Why this ride
A 102 km one-way ride from near Balestrand, about 1 h 43 of riding. On the way it passes Utsikten and Gaularfjellet. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Norwegian Scenic Route Gaularfjellet
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 102 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 43
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Norwegian Scenic Route Gaularfjellet
For 28 km this is Norwegian Scenic Route Gaularfjellet, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it. Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast.
Rider note
Check the pass is open before you commit to it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 28 km
- Named road
- Norwegian Scenic Route Gaularfjellet
- Pass
- Gaularfjellet
Norwegian Scenic Route Gaularfjellet
65 km on Norwegian Scenic Route Gaularfjellet.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 65 km
Gaularfjellet → Moskog
65 km that neither climbs nor drops much. The road settles into the ground rather than fighting it — this is where a day makes up time without anyone trying. Third and fourth, and very little else.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 65 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Balestrand
Balestrand is a village on the north shore of the Sognefjord, and it has one of the best settings in Norway: a wide, calm stretch of the fjord with mountains reaching up on all sides, orchards at the water's edge and a quiet, old-fashioned atmosphere. It has fewer than eight hundred inhabitants, and in the nineteenth century it became a destination for British and German tourists, who came by steamer to stay in the large wooden hotels. The Kviknes Hotel, a grand dragon-style building from 1877, is still in operation, and the English church of St Olaf, built by an Englishwoman who married a local painter, stands nearby. Vik and Hermansverk are the nearest towns of any size.
Read the complete Balestrand write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Balestrand is where the day begins. Next is Utsikten.
2. Utsikten
Utsikten means the view, and at Gaularfjellet that is exactly what you get: a cantilevered platform of steel and glass pushed out over the edge of a mountain, with the valley dropping away below. The viewing point stands on the road over the Gaularfjellet, the mountain that separates the Sognefjord from the Førde district, and it looks down over a vast, folded landscape of rock, forest and river, with the fjord somewhere in the haze beyond. Nearby, the water of the Gaula comes down in several falls, and the whole slope is cut by streams. Spray from the falls drifts across the road in spring.
Read the complete Utsikten write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Utsikten comes up 32 km in. Next is Gaularfjellet.
3. Gaularfjellet
The summit of the Gaularfjellet road stands at about 748 metres, which is not high by Norwegian standards, but the character of the place is that of high mountains: a bare, windswept plateau of rock, lakes and heather, with no trees and few buildings. The mountain divides the Sognefjord from the valleys of the Førde district, and the road crosses it in a series of long climbs and descents. On the plateau, lakes lie in every hollow, and in the evening they hold the colour of the sky. Sheep graze on the hills in summer, and a few mountain farms survive.
Read the complete Gaularfjellet write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
63 km in you reach Gaularfjellet. Nothing on this route is higher. Next is Moskog, mostly downhill.
4. Moskog
Moskog is a small settlement in Sunnfjord, and it sits on the edge of Førde, the main town of the area, where the Gaularfjellet road comes to its quiet end. The countryside here is gentle compared with the high mountains behind: green farmland, birch woods and small lakes, with the Jølstravatnet lake and the Førdefjord nearby. Førde, with about eight and a half thousand people, is a modern regional centre, with fuel, shops, restaurants and a hospital, and it is only about seven kilometres away. Moskog itself is a scatter of farms and houses.
Read the complete Moskog write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Moskog closes the day.
Leg by leg
Balestrand to Utsikten
Balestrand → Utsikten is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Gaularfjellet to Moskog
Gaularfjellet → Moskog is 65 km. Brakes and eyes forward; the views are behind the corners, not in them.