Can You Drive to Kjerag?
The drive itself
From Stavanger the road route runs via E39, Rv450 and Sirdal and takes roughly three hours; the guided van quotes about two and a half hours each way. Either way it is most of a morning. The last section is Fv500 above Lysebotn: a narrow mountain pass, typical of its kind, climbing 27 hairpin bends to the car park. It is not technically difficult in good weather and it is not something to attempt casually in a large motorhome or with a nervous driver.
The alternative is to take the Lysefjord ferry to Lysebotn from Lauvvik, which turns the journey into a boat trip and then drops you at the bottom of the same hairpins. You still need a vehicle for the climb. Both routes, and their timings, are on getting there.
What you cannot drive to
Any part of the mountain. There is no shuttle from the car park, no road on the plateau and no way to get closer to the boulder than Øygardstøl. The walk out is a full mountain hike over three ascents and two descents, with the dip at Litle Stordal in the middle. If somebody in your group cannot walk that, the honest options are laid out on the accessibility page.
The season, which decides everything
What works
- In summer the road is open and the drive is straightforward in daylight
- The car park is large, with several hundred spaces
- A tour van does the driving and the 27 bends for you
- The ferry to Lysebotn is a pleasant alternative to half the road
Worth knowing
- The road is closed by snow for most of the year
- The chains on the trail come down when the road closes
- There is no regular public bus to Lysebotn at any time of year
- Two and a half hours of road each way is the real length of the day
The short version: if the road is shut, you are not driving to Kjerag, and no amount of planning changes that. The opening and closing pattern is on the road page, and what to do if you have no vehicle is on the no-car page.
If you are driving yourself, put the return leg into your plan before you set off, not after the hike. Two and a half hours of road at the end of a ten-hour day is when people make mistakes, and the hairpins are the last place to be tired.
What there is to book
The hike is free. The problem is the road, which climbs 27 hairpin bends above Lysebotn and is shut by snow for most of the year. Without a car you are booking transport, not a ticket: see getting there without a car and the routes out of Stavanger.
Frequently asked questions
Can you see Kjeragbolten without hiking?
Not from the road. The boulder is a full hike from the car park. The Lysefjord from the water is a different trip: see the cruise.
Is the hairpin road difficult to drive?
It is a narrow mountain pass with 27 bends. In good summer weather it is manageable; it is not a road for a large vehicle or a hurried driver.
Can I drive there in winter?
No. Fv500 is shut by snow for most of the year and generally opens in late May or early June.