Taking Stock in Olderdalen

17/09/2025

Olderdalen is a village on the edge of the Lyngenfjord.  From Olderdalen a ferry crosses the fjord to the Lyngen peninsular with it’s majestic glacier clad mountains. We drove to Olderdalen intending to do a bit of shopping and then take the ferry.

Planning fatigue can easily set in on longer trips and we’d got to that point again. Spending every evening deciding what the next few days should look like, and the constant readjustment of plans to take account of weather and our own preferences, can lead to a bit of mental exhaustion. First world problems, but we were tired of being on the go. We knew that the rough course of action was to take the ferry but we had not looked at the details of what we would do next. We also needed to factor in a working day for me and a couple of attractions we didn’t want to miss. We needed to give ourselves some time to relax and take stock.

Olderdalen

So instead of getting straight on the ferry we tried to park up in Olderdalen to chill and plan without any pressure. We drove into the village but couldn’t find a car park where we were allowed to stay so drove back out and found a bit of waste ground by the river suggested by Park4Night.

It actually wasn’t a bad spot, we were nestled comfortably in a small parking area that no one else seemed to know existed, protected from the noise of the road by a row of trees. We got our phones out and did a bit of planning for the next few days. Looking at the weather forecast, the attractions we wanted to see and the possible parking options we decided that we’d take the ferry in a few days rather than right away. I booked a campsite for me to work from and we relaxed knowing that the next three days were sorted.

One of our decisions was to stop for the night where we were so that we could do a bike ride the following morning. We settled in for some dinner and as the evening closed in we went for a quick walk out of the back of the carpark down to the sea. The glorious sunset across the Lyngenfjord was matched a few hours later by another aurora display. We wandered outside, gazing at the skies unable to believe how lucky we were to have seen them for the fourth time.

Bike Ride

Our bike ride was an exploration of the Olderdalen valley. A tautology as ‘dalen’ comes from the same roots as ‘dale’ and ‘vale’. You can guarantee that any place with a name ending in ‘dalen’ is in, or at the entrance to, a valley.

Our ride started through the woods with lots of slippery tree roots, it then became more soggy and boggy. A few boards were placed over the deepest sections, both a help and a balancing challenge. We desperately tried not to put our feet down, any misstep was going to leave us with wet socks and cold feet.

Higher up in the valley we got some good views over the river and back down the valley. Some enjoyable single track led back down towards the river, but once we were back over the river we were into marshy territory once again. We decided to take the path of least resistance back to Olderdalen. We got slightly mired trying to cut across to a track, but once there we were down the valley back to the church where the path had started in no time. All in all not the most successful bike ride but one that we might have found more enjoyable if it had been a little drier.

We popped into the supermarket on the way back where we felt a bit conspicuous in our mud caked leggings. The staff didn’t bat an eyelid though. We’ve got so used to the trustworthy Norwegian culture that we didn’t even lock our bikes when we went in the shop – a habit we need to break for other countries.

Løkvollstranda Camping

After stripping off our muddy outer layers and dumping them in the bathroom we drove around the edge of the fjord to the campsite where we were to spend the next couple of nights. It was unstaffed, but as we’d already booked we pitched up all alone on the site. Later a couple more motorhomes turned up and several people in cars booked into the small hytte (cabins) on site.

I rang the number on the door of the reception and someone came down within 15 minutes to give us a key to the shower block and another key to the laundry room. Both showers and laundry were extra costs but we were quite happy to pay to have a good soak in unlimited hot water and we really needed to clean our muddy cycling gear. Many things here in Norway are done on trust, we could have used the keys to have any number of showers or do multiple loads of washing.

We went for a walk down to the harbour where several red rorbuer (fishing huts) with living roofs lined the edge of the marina. Once we’d explored Paul disappeared off to do some fishing while I went back to finish the laundry and do a bit of work. The fishing was a success, we had fresh cod for dinner and the next day, while I was working, Paul caught another cod which we filleted for the freezer. Much as we both love fish we don’t always want to eat it every day.

In the evenings we planned out what we would do on the other side of the Lyngen Fjord while watching the sunsets from the comfort of the van.

Pink sunset