Aurlandsfjellet Snow Road
A 620 km loop
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Why this ride
Built for flow, views and useful stops rather than navigation busywork. Out of Askim and back again: 620 km, roughly 11 h 29 in the saddle. On the way it passes Scenic stretch near Sande, near Prestfoss and near Våler. in Larkollen is the high point.
Roadbook
- Fuel stop near Askim
fuel
The Glomma, Norway's longest river, swings past Askim on its way to the sea, and the town grew up on the energy it provides. A large hydroelectric plant at Solbergfoss harnesses the river nearby, and in the twentieth century Askim became known for its rubber works, which turned out tyres and boots for half of Norway. Today it is the main town of the inland Østfold district, with a modern centre, schools and shops, surrounded by wide farmland, lakes and forested ridges.
For riders, Askim is a gateway rather than a destination. The E18 runs straight past on its way towards Sweden, and the county roads around it head off through gentle, open countryside towards the lakes and the river. Much of the landscape here was shaped by the last Ice Age: the great Ra moraines, long ridges of gravel and boulders left by the retreating ice, cross Østfold, and some of the gentle high ground you ride over is exactly that.
Roads are smooth and quiet outside commuter hours, but the speed limits are low by continental standards and well policed. Moose are a real hazard at dawn and dusk, particularly where forest meets field; the warning signs are not decoration. Spring brings frost heaves on smaller roads, and gravel lingers on bends after winter.
Askim has several fuel stations, supermarkets and cafés, making it a sensible place to fill up and buy food before the long drive west towards the fjords. Norway is expensive, so a picnic from a supermarket is a common and perfectly respectable lunch for travelling riders. Take a short walk down to the riverbank before setting off; the Glomma is broad and powerful here, a reminder of how much water drains out of the mountains to the north.
- High point in Larkollen
pass
You top out here; the road stops climbing.
- Scenic stretch near Sande
scenic
Sande is where the inner Oslofjord pinches into a quiet bay, the Sandebukta, between Drammen and Holmestrand. The E18 thunders past it, and most traffic never slows down, but turn off and you find a gentle green landscape of farmland, low wooded ridges and small boat harbours, far softer than the fjord country further west that the bigger rides are heading for.
This is a transit area more than a riding playground. The main roads are fast and well surfaced, with speed limits enforced by cameras on long stretches of the E18 and Norwegian fines that are painful by any standard. The minor roads towards the shore and up into the Vestfold hills are narrower and more relaxed, curving between fields and spruce plantations, with occasional glimpses of the fjord. In spring the fields are a vivid green, and on long summer evenings the light lingers until well past ten.
The bay itself is a decent place to stop. The water is sheltered, often flat as glass, and you can see across to the wooded headlands of the Hurum peninsula. Holmestrand, a few kilometres south, sits under dramatic cliffs and is worth a glance if you have time. Drammen, just to the north, is the bigger town, with a river that has been cleaned up over the past decades and a famous corkscrew road tunnel spiralling up through the hill above the city.
Sande has fuel and a supermarket, and the larger stations along the E18 are open long hours. Prices in Norway are high, coffee included, so it is not a bad idea to take advantage of a full-service stop here before heading inland on the long run towards Hardanger, where distances between villages stretch out and the ferries set the pace.
- Photo stop near Prestfoss
photo
Prestfoss is the main village of Sigdal, a long, green valley west of Drammen, where the river Simoa flows south between forested mountains. The village sits at a waterfall on the river, and around it the valley opens into farmland, with old wooden farmhouses, red barns and meadows.
Sigdal is closely associated with the painter Theodor Kittelsen, famous for his drawings and paintings of trolls, forest spirits and the dark, mysterious side of Norwegian folklore. He lived for some years in Sigdal, at a house called Lauvlia, near Prestfoss, which he designed and decorated himself. Today it is a museum, with his works, furniture and the atmosphere of the place where he lived and worked. Visiting it, you can almost feel the trolls lurking in the forest outside.
The valley also has the Sigdal Museum, an open-air collection of old farm buildings, and Eggedal, further up the valley, is the home of the painter Christian Skredsvig's farm, Hagan, also a museum. The landscape of Sigdal inspired several Norwegian painters of the nineteenth century.
For riders, Rv287 through Sigdal is a lovely road, with gentle curves along the river and views of the valley and the mountains. Traffic is light, especially outside the summer holidays. Speed limits are low and enforced. Fuel and food are available in Prestfoss. As a start, finish and photo stop, the valley, with its old farms and forested slopes, is classic Norwegian scenery.
- Food stop near Våler
food
Food at 354 km, roughly 7 hours into the riding.
- Near Flisa, on the way back
swim
The country is a mosaic of spruce and pine, small farms, bogs and long, slow lakes, running east toward the Swedish border, and it has a quiet, lonely character that suits a rider who has had enough of crowds. Kirkenær, the nearest town, has barely twelve hundred people.
The woods here have a distinctive history. In the seventeenth century, Finnish settlers, drawn by the chance of cheap land and a way of farming that involved burning the forest to grow rye, moved into the area and became known as the forest Finns. They brought their language, their log smoke saunas and their folklore, and their culture survived in the Finnskogen for centuries. At Grue, a church fire in 1822 killed more than a hundred people, one of the worst such disasters in the country, and the present church stands as a memorial.
Riding here is calm, with long, straight roads through the forest, gentle rolls and few bends. The surface is generally good, and traffic is light, though timber lorries use the main routes. The risk is moose, which are common and can cross the road at dawn and dusk, so keep your speed down in the woods and watch the verges. The forest is at its best in September, when the birch leaves turn and the light is low.
The lakes are good for swimming, with soft, brown water and quiet beaches that are often empty. Fuel is available at Kirkenær and Våler, but pumps may be unmanned, and cards are the norm, so carry one that works in Norway. Shops close early, and distances are long, so plan your meals. Bring mosquito repellent in summer, because the forest is full of insects, and a warm layer for the evening. The silence at night is deep.
- Near Nesoddtangen
finish
Out on the Oslofjord, between the Nesodden peninsula and the western shore near Slemmestad, the water is wide, island-studded and busy with sails on summer weekends. This point sits in that stretch of fjord country, a few kilometres from Nesoddtangen, where wooded shores, smooth granite skerries and summer cabins line the water, and the towers of Oslo are visible to the north. The ferries that cross the fjord, and the many small boats, give the area a maritime feel.
The shores on both sides tell different stories. Nesodden has long been a refuge for artists and writers seeking quiet and nature close to the city, and its wooded hills and small coves are popular for walks and swimming. Slemmestad, on the western side, grew around a large cement factory that operated for most of the twentieth century, using the limestone of the area, and its industrial buildings now house a museum. The islands of the fjord, many now protected, are popular for swimming, picnics and camping in the long summer evenings.
The Sognefjellet ride is one of Norway's great mountain roads, but it starts a long way from here. The road heads north through the valleys of Valdres or Gudbrandsdalen to Lom, with its wooden stave church, and then climbs over the Sognefjell between the peaks of Jotunheimen, reaching around 1,400 metres, the highest mountain pass road in northern Europe. In early summer, the road runs between walls of snow, and the views of glaciers and peaks are extraordinary. It then descends in a series of tight hairpins to Skjolden at the end of the Sognefjord. The pass is closed in winter, usually from autumn until late spring, so check the dates before you plan.
Riding in Norway requires patience. Speed limits are low and fines are heavy, tunnels are long and cold, and the roads are often narrow and winding. Tolls are collected automatically, and ferries are part of many routes. Weather can change quickly in the mountains, with rain, fog and even snow possible in summer.
Fuel, food and supplies are easy to find around Oslo and its suburbs, but stations become sparse in the mountains, so fill up whenever you can. Pack warm, waterproof clothes, even in July. Before leaving, take a moment by the fjord to watch the light on the water, especially in the long, golden evenings of midsummer.
- Back to Aurlandsfjellet
finish
The name on the label belongs to the high mountain road far to the west, but the place on the map is low, green, farm country, and a good deal more peaceful than the label suggests.
Askim, with around twelve thousand people, grew along the Glomma, Norway's longest river, which here flows broad and slow towards the Oslofjord. For much of the twentieth century the town was famous for its rubber factory, and Viking boots made in Askim were on the feet of fishermen, farmers and soldiers around the country. Mysen, a little smaller, is the centre of the inner Østfold area, with a railway line and a typical Norwegian mix of timber houses and modern shopping. Around both, the land is a patchwork of grain fields, woodland and small lakes.
The roads are quiet and easy. You can ride long, gentle straights between farms, with rolling hills and the occasional blind crest where a tractor may be waiting. The surface is generally good, and the E18 passes close by if you need to make time. In spring there is often gravel from winter treatments on the edges, and in autumn wet leaves can make shaded bends slippery. Elk are a real hazard at dawn and dusk, so keep your eyes on the verges.
Fuel is no trouble, as Askim has several stations and supermarkets, and Mysen has more. It is the sort of place where you can buy a pastry and a coffee without a fuss and sit on a bench by the river. Prices are Norwegian, so expect everything to cost more than at home.
If you have time, find a spot beside the Glomma and watch it pass. In late summer the water is warm, the fields are golden and the light is long, and you realise the south of Norway has an agricultural side that most visitors never see. It is a gentle contrast to the dramatic passes the ride is named after.