Where Does the Kjerag Hike Start?
What is actually there
A large car park, a service building with toilets and a staffed tourist information desk in season, and a path going up the rock behind it. That is the whole of the infrastructure. The building is where I worked for eleven summers, and the thing people remember from it is the wall map: the three peaks drawn in profile, so you can see with your own eyes that the walk is not one climb but three, with two descents in between.
The trail leaves from behind the building and goes straight up. There is no gentle warm-up section. Within a few minutes you are on rock, and shortly after that you are on the first chains. The route in order is described on the trail page.
Getting to the start, which is the hard part
Øygardstøl sits at the top of Fv500 above Lysebotn, and Fv500 is a narrow mountain pass with 27 hairpin bends that 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. That single fact governs everything about planning a Kjerag trip, far more than your fitness does. I have written it up properly on the road and the hairpins.
From Stavanger it is roughly two and a half hours each way by road, or about three hours for the full drive via E39, Rv450 and Sirdal. The other way in is the Lysefjord ferry to Lysebotn, and then you still have the hairpins in front of you. There is no regular public bus. The whole map of options is on how to get there.
What people get wrong about the start
Two things. They assume the car park is near Lysebotn, so they build the drive in their heads and then find another forty minutes of switchbacks at the end of it. And they assume the trail starts flat because the car park is already at altitude. It does not. You begin climbing immediately, on rock, and the first chains come early enough that people are still finding their rhythm when they reach them.
Look at the wall map inside the service building before you set off, even if you have read everything online. Seeing the three peaks in profile rearranges people’s plans more effectively than anything I ever said to them across the counter.
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
Is there more than one trailhead for Kjerag?
No. The hike starts and ends at Øygardstøl above Lysebotn. There is no alternative route in for walkers.
Can I leave a car at the start overnight?
The car park is large and operates roughly mid-May to the end of October. Conditions are set by the operator of the facility, not by us.
How far is Øygardstøl from Stavanger?
About two and a half hours each way by road, or roughly three hours for the full drive via Sirdal.