s located only 15 minutes driving from the Trollstigen visitor centre and has been named one of the best and most beautiful camp sites in entire Norway. Unfortunately I only found out about it after our visit to the area. Otherwise you can bet that I would have spent a night here as well!

If you’re not a fan of camping and you fancy a little more luxury you can take a look at the hotels in theÅndalsnes area below!

Booking.com

🗓 When to hike up to Stabbeskaret on the Troll Wall

The Trollveggen hiking trail should not be attempted on a rainy day or right after heavy rainfall. Since you have to climb and step over and on so many rocks chances would be very high that you would slip and hurt yourself! This hike is already demanding enough during good weather. You really don’t want to make it yourself even more difficult. And on another note, on a rainy day chances would be very high that view over the Romsdal valley would be completely covered in fog.

The best months to hike up to the Stabbeskaret viewpoint are June, July, August and September.

Don’t be alarmed if there’s a lot of wind at the Trollstigen view point. During our visit this is what made me hesitate do start the hike but once we were a couple of minutes. onthe trail we didn’t feel any wind gusts anymore.

You can check the local weather on this website!

🥾 Stabbeskaret Hiking Details

Hike Distance – 10.2km (6.3 miles)

Hike Duration – 6 hours

Route Type – Out & Back

Difficulty – Hard. The hike up to Stabbeskaret is pretty demanding. Especially halfway through the hike it’s non stop climbing and scrambling over boulders. The hiking trail is well marked and the views are absolutely stunning but you do need to be in good condition to complete this hike.

Elevation – 754m

The final viewpoint is located at the vertical cliff of the Trollveggen wall. So once you’re up there it’s a steep drop down into the Romsdalen valley. Make sure to be very careful around the edges and take care if you have a fear of heights. The view is however absolutely amazing and totally worth the trouble of the hike.

There are a few spots to refill your water bottle but do so before climbing up the first steep rock wall. You’ll be hiking through a meadow before you do and here you can find a couple of natural water resources.

🙋🏼‍♀️My experience hiking up the Troll Wall

We woke up bright and early and the first thing I saw that morning when I opened up the door of our camper was a candy colored sky on one side and the sun hitting the peaks of Trollveggen on the other side. It looked like the perfect morning to go on an incredible hike!

One thing I love about creating an itinerary is finding unique experiences. And while the region ofÅndalsnes is especially known for the Romsdalseggen ridge hike I really wanted to make an effort and find other, lesser known hiking trails.

One of these trails was the hike up the Troll Wall up to the Stabbeskaret viewpoint and damn, it did not disappoint. The adventure started already when we were driving up the narrow Trollstigen road. With every turn that we made, and there were a lot of them, the landscape became crazier and at one point we even crossed a small bridge with a giant waterfall right behind it!

The Stigfossbrua is one of the most scenic waterfalls in entire Norway and if you arrive early in the morning like we did you can even make a short stop here to admire it more up close.

We got our of our camper van all excited to tackle another cool hike but we soon realized this wouldn’t be easy. Strong winds were hitting us from all sides and an ice cold feeling went straight through our jackets.

We decided to first take in the views from the Trollstigen viewpoint and then head back to the camper van to grab my trekking poles, grab enough water and make an informed decision if we would start this hike.

We we arrived back at the trail head I honestly still wasn’t sure. My knees were hurting from the past 6 days of non stop hiking and was this hike even going to be worth it? Wouldn’t it be bloody cold and awful to hike with such strong winds?!

I decided to give it a go and honestly, I was already super happy I did after only 10 minutes! The wind had disappeared and the view over the Trollstigen road and Stigfossbrua waterfall were amazing!

The first part of the hike was pretty straight forward and every few meters I looked behind me to take a glance at the incredible views. Slowly we hiked up the first ascend, going past another waterfall and getting a first glimpse of the moon like landscape that was awaiting us.

What followed next was something that I could only describe as a sea of rocks and boulders. After waddling through the first set of them we arrived in a meadow and were able to refill our water bottles at a natural stream. And luckily we did so cause this would be the last possibility. todo so!

After the meadow there was another sea of boulders and this time we also had to hike up a hill. At times we needed both our hands to keep our balance but the trail was well marked with an upward standing stone that was painted bright red every few meters. Here and there we could still see the remnants of a trail marker that looked a little like a T so I can only imagine that it used to be way harder to follow the correct hiking trail? But these days it’s very easy and clear!

While this hike up wasn’t the easiest and honestly, I was already worried about coming back down these mossy rocks. We were very soon rewarded with one of the best spots to have our lunch. A small glacier lake surrounded by some eternal snow.

After a short break we continued our way through the never ending sea of rocks. The views were changing and after a while we got a first glance at the steep cliffs of the Troll Wall. They were still far away but looked impressive nevertheless. After 1,5 hour of scrambling and climbing over said rocks we were finally ready for the last ascend! On our left we saw another beautiful lake and this spot is called Fruhstuck Platze. The ideal place to sit down and relax before tackling the last ascend.

When we arrived to the top we were completely in shock! We were standing at the edge of a steep vertical cliff and an insane 1700m drop straight into Romsdalen valley.

We sat there in awe for at least 30 minutes and for that time we were the only ones there.

In the distance we saw a large group of hikers heading our way so we decided that it was time to head back to our camper van!

But before we did we were really wondering where all of the other hikers went. We had seen a couple of them passing us on the trail but we never saw them returning. In the back of my mind I heard a little voice saying “Maybe they fell off the cliff?”.

Turns out there’s another viewpoint called Bruraskaret but the trail to this one isn’t marked so we decided to skip it and head straight down towards the parking lot.

It took us 2 more hours to reach our van but at the end of the day we were so happy that we hiked up to the Troll Wall! It’s definitely one of the top things to do nearÅndalsnes.

💸Norway Travel Insurance

I highly recommend you to get a travel insurance before your trip cause the risks are never worth the costs. If you’re going on a more adventurous trip you can always get yourself injured! So far I have sprained my ankle in Jordan, got food poisoning in India, turned snow blind in the Dolomites and have fallen multiple times during many hikes. It’s always best to be safe than sorry in such cases and with a good travel insurance you don’t have to worry about medical bills piling up.

I personally love World Nomads, their prices are affordable, their coverage is great, and they also offer 24/7 on-call customer service! When I got super sick in India they even covered an extra night for me at the hotel that I was staying it and rearranged my flight home at no extra cost!

🧳 Norway Hiking Packing List

Hiking shoes – You will definitely need a pair of these. Even that some attractions are located right next to a parking lot you’ll pretty much always have to hike over a rocky terrain. I love my Meindl Mountain Trail Boots for longer hikes and my Danner Mountain Light Boots for daily wear and shorter distances.

Trekking poles – These will especially come in handy cause a lot of the hikes in these guide can be rather strenuous on the joints. I used the Leki Adventure Light trekking poles for all of my hikes in Norway!

Back Pack – You’ll want to bring a back pack with you to carry your camera, some snacks and your refillable water bottle. I love the Kanken No. 2 back pack from Fjallraven and pretty much take it with me everywhere I go.

Refillable Water Bottle – The water in Norway is some of the freshet in the entire world so there’s no need at all to buy plastic bottles. Simply find the nearest stream to fill up your bottle and you’re good to go.

Another option is to use a back pack which has a water reservoir built inside of it. For instance this 3L Hydration Bladder is leak proof and can be stored inside a back pack.

Trail Leggings – I love hiking in leggings and have lately been loving the Abisko Trail Tights from Fjallraven.

Fast Drying Shirt – When hiking you tend to sweat, especially when climbing a mountain. One of the best things to wear is a shirt that quickly dries so you don’t get cold high up the mountain.

Insulating Jacket – Depending on the temperature you’ll either want a thicker or lighter jacket. If it’s pretty cold outside I always go for my Fjallraven Vidda Jacket. Otherwise I go for their High Coast Light Jacket which is super light weight.

Woolen cap – The perfect accessory to protect your ears from the cold and to cover your hair after a few days without a shower.

Protein Bars – Make sure you have a couple of these stowed a way in your back pack to boost up your energy level during the hike.

Sunscreen – Make sure to re apply to your face regularly cause pretty much all of the hikes that we did in Norway were exposed most of the time. I love this one by Neutrogena which feels like a face mist but also provides SPF 50 protection!

Merino Wool Socks – My go to brand has always been Falke and I love how fast they drive after a long day of hiking. Plus since they’re made of merino wool they don’t smell and can be worn for a couple of days.

📸 My Norway Camera Gear

• Canon EOS 6D Mark II – My go to camera body for the past 3 years
• Main Lens – Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II
• Zoom Lens – Tamron AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6
• Wide Angle Lens – Canon EF 16–35mm f/2.8L III
• Tripod – Manfrotto Tripod
• Drone – DJI Mavic Mini 2 Fly More Combo

You can find my complete list of photography gear here

🇳🇴 Other Norway Articles that might interest you

• Norway – The 20 Most Beautiful Places in Norway for the Outdoor Lover
• Romsdalseggen – Romsdalseggen Ridge Hike – The Most Spectacular Hiking Trail In Åndalsnes
• Hiking – Norway Hiking Guide – 14 Best Day Hikes In Norway
• Wildlife – Where To See The Musk Ox In Dovrefjell National Park In Norway
• Jotunheimen National Park – Besseggen Ridge Hike Guide – The Best Hiking Trail In Jotunheimen National Park
• Trolltunga – Trolltunga Hike – Everything You Need To Know About Hiking Norway’s Most Famous Trail
• Norway Road Trip – The Ultimate 2 Week Norway Road Trip Itinerary Perfect For The Outdoor Lover

Photo Editing

Every photo in this article was edited with the help of my Minimal Preset Collection

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