A Day of Beauty in Møysalen National Park

28/09/2025

After leaving Hardstad our next destination was the tiny Møysalen National Park. It looked as though we were due for a dry day so we were keen to get out and do some hiking in this high mountain area.

We drove to Refsnes, on the edge of one of the fjords that cuts deep into Hinnøya island. There we had to catch a ferry across the fjord to continue to follow the road. This is a frequent ferry with hourly crossings and was one of the busiest ferries we have been on. We were in lane 5 and wondered if we’d have to wait for the next ferry but we managed to get on board.  We had another sighting of eagles wheeling overhead while we made the short crossing.

Finding a Park Up

Once off the ferry we found ourselves in a long section of roadworks. We inched past the first park up we’d had earmarked which was completely full of plant and materials. Paul continued driving slowly on while I looked for other possible parking places. We investigated a beach park up at the head of the fjord where I walked down a narrow lane to scout for spaces. Sadly a Belgian van was already taking the single reasonable space, the rest of the area was blocked off.

On Park4Night nothing was coming up in the vicinity, but we had driven past a parking area and, as the sun was setting, we didn’t want to spend ages looking for somewhere else. The small car park was a bit closer to the road that we liked but we haven’t encountered any roads in Norway that have been busy at night and the following morning was Saturday so we hoped to get a good night’s sleep. We shared the car park with some large concrete pipes but crossed our fingers that no one would be coming to move them around for the next 12 hours.

A park up that looked ugly close up, but had an amazing mountain backdrop

Once parked up and fed we looked at our original plans to see how far away we were. Fortuitously the map showed us a walk straight from our parking spot which would take us up to the Snytindhytta mountain hut which is often used as a starting point for Møysalen peak (the highest mountain in the area). Our search for a parking spot had left us in a better position than we could have hoped for.

Walk to Snytindhytta Mountain Hut

We had a lovely quiet night’s sleep and the morning dawned clear and cold. An early start was in order, we wanted to watch the rugby later. So we set off as soon as possible, taking flasks, snacks and lunches with us as we walked into the rising sun. The route started with a gentle ascent through the woodlands with aspen and willows showing some golden autumn colours and views of the mountains ahead. We wondered if we might see moose in these woods but sadly there was nothing to see apart from distant eagles and small flitting birds.

After a small lake we ascended a steep slope to the large reservoir where the path skirted the edge of the water, crossing a small bridge where the water exited the northern end of the lake and dropped in a rushing waterfall.

The lake gave us a presentiment of what was to come, the path on the lakeside was submerged in water, sometimes more than knee deep, and we had to forge a path through the heather and rocks above to avoid wet feet.

We knew that we would need to ford the stream that enters the south end of the reservoir in order to get up the next rocky slopes. With our experience so far we were doubtful that we would be equipped for it, or indeed willing. We were right. When we got to the inlet stream we followed it for a while, looking for the crossing point, we eventually spotted the red dots of the path markers on the other side of the stream, but it looked about thigh deep at that point. We had gaiters and would have been happy to cross something up to knee deep, but a thigh deep crossing was going too far. We decided to turn around. To make up for our abridged day I spent a while picking berries on the way back, re-stocking our supply of bilberries and lingonberries.

This is where we turned around. We tried to find an easy crossing but they all required more commitment than we were prepared for.

Back at the far end of the reservoir we met a group of three hikers who asked how far we had got. We explained that we’d balked at the thought of crossing the flooded stream. They were heading up for a night at the mountain hut and were more prepared for a bit of hardship than we were, talking about taking their boots and trousers off and wading across. We wished them luck.

We made our way down to the van in plenty of time to get settled and watch the rugby. We decided to stay for a second night in our parking spot and have a couple of beers while watching the game.

That night the aurora borealis lit up the sky again. It was incredibly clear in this unpopulated area, with the dark sky and the silhouettes of the mountains providing a contrast to the pink and greens of the lights.

A plan gone awry had brought us to an unexpectedly peaceful stopover and a day of beauty. Plus we won the rugby! What more could we want?