Snæfellsjökull National Park

Snæfellsjökull

Snæfellsnes

Jules Verne sent his characters into the Earth through Snæfellsjökull's crater, and the volcano earns its mystique independently. The glacier-capped stratovolcano rises to 1,446 meters at the western tip of the Snæfellsnes peninsula and is visible from Reykjavík on clear days — about 120 kilometers across Faxaflói bay. Its last eruption was around 200 CE. The national park established in 2001 covers roughly 170 square kilometers. Within the park you'll find more than the glacier: the black pebble beach at Djúpalónssandur with historic lifting stones and shipwreck remains, the Saxhóll scoria crater with a staircase to panoramic views, and the twin sea-stack pillars of Lóndrangar rising from the shoreline. The visitor center at Malarrif has free entry. Roads inside the park are mostly gravel, manageable in summer with a standard car. Glacier summit hikes require a guide and proper equipment — the ice is crevassed. The park's other highlights are reached from roadside parking areas and most can be covered in a half-day loop from the Ring Road.

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