Telemark Canal Roads
A 349 km loop
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Why this ride
A rider’s loop: clean exit, memorable middle, calm return. Out of Røyken and back again: 349 km, roughly 7 h 15 in the saddle. It goes by way of Sandvika, Scenic stretch near Grua and near Maura. The climb of the day is near Drammen.
Roadbook
- Fuel stop near Røyken
fuel
Røyken sits on the hilly neck of land between the Drammensfjord and the Oslofjord, south-west of Oslo, a mix of villages, farms, forests and commuter housing. It is a practical place to fill the tank before heading south through the Hurum peninsula or west towards Drammen and Telemark.
The area is linked to the eastern side of the Oslofjord by the Oslofjord tunnel, opened in 2000, which dives steeply under the fjord from Hurum to Drøbak. The tunnel is long and steep, with gradients that test heavy vehicles, and it has been upgraded to improve safety. For riders, it is a fast way across, though the descent and climb can feel endless.
The landscape around Røyken is gentle and green, with rolling farmland, patches of forest and views over the fjords. The villages are quiet, with old churches and farms, and the shore has beaches and small harbours popular in summer.
As a start and fuel stop, Røyken has service stations and shops. From here, the roads lead south along the fjord, west towards Drammen and the Telemark canal, or north towards Oslo. Traffic can be heavy on the main roads, especially at commuting times, but the minor roads are quiet. Speed limits are low and enforced, and speed cameras are common. Surfaces are generally good, though frost heave can make some roads bumpy.
- High point near Drammen
pass
Drammen is a city on the river Drammenselva, where it flows into the Drammensfjord, south-west of Oslo. Once an industrial town with a polluted river, it has transformed itself over the past few decades, cleaning up the river, building parks and promenades along its banks, and restoring its old buildings. Today it is a pleasant, lively city, with a fine square at Bragernes, a theatre and riverside cafés.
The city's most unusual attraction is Spiralen, a road tunnel that corkscrews up inside the hill of Bragernesåsen, behind the city centre. It was built in the early 1960s, partly to provide stone for construction, and it makes six full turns inside the mountain before emerging near the top, where a viewpoint offers a panorama over the city, the river and the fjord. Riding up through the spiral is a strange, dizzying experience, and the view at the top is superb.
The hills around Drammen are forested and laced with trails, popular with walkers and skiers. From the top of Spiralen, paths lead into the forest, and on clear days you can see far across the fjord and the surrounding countryside.
For riders, Drammen is a gateway to the roads west towards Telemark and the mountains. Traffic can be heavy in the city and on the E18, but the roads into the hills are quieter. Speed limits are low and enforced. Fuel and food are plentiful in Drammen. As a high point, the viewpoint at the top of Spiralen is the obvious choice.
- Near Sandvika
finish
You end the day in Bærum, the big, comfortable municipality that runs west from Oslo along the fjord, and Sandvika is its centre: a cluster of offices, shopping and apartment blocks where two rivers come out into a sheltered inlet. It is suburban, yes, but suburban with sea water, small islands and wooded hills behind, and after a long ride through mountain country that is not a bad place to roll to a halt.
The hills you see behind Sandvika are the edge of Vestmarka and Krokskogen, big forests that Oslo people treat as their back garden, full of lakes, cabins and ski tracks. In the other direction lies the inner Oslofjord, dotted with islands. Kalvøya, just off Sandvika, is a green island reached on foot over a bridge and became famous for open-air rock festivals in the 1970s and 1980s. A short way east along the shore at Høvikodden, the Henie Onstad Art Centre was founded by the Olympic figure skater Sonja Henie and her husband, and its collection of modern art and the sculpture park on the point are well worth an hour if you still have the energy.
Riding in is mostly a matter of motorway and traffic. The E18 and E16 meet here and carry heavy commuter flows, and rush hour around Sandvika can be slow, with tunnels, merging lanes and speed cameras. Norway runs automatic toll stations around Oslo and Bærum, charged by registration plate, so if you are on a foreign bike, register in advance or expect an invoice to follow you home. Lane filtering is not legal, so patience is the only option.
The good news is that everything is here. Sandvika has fuel stations, supermarkets, a large shopping centre and plenty of places to eat, and the train into central Oslo takes just a few minutes if you want to park the bike and go out for the evening. The fjord path along the shore is pleasant for a walk once the helmet is off.
It is worth thinking back over the miles. Behind you lie the canal locks of Telemark or the switchbacks of Trollstigen and Geiranger, depending on which ride brought you here, and for a big tour the gentle lights of Bærum at dusk feel like a calm full stop. Get the bike under cover, find something to eat, and let the corners settle in your head.
- Scenic stretch near Grua
scenic
Scenic stretch near Grua, about halfway.
- Photo stop near Maura
photo
North of Oslo, beyond the airport at Gardermoen, the land opens into a quiet country of farms, forests and lakes. Maura is a small village here, in the municipality of Nannestad, and it gives a sense of rural Norway within an hour of the capital, with red barns, white farmhouses and spruce forests stretching to the horizon.
The area has a long history. A short ride east lies Eidsvoll, where in 1814 the Norwegian constitution was signed in a manor house, an event celebrated every year on 17 May, the national day. The house is now a museum and a place of national pride. To the north, the lake of Hurdalsjøen stretches through a valley of forests, with quiet roads along its shores.
Roads wind through the forests and farmland, with gentle curves and occasional hills. Traffic is light outside the commuter routes, but speed limits are low and enforced, and moose and deer can be a hazard, especially at dawn and dusk. In spring and autumn, the weather can be changeable, and gravel and frost damage make some roads uneven.
Maura has few services, so fuel and food are best found in Jessheim or near the airport, where there are plenty of options. Coffee and a waffle with brown cheese, a Norwegian classic, make a good break. The Telemark Canal lies far to the south-west, past Oslo, so treat this as a calm stretch before the busier roads around the capital.
- Near Rømskog, on the way back
swim
Out where Norway runs into Sweden along a line of forest and water, Rømskog sits on the shore of Rømsjøen, a long lake surrounded by spruce and pine. Until a recent merger it was one of the smallest municipalities in the country, and it still feels like the end of the road: a few farms, a church, a school and endless trees.
This stop lies a few kilometres from the village, in country where lakes outnumber people. Swimming is easy to find: any lake shore with a rock or a sandy patch will do, and Norway's right to roam, allemannsretten, allows you to swim and walk almost anywhere, provided you respect private gardens and farmland. The water is clear, brown-tinged from the peat, and in July it can be surprisingly warm on the surface, though it chills fast below.
The forest is home to moose, deer, foxes and the occasional lynx, and in the early morning and evening, moose crossing the road are a real danger. Take it slowly at dawn and dusk, especially on the narrow gravel roads that branch off the main routes.
The riding is quiet and gentle, with narrow roads winding through forest and along lakes. The surface can be rough, with frost heaves, gravel and potholes, and some side roads are unpaved. Traffic is minimal, and you may ride for long stretches without seeing another vehicle.
Practicalities matter here. Fuel is scarce, and the nearest reliable stations are in Bjørkelangen or Mysen, so plan accordingly. Food is limited to small shops in the villages, so carry snacks and water. In summer the light lasts late into the evening, and a swim in a still lake with the forest around you is one of the simplest pleasures Scandinavia has to offer.
- Food stop near Mysen
food
Mysen is the main town of Eidsberg, in the inland part of Østfold, south-east of Oslo, and it is the sort of Norwegian town that rarely appears in travel brochures: a railway station, a shopping street, a few cafés and a calm, practical air. Around it lies some of the most productive farmland in Norway, rolling fields of grain broken by patches of spruce and birch forest, red barns and white farmhouses.
The area has deep roots. Eidsberg church, a medieval stone church on a rise just outside the town, has stood for the better part of eight centuries, and the countryside is dotted with burial mounds and old farm names that go back to the Viking age and earlier. In 1814, during the brief war with Sweden that followed Norway's declaration of independence, fighting took place in this border region, and memorials recall the skirmishes.
As a food stop and finish, Mysen does the job well. There are cafés, bakeries and a few restaurants in the centre, and supermarkets where you can pick up supplies. Norwegian food is hearty and simple: open sandwiches, fish cakes, meatballs with brown sauce, waffles with brown cheese, and plenty of strong coffee. Prices are high by European standards, so be prepared.
The riding around Mysen is gentle and pleasant, with roads winding through farmland and forest, and very little traffic. Surfaces are generally good, though frost heave can make some roads bumpy. Speed limits are low and enforced. Fuel is available in town. After a long day on the Telemark roads, it is a quiet, unhurried place to stop.
- Back to Telemark
finish
It is the edge of the Oslo region, a wooded landscape of low hills, farms, inlets and small boats, with the Hurum peninsula to the south and the Drammensfjord to the west. After the Telemark canal roads, this is the way home.
The riding is gentle and varied. Narrow roads run through spruce and birch forest, with bends, rises and views over water, and the surface is generally good, with patched sections. Traffic is moderate, building at commuter hours on the main roads towards Oslo. In summer, the lanes are busy with cyclists, and in winter, ice can linger on shaded roads. Early autumn, with gold leaves and still water, is the best time.
The fjord has a strong story. At the narrows near Drøbak, a short way to the south-east, the old fortress of Oscarsborg sank the German cruiser Blücher on the night of 8 to 9 April 1940, delaying the invasion force and giving the king and the government time to leave Oslo. The Hurum peninsula has the old village of Holmsbu, where painters gathered in the early twentieth century, and many old wooden houses with white trim. Asker has a museum of local history and a long coastline of sheltered coves.
Fuel and food are easy in Asker, which has stations, supermarkets and many cafes, and Røyken has smaller services. Norwegian bakeries sell excellent cinnamon rolls and open sandwiches, and a coffee with a waffle is a typical afternoon treat. The commuter train runs from Asker to Oslo in about twenty minutes.
If the weather is calm, sit by the water for a while. The fjord at dusk is quiet, with the smell of seaweed and wet pine.