Verdal
Municipality · Trøndelag
About Verdal
Stiklestad, where St Olav fell in 1030, stages its open-air St Olav Drama at Olsok each July, and St Olav's Way crosses the valley.
Verdal is a valley shaped like a triangle, from a short strip on the inner Trondheimsfjord to a 50 km border with Sweden. The clay lowland around Verdalsøra is some of Trøndelag's best farmland, and the same clay gave way in the great landslide of 1893. Higher up, forest gives way to the bare tops of Skjækerfjella.
It works as a day off the E6, or as the way to Sweden on Fv72, with a stop at the border blockhouse from 1909–11 in Inndalen.
Good to know
- Getting there: The E6 runs through Verdalsøra and Fv72 climbs Inndalen to Sweden. About 1 h 30 from Trondheim and 1 hour from Værnes airport.
- Season: The Inndalen blockhouse trail is a May–September outing, and Karl Johans veg over Skalstufjellet is best walked in summer and autumn.
- Sleeping: Three campsites: Stiklestad Camping, Soria Moria Camping near Verdalsøra, and Østnes Camping (May–September).
- Food: Fæby farm brewery sells its own beer, cured meats and frozen farm pizza by arrangement.
What to do and where to stay in Verdal
Places to stay are run locally, with no hotel or campsite chain behind them.
1Stiklestad National Cultural CentreHistory & culture
The site of the 1030 battle where Olav Haraldsson fell, with exhibitions, a folk museum of about 30 old buildings and the reconstructed medieval farm Stiklastadir.
Stiklestad, about 5 km east of Verdalsøra · 2–3 h · all year
2Blokkhuset in InndalenHistory & culture
A Y-shaped border blockhouse from 1909–11, half blasted into the rock with gun slits and its original barbed wire, on a trail with a suspension bridge over the Inna.
Kleivdalen car park off Fv72, east of Vuku · about 20 min up from the car park · May–September (the rock galleries are closed indefinitely)
3Skjækerfossen and the old nickel smelterNature
A roadside waterfall with a rest area, info boards, remains of an 1881 nickel smelter with its water wheel and a memorial stone to wartime border guides.
Fv757, Helgådalen · 20–30 min · snow-free months
4Karl Johans veg heritage trailHike
A 17.5 km carriage road over Skalstufjellet finished in 1835, with stone arch bridges, iron milestones and the walled Kleiva bend, ending at Ådalsvollen.
Ådalsvollen, about 35 km east of Verdal on Fv72, towards the Swedish border · 1 h to a full day (walk a part of it) · summer and autumn
5Stiklestad churchHistory & culture
A stone church from about 1180 with a vaulted choir and Alf Rolfsen's 1929–30 frescoes; tradition says the stone Olav leaned on as he died is kept behind the altar.
Stiklestad, next to the cultural centre · 30 min · all year
6Malså mines and smelting-oven ruinHistory & culture
A copper mine worked from 1865 to about 1918, partly by an English company, where one stone smelting oven from 1875–76 still stands by the marked path; stay out of the shafts.
Upper Malsådalen, 2 km along the old ore road from Sagdalen · about 4 km return · summer–autumn
7Jermstad landslide viewpointViewpoint
Boards at Jermstad in Leirådalen tell the story of the 1893 Verdal landslide, the largest of its kind in Norway's recorded history, which killed 116 people.
Jermstad, Leirådalen, Verdal · 15 min · all year
8Verdal's geographic midpointHike
A marked 11.8 km return walk with about 750 m of climbing to the exact centre point of the municipality, a short side path off the route up Hyllfjellet.
Helgådalen, start by the road to Melen above Ørtugen · 3 h (11.8 km return) · May–September
9Vera churchLocal oddity
A white wooden church in the mountain village of Vera, consecrated in 1899 as a chapel that was also the school, with a gate to close off the choir during lessons.
Vera, far east of Verdal near the Swedish border · 15–30 min · all year (interior: services/by arrangement)
10Veresstua and the Blåfjella-Skjækerfjella gatewayNature
A DNT cabin by Veresvatnet, reachable by road, near the entrance to Norway's fourth-largest national park, with marked paths north to Skjækerdalshytta.
Veresvatnet, north-eastern Verdal · Half a day or more · all year (road usually open in winter)