Hitra
Municipality · Trøndelag
About Hitra
Watch for red deer along the island roads, see the medieval stone church at Dolm and visit the coastal museum at Fillan.
Hitra is the largest island in southern Norway, mostly low and boggy, with rocky knolls rising to 345 m at Mørkdalstua in the south-west. Smaller islands spread out to the north, the villages keep to the coast, and Fv713 makes a loop round the main island.
It pairs well with Frøya on the island road from Trondheim. Come for sea fishing, short hill walks such as Håvikfjellet, and the old trading post at Hopsjø.
Good to know
- Getting there: Fv714 from Orkanger runs through the 5.6 km Hitra subsea tunnel, no ferry needed. Fillan is about 2 hours from Trondheim.
- Season: The coastal museum in Fillan opens daily 20 June–20 August; the Hemnskjela WWII exhibition is shown by guided tour in summer only.
- Sleeping: Two hotels, Hjorten Hotell in Fillan and Dolmsundet Hotell, and six campsites, among them Hitra Camping og Kro (April–September).
- Food: Dolmsundet Hotel's restaurant serves local scallops, venison and salmon; dinner can be booked ahead online.
What to do and where to stay in Hitra
Places to stay are run locally, with no hotel or campsite chain behind them.
1Kystmuseet i Sør-Trøndelag, FillanHistory & culture
Coastal museum in Fillan with a 1920 coastal farm exhibition and the story of the Russian ship Jedinorog, wrecked at Kvenvær in 1760; Hitra's tourist office is inside.
Museumsplassen 1, Fillan · 1–1.5 h · All year: 20 June–20 Aug daily 10–18; otherwise Tue/Wed–Sun 10–15
2Dolm ChurchHistory & culture
White stone church on Dolmøya dated to the 1400s (local tradition says 1100s), burned several times, last in 1920, and reconsecrated in 1992.
Dolmvarden, south-west Dolmøya · 30–45 min · Exterior all year; interior via Kystmuseet; check opening hours before you go
3Dolm cultural landscape and Iron Age longhouseHike
Marked walks with info boards around Dolm church through an area with some 100 Stone Age sites, Iron Age graves, Bronze Age cairns and a rebuilt Iron Age longhouse.
Dolm/Dolmsundet, Dolmøya · 1–2 h · All year
4Hopsjø trading postHistory & culture
Trading post at Melandsjøen in use from the early 1700s until 1953, now a coastal culture centre said to have Norway's oldest preserved shop and a whaling exhibition.
Hopsjøen, near Melandsjøen, across Dolmsundet from Dolm · 45–60 min · Mainly summer (shop/restaurant); site all year
5MørkdalstuaHike
Hitra's highest point at 345 m; a signposted tractor road and a final path lead about 8.5 km to the top, with Hitra's wind turbines in view.
Western Hitra, between Forsnes and Kvenvær · 4–5 h on foot (about 17 km return, 450 m climb); faster by bike on the tractor road · June–October
6Hemnskjela WWII fort and war memorial exhibitionHistory & culture
Island where over 700 German soldiers and about 100 prisoners of war were based from 1941, with gun emplacements, bunkers and a summer guided tour to the command bunker.
Vollanhaugen, Øvre Hemnskjelvei, Hemnskjela (east end of the Hitra tunnel) · 1 h tour; +45 min for the Vettan walk · Remains all year; exhibition by guided tour in summer only
7Hitra tunnelLocal oddity
Opened in 1994, this 5.6 km subsea tunnel dips to 264 m below the sea, which made it the world's deepest when new.
Fv714, Hemnskjela–Jøsnøya (Sandstad) · 5 min drive · All year
8Dolmsundet Hotel restaurantFood & drink
Hotel restaurant by Dolmsundet that serves local dishes such as scallops, venison and salmon; dinner can be pre-booked online.
Dolmsundet, Melandsjøen, Hitra · 1–1.5 h · All year; check opening hours before you go
9HåvikfjelletHike
270 m hill in western Hitra near Kvenvær, reached by an unmarked path about 1.6 km from a car park on Fv713, with 197 m of climbing.
Between Strøm and Kvenvær, western Hitra · 1–1.5 h (3.2 km return, 197 m climb) · February–November
10Fillan ChurchHistory & culture
Red wooden cruciform church from 1789 in Fillan, the oldest surviving church on Hitra island, on a site with a church since the 1200s or earlier.
Fillan, east coast of Hitra · 15–20 min · Exterior all year; interior at services