This is one of my favorite places on earth! I mean what could be better? After a 1 hour hike through a mildly geothermal area, after seeing a few large and small waterfalls, after seeing some Icelandic sheep, after seeing mud pools up close, you come to a river with geothermal water running into it. This river is different temperatures, depending on where you choose to bathe, so you’ll be able to find the perfect temperature for you. Once found, you can get cozy and live you best life [as pictured below]. But how to do get to this natural wonder? Well, you’ll have to do a bit of work. Keep reading to find everything you need to visit the Reykjadalur Hot Springs.
About Reykjadalur Valley
Just a short detour off of the popular Ring Road or Golden Circle, you’ll find the Reykjadalur Valley. In Icelandic, this means ‘steam valley’, named for the steam coming from the geothermal waters boiling beneath the ground. And in this steam valley you’ll find a small river. This river is cold as it’s glacial runoff! But the boiling hot spring nearby overflows. The hot water flows into this cold river creating pockets of warmth. Some areas are lukewarm and some are too hot to sit in.
Hot springs are plentiful in Iceland. You may be wondering where they all come from. The volcanic systems under the island raises the temperature of the ground water. Then, this ground water comes to the surface in certain areas for the pure pleasure of us humans! Viola – hot springs. And in the Land of Fire and Ice, there is no shortage of volcanic activity. But finding the right combination of volcanic activity, natural beauty and quiet surrounds can be a challenge. We think the best combination is in the Reykjadalur Valley.
While this natural hot spring used to be a secret wonder of Iceland, with the invention of the travel blogger, myself included, this once quiet area is no longer empty. However, due to the moderately strenuous hike, this area still is the least crowded Icelandic hot spring we visited. And the most wondrous! While other hot springs in Iceland will tote their “natural” waters, everything about the Reykjadalur Valley is natural. So if you’re imagining a solo bathing experience, you won’t get it here. However, if you’re imaging a natural Icelandic hot spring, this will impress.
Getting There and Around
Reykjadalur hot springs are located just 45 minutes from Reykjavík outside of the town of Hveragerdi. Which makes a trip here a great option for a day trip from Reykjavík. This is just a short detour off of the Ring Road and can also make a great way to end a Golden Circle road trip.
If you put Reykjadalur Cafe into your GPS, you’ll get there. If you don’t have a GPS, like us, just use a map to navigate to Hveragerdi on Route 1. Then, take the main street off of Route 1 into town, and just keep following this road until you are back outside of town. Signs start to appear here and you can follow them to the parking lot.
What to Budget for Reykjadalur Hot Springs
There is a parking lot available for a small fee at the Reykjadalur trailhead. You have to use an app to pay for the fee (250 ISK/hour). We struggled with this as we didn’t have any internet. So we went into the Reykjadalur Cafe to use the WiFi to pay. However, thankfully the app was broken the day we visited so we didn’t have to pay. But do remember to keep this parking fee in mind, as there is a camera on the road leading to the parking lot that tracks your vehicle plates for charging purposes.
Other blogs told us that we could park on the side of the road. However, large stretches of the road were lined with large rocks making this impossible. There may be some free parking there, but the parking lot is just so convenient. And by paying your parking fee, you get access to the bathrooms at the trailhead.
Other than the parking fee, visiting the Reykjadalur hot springs is completely free! If you want to buy any food, you’ll want to budget for snacks at the cafe at the trailhead. Like all Icelandic food, it seems overpriced but the cafe is beautiful.
What to Pack
You’ll want to pack your Icelandic hot springs bathing gear. For us that is our swimsuits, dry bags to store your wet clothes in, and our quick dry towels. You’ll also want to back your hiking gear. We hiked this trail in trail runners rather than hiking boots. This was fine as this trail was very well groomed. We also packed our hydration pack so that we could hold all of our water and swimming supplies.
Oh how we wish we would have packed some drinks. Several people had them. They were some smart people and we were mighty jealous! So if you have room in your pack, pack a few. Then you can soak them in the cold water before drinking them in the hot springs.
Also, make sure to pack for the Icelandic weather. This means a waterproof outer shell at all times of the year. This, along with dressing for the weather, should keep you comfortable on your hike.
Safety At the Reykjadalur Hot Springs
Icelandic tourist destinations really don’t have much in the way of warning signs. We like this. Kinda a survival of the smartest mentality. That being said, for those without any experience with hot springs, here are some things to know.
First, they are HOT. I mean burn you to death in minutes hot. Most hot springs you’ll see on the hike to Reykjadalur are too hot to swim in. You’ll see some hot springs and mud pots that are boiling. Don’t go swimming in those.
Second, don’t throw things in them. That is to help protect the hot springs. You want to make sure others will have the opportunity to visit this beautiful hot spring river in the future. This includes throwing rocks and trash in them. It can clog them up.
Lastly, don’t get too close to the hot springs or leave the trail. This is because hot springs can be underground and the ground above them can be thin. You don’t want to accidentally break through the ground and fall into a natural boiling pot.
Also, make sure to bring enough water for your hike. It’s long and more strenuous that it appears. Make sure you are physically able to hike to the Reykjadalur hot springs AND BACK.
The Reykjadalur Hot Springs Hike
- Distance: 5 miles, out and back
- Elevation Gain: 1,100 feet, constant rolling hills
- Time: 2-2.5 hours
- Difficulty: Moderate – easy trails, but constant elevation change – it looks easier than it is
From the parking lot, first, stop in to the cafe to use the restrooms as you won’t have that option for the rest of the hike. There isn’t really any privacy near the trail for a “nature bathroom” stop.
Next, you’ll cross the river and enter the Reykjadalur valley and start to see geothermal features. The first things you’ll see are some hot springs and mud pots.
As you continue on, the trail markers disappear but you shouldn’t be worried about it as the trail is well used so it is easy to find and follow.
After the geothermal features, you’ll get to the rolling grass covered hills. You may even see some sheep or horses.
Next, you’ll get a pretty nice view of the Djúpagilsfoss waterfall. It was beautiful. And a day in Iceland wouldn’t be complete without a view of a waterfall.
After a bit more walking, you’ll find the bathing area. This is marked by well made board walks and changing partitions. So peel off your clothes and jump in the water. If you don’t like the temperature, just move to a different area of the river.
It took us just under an hour to get to the hot springs. We stayed here for about an hour. Again, see photo of me living my best life above. We made our own little water dams to funnel the correct temperature of water our way. Once we got pruny enough, we packed our bags, changed into our dry clothes and hiked back out.
Finally, the return hike took about 45 minutes.
What To Expect at the Reykjadalur Hot Springs
First, the accommodations here are practically nonexistent. While there are changing partitions, you may want to already be wearing your swimming suit. The changing area here is more of several giant walls built up for you to duck behind to change. No doors, no privacy. So keep that in mind if you are a shy person. However, everyone here seemed to be totally fine changing and everyone seemed to respect our space when we were changing. Once you’re done swimming, you’ll need a plastic bag or dry bag to put your wet swimsuit in.
The water here can be lukewarm, it can be boiling hot and it can be just right. It’s a Goldilocks story and you just need to find your perfect fit. That being said, some of the best fit spots in the river may be crowded. So you may have to bounce back and forth from hot to cold sections while you wait for perfect sections to open up. You also can play with the rocks in the river to try to adjust the water temperature by damming hot/cold water flows.
This was one of my favorite Icelandic experiences, but honestly the rawness of this and the effort it takes isn’t for everyone. So weigh everything we’ve written and decide if it’s the right spot for you.
When To Visit Reykjadalur Hot Springs
If you plan on visiting Iceland, you’ll find it much easier in the summer. And Reykjadalur hot springs is no exception. In the summer, these trails are well kept and easy to walk on. In the winter, the trails can become an icy and muddy mess. And with all of the elevation change on this trail, we can imagine this being much more challenging.
Midday is the most popular time to visit Reykjadalur hot springs. So if you would like fewer crowds visit early in the morning or after dinner. We visited around 4 PM and there were about 20 people there.
Where to Stay Near Reykjadalur Hot Springs
If you need somewhere to stay after visiting Reykjadalur hot springs, Hveragerdi is the closest town. This town actually has tons of accommodations nearby, including hotels and home rentals. Plus, lots of great restaurants, including Ölverk Pizza & Brewery, which we loved. We stayed just outside of town in a cottage rental. Our accommodations had natural hot spring water and we actually ran out of cold water when we were there. As a couple from the Midwest, we never thought we’d run out of cold water.
You could also stay in Reykjavík or Selfoss, both larger towns. Both towns are under one hour away.
That should be all the information you need to plan your visit to Reykjadalur Hot Springs. Please leave any questions you may have in the comments section below.
Taking b/g twin 5yo… hot spring hike in late June (we leave tomorrow)… is it doable?
Hopefully you’re in the airport and your flight is on time 😉 And I think a 5yo could totally do this if they have energy. It’s not hard, but it is a long walk. So go when they’re well rested. Also, the river is very shallow so even if they can’t swim well, they should be able to touch everywhere.