The Road to Kjerag and Its 27 Hairpins

Fv500 climbs 27 hairpin bends from Lysebotn to the trailhead, and it is shut by snow for most of the year. It generally opens in late May or early June and closes again in October or November, depending on the snow. When it closes, the chains on the trail come down with it. This road, not your fitness, is the thing to plan a Kjerag trip around.

RoadFv500, Lysebotn to Øygardstøl

Hairpin bends27

Typical openingLate May or early June

Typical closingOctober or November

CharacterNarrow mountain pass

Chains on the trailRemoved when the road closes

Why the road runs the whole trip

Everything else about Kjerag is flexible. You can be fitter or slower, you can start earlier, you can take a guide or not. You cannot make the road open. It is the only vehicle access to the trailhead, it climbs out of Lysebotn in a stack of tight bends, and the snow decides the dates. That is why the useful planning question is never am I fit enough, it is is the road open on my dates and how do I get to the top of it.

The dates move. Late May or early June is normal for the opening and October or November for the closing, but a heavy winter pushes the first date later. If your trip is at either end of the season, build a second plan, and make it Preikestolen, which is on the other side of the fjord and does not depend on a mountain pass.

What driving it is like

Narrow, steep and entirely ordinary for a Norwegian mountain road, which is to say that it demands attention rather than skill. The bends are stacked closely enough that you climb a long way in a short distance. Meeting a bus concentrates the mind. In good summer weather, with unhurried driving and daylight, it is fine. Tired, in cloud, at the end of a ten-hour hike, it is the worst part of the day, and that is an argument for starting early or for letting somebody else drive.

The chains come down with the road

This is the part people miss. Several hundred metres of chains are bolted along the steepest slabs of the trail, and they are removed when the road closes for winter and reinstalled when it opens. So an out-of-season Kjerag is not simply a snowy version of the summer hike: it is the same steep rock without the handholds, which is why the honest advice out of season is winter equipment and a guide. More on the chains.

Local tip

Check the road before you book anything else, not after. I lost count of the people who arrived in the second half of May with a hotel in Lysebotn, a hire car and a plan, and found the pass still under snow.

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.

Check dates & book

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Frequently asked questions

When does the road to Kjerag open?

Generally late May or early June, depending on snow, and it closes again in October or November.

How many hairpin bends are there?

27, on Fv500 between Lysebotn and the Øygardstøl trailhead.

Can I hike Kjerag when the road is closed?

Only with winter equipment and a guide. The chains are taken down when the road closes. See the best month to hike.