Rallarvegen - Bike from Haugastøl to Flåm
Huts
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3knrHmk0KYc
Description: Best bike route in Norway! Bike from the top of a mountain (Haugastøl) down to the Fjord in Flåm. This bike route is fun, is beautiful, you can find easily find a campsite (its free, just dont camp next to any houses), waterfalls all round, easy to get water, and you can eat pancakes all the way down! It is also super convenient. You can rent bikes at the top, and return them at the bottom. Or if you come by car, just take the railroad back up to pick up your car! The route: You follow a 100 year old road they used to build the railroad. The bike rental website has a great overview of the history & the details of each section of this bike route. How Long Is it: Haugastøl – Finse 3-4 hours (27 km) Finse - Haugastøl 2-3 hours (27 km) Finse – Fagernut 1 hour (10 km) Finse – Hallingskeid 3 hours (21 km) Hallingskeid - Flåm 3 hours (32 km) Finse – Myrdal 5 hours (38 km) Finse – Flåm 5-6 hours (53 km) If you bring bikes: If you come with your own bikes, Haugastøl is still a good place to park, go to the bathroom, and start the trip. You can take the Flåm railway back up to get your car. Where to rent Bikes: Pretty much the only place to rent a bike is: www.rallarvegen.com. DONT RENT BIKES AHEAD OF TIME. 99% of the time they have extra bikes. They ship bikes back up every day. Why? (1) The weather forecast changes every day, and you want to do this bikeroute in good weather. (2) You are traveling in Norway, dont fool yourself and think you will get here on the exact day you plan stress free. (3) There refund policy doesnt allow you to change your date of trip a few days before hand, with out paying a lot of money. With that said, they are a good company. They are right at the start of the trip in Haugastøl and you just return the bike to them at the end in Flåm. Super convenient. There bikes are good mountain bikes (But I would inspect & test everything before starting). It is a very easy 15 minute walk from the Haugastøl train station to here. Who is this Mountain Biking Route For: If you like fitness stuff and camping you will love it. If you are into fitness & spend the extra money to stay in 2 hotels, you will love it. Who might have a hard time on this Norway Bike Route: If you are not the outdoors fitness type or have not biked a lot you it might be a little hard for you. Probably you will still enjoy it, cause the scenery, but it is a gradual UPHILL biking path all the way to Finse. Then from Finse to Fagernut it is basically biking over a mountain pass. Plus, there are some really step areas, its nothing unsafe, just could be scary. Where to sleep: Either camp in a tent (free) or book a hotel. If I were to do this trip again, I would still bike with all my camping gear, and when I got to Hotel Finse 1222 (probably day 2) I would see if there is an extra room and chill there, its a great hotel. There are 2 hotels. Hotel Finse 1222 (Day 1). Vatnahalsen Høyfjellshotell (Day 2). If you are into fitness, start early it is very possible to just stay at these hotels. There are also a few expensive AirBNBs kind on the way. Check the guided bike trips to see how they do it. Where to eat before the trip: Gretteberg Kafé. Dont skip this place, huge portions, last great meal. They serve Moose and stuff like that. Where to eat during the trip: I would bring your own food and IF you get to these places at the right time, load up, but besides Hotel Finse 1222 you will just find some tasty pancakes. DAY 1: There are a couple cool pancake places. It is a kind of a traditional thing on this bike route. The first on day 1 is Kafe Oksebotn. No it is not a cafe. It is just an old house where they kindly for years serve pancakes to hungry bikers, that is it. The pancakes are great, reasonable price, load up and leave a tip. Day 2 or 3: Hotel Finse 1222 - On day 2 or 3 is a very nice proper Hotel. They filmed part of the original star wars here. Worth staying in the Hotel, but also they serve lunch dinner (expensive) but after biking it is worth it. Day 2 or 3 or 4: There is also a pancake place after Finse in the mountains called Fagernut Railway café. The pancakes were decent, a little smaller, they were ok. Last Day of trip: Rallarrosa Stølsysteri is a kind of a proper cafe, mainly pancakes again. Usually super busy because you get the foot & bike traffic of people doing day hikes or day bike trips.