Bjerkreim
Municipality · Rogaland
About Bjerkreim
The road through Gloppedalsura, one of Scandinavia's largest boulder fields, salmon fishing on the Bjerkreimselva and 17-km lake Ørsdalsvatnet.
What to do and where to stay in Bjerkreim
Places to stay are run locally, with no hotel or campsite chain behind them.
1GloppedalsuraNature
County road 503 threads, partly in a tunnel, through one of Scandinavia's largest boulder screes, a deposit about 100 m thick that forms a watershed.
Fv 503 between Vikeså and Byrkjedal · 20–60 min stop · all year (road), best May–October
2Ørsdalen minesHistory & culture
Molybdenum and tungsten were mined in Ørsdalen in spells from the early 1900s until after the Second World War; one restored mine can be entered only on a guided tour.
South side of Ørsdalen, signed parking at Hovland · 2 h · Sundays in July and August (guided)
3MjåvassknutenHike
A demanding summit hike from Ørsdalen with a cable and ladder, past the Schaanning mine and smithy about 700 m up the cliff edge.
Grendahuset, Ørsdalen (or Hovland suspension bridge) · 4.5–5.5 h (12.2 km return) · summer and autumn
4Storrsheia Iron Age farmsHike
Marked trails just north of Vikeså lead to Storrsheia, one of six deserted farm sites from the Migration Period and Viking Age, among Norway's densest such clusters.
Storrsheia, just north of Vikeså · 1–2 h · all year
5KløgetvedttunetHistory & culture
A restored farmstead with buildings from the 1600s and 1700s and a collection on Bjerkreim's farming life, open on some Sundays in June and August.
Heiavegen, Vikeså · 1 h · some Sundays in June and August; tours by arrangement
6Bjerkreim kyrkjeHistory & culture
A wooden church from 1835 in the church village where two rivers meet, restored for its 150th anniversary in 1985.
Bjerkreim church village (Røysland) · 15 min · all year (services)
7Bjerkreimselva at GjedlakleivActivity
Bjerkreimselva has about 54 km of fishable salmon river; Gjedlakleiv near the E39 is an easy start with a spot adapted for anglers with limited mobility.
Gjedlakleiv, by the E39 · 2 h+ · summer salmon season
8FN-parkenHistory & culture
A memorial park at Vikeså by the E39 honours soldiers from Rogaland who died serving with the United Nations.
Vikeså, by the E39 · 10–15 min · all year
9Åsen and RamnafjelletHike
Marked trails climb Ramnafjellet from Bjerkreim church or from Åsen, where the oldest house in the municipality stands, to a view over all of Bjerkreim.
Åsen, off the E39 at Sagland, or Bjerkreim church car park · 1.5 h return from Åsen, 3 h from the church · May–October
10OdlandshølenNature
A short marked walk above Ørsdalsvatnet to a smooth cave cut by meltwater under the ice at the end of the last ice age, below a steep boulder-strewn rock face.
About 1 km northeast of Odland, south end of Ørsdalsvatnet · 1–3 h · May–October