12 October 2019, by Oana Badiu
Reinebringen height: 448 m
Reinebringen trail difficulty: Medium
Reinebringen trail hike: 1 km
Reinebringen trail time: 2 - 3 h
Reinebringen hiking trail is situated close to the beautiful fishing village of Reine, so you can reserve at least half a day to visit Reine and to hike to Reinebringen.
Reinebringen peak is only 448 m high, but it offers amazing views towards Reinefjorden and the villages of Hamnøy, Sakrisøy and Reine. Reinefjorden is the most spectacular fjord in Lofoten and Reinebringen viewpoint is the most famous spot to photograph!
Check the map below for available parking places where you can leave your car in order to get to the Reinebringen trail head. We had really good luck and managed to get our car parked in the closest parking place, where there is a gorgeous view of Reine.
From this parking lot there is a trail next to the road that leads to Reinebringen trail head. Here is a map below of the actual hiking trail.
Reinebringen was on my wish list for a very long time, however I almost didn't dare to hike on it. While hiking in Norway I realised that I have a slight fear of heights, which I didn't really know I had. I have hiked to other steep places in other countries, but everywhere I have been before there were safety fences around, so the possibility of falling was very slim.
In Norway the nature is very raw, so there are no fences and all the mountains are as natural as possible. The other hiking trails I have tried during my trip to Lofoten were in not such a good condition, quite slippery ground and not that many stones in order to get a good grip. I have tried other "easy" paths before and they turned out not be that easy for me, however I am not the best hiker out there. I haven't ever lived close to mountains, so I usually don't do that much of hiking.
I have read a lot about Reinebringen and the posts I read didn't sound very good to me. Everyone was saying that this is a very steep hike, very difficult, very slippery and that there are a lot of inexperienced tourists (probably like myself) that go on this hike and put others in danger by dislodging rocks. I have also read that it is a very touristic place and I am not a big fan of crowds, especially on top of a mountain, without any safety fences. Reinebringen has claimed 4 lives until now, so I got a bit scared of this hike.
I have visited Lofoten in mid August 2019, so there weren't that many tourists. I have also read that the new sherpa steps were now open and the hike has become much safer and easier. I read that someone dies in almost all the places that I visit, so in the end, I decided to try it out. If I see that it's not for me, I can just turn back. I know that I would have been very angry with myself if I wouldn't have tried to get the most famous picture in Lofoten.
The sherpa steps were build by sherpas coming all the way from Nepal and they are not yet fully complete. Currently there are 1 560 steps that end at about 400 m altitude. For the last 50 m or so you'll need to hike on the old trail. The steps are really easy to climb, but imagine that this is 1 km of steps, so it does take some energy out of you. How long you'll spend on Reinebringen trail really depends on your level of fitness. There are places to rest and you can take your time climbing up. I consider myself in a good physical condition, so the climb up was not so excruciating. I have seen also old people with sticks on this trail, so I guess it is possible for everyone to climb Reinebringen.
When the steps end you can get a sense of how dangerous and difficult this hike would have been without the sherpa steps. There is a lot of dirt, not that many rocks and not that much grass to get a good grip. This hike is so popular that the hiking trail on this part is not in a good condition and has been worn out. It is quite easy to go up because you don't see how steep it actually is.
When I got to the viewpoint I almost got a panic attack! It is a straight vertical drop, without anything to hold you! Luckily there was a natural shelter made of rocks very close, so I just took most of the pictures from there.
After the first viewpoint there is still a bit of hiking to be done to get to the actual top, however I was too scared to go further, so I decided to stay here. If you have fear of heights, Reinebringen might not be a good place for you.
After taking a few pictures we decided to go down. Now this is more problematic for me than going up because I am so scared of losing my balance and I can also see how steep this is. I went down until the steps on my butt and I found even this to be difficult, however I was the only one going on my butt, so this puts things in perspective :)
I was very happy when I reached the steps, but it was still a bit difficult because I could see how steep this was. My legs were feeling like jelly.
Even if a bit scary, I don't regret doing this hike and I feel very happy that I managed to face some of my fears and try it out! The views from Reinebringen deserve all the publicity and they are truly beautiful! I would recommend going in the evening, when the crowds are gone.
