Austrheim
Municipality · Vestland
About Austrheim
Vardetangen, mainland Norway's westernmost point, with an easy coastal loop to the Årvikane swimming spot and fish soup at Kilstraumen Brygge.
What to do and where to stay in Austrheim
Places to stay are run locally, with no hotel or campsite chain behind them.
1VardetangenViewpoint
Mainland Norway's westernmost point, marked by a 1996 stone cairn with its coordinates on a tablet, about 1 km on a flat, wheelchair-friendly gravel path.
Torvneset, by the express-boat quay near Fonnes · 30–45 min · all year
2Vardetangen day cabinLocal oddity
Open day-trip cabin by the westernmost point with benches, a wood-burning stove and a small library of children's books to borrow on the spot.
Vardetangen, under 1 km from the car park · 30 min · all year
3Vardetangen–Årvika loopHike
Easy 4.6 km waymarked loop from the westernmost point to Årvika, past Fonnesvågen and a fishing lake, over heath with views across the Fensfjord to Gulen.
Car park about 200 m before the express-boat quay, Vardetangen · 1–1.5 h (4.6 km loop, 77 m climb) · all year
4Årvikane swimming spotSwim
Bathing spot on the Vardetangen loop with tables, toilets, a lean-to shelter, barbecue, playground and disc-golf course.
Årvika, Fonnes, on the Vardetangen loop · 1–2 h · summer
5Kilstraumen BryggeFood & drink
Waterfront restaurant and pub where an inn has stood since 1610, cooking local seafood, with fish soup recommended and a Sunday buffet all year.
Kilstraumen Brygge 1, Austrheim · 1–1.5 h · all year (Sunday buffet every Sunday)
6Torvneset crofter's farmHistory & culture
At the start of the Vardetangen path, an old croft with a restored earth cellar and stone mounds, reached on a universally designed path with tables and benches.
Torvneset, Fonnes · 15–20 min · all year
7Austrheim churchHistory & culture
White wooden long church from 1865 by architect Askild Åse, seating about 355, on a site where a stave church stood from the 1200s.
Austrheim village, Fosnøyna · 15–20 min · outside all year; inside at services
8Hoplandskvernene millsHike
Two restored mill houses in a row on the stream out of Langevatnet, in records since 1667, reached on a marked path from Litlelindås at Fosnstraumen.
Kvernhusvågen, south of Hopland, Fosnøyna · 1–1.5 h return · all year
9Rongevær coastal cabin and its sea saunaLocal oddity
Borrow a rowing boat at Baløy, row 300 m to this DNT cabin on an islet, fire the wood sauna on the quay and jump into the sea. Book at hyttebestilling.dnt.no.
Rongevær: road's end at Baløy, off the road towards Sævrøy from Austrheim church
10Krossøy boathouses by sea kayakNature
One of the west coast's best-kept rows of 1800s boathouses, seen from the water on an 11.8 km kayak loop from Baløy. Calm weather only; people live there, so stay in the boat.
Kayak loop from Baløy, Rongevær