Strútslaug

Highlands

Strútslaug is a natural geothermal pool in the southern highlands between the Torfajökull and Mýrdalsjökull ice caps — roughly 8.5 by 5 metres, holding at 37 to 43 degrees Celsius, warmest near the geothermal source. There are no changing facilities, no signs, no infrastructure. It is just a warm pool in a remote moss valley, and getting there is the point as much as arriving. The standard approach uses Road 209 north off the Ring Road east of Vík, then F232 toward Mælifellssandur. After a river crossing of the Brennivínskvísl, the route reaches the Strutur hut, where you park and walk roughly 5 kilometres to the pool — about 90 minutes each way over gentle terrain. A super jeep or well-equipped high-clearance 4WD is genuinely required; the F-road section involves significant river crossings that standard rental SUVs should not attempt. The window is short: F-roads here typically open late June and close in early September. Check vegagerdin.is before setting out. Budget a full day for the round trip from the Ring Road.

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