Best winter places in Snæfellsnes

We wrote a short list of places we consider most beautiful winter places in Snæfellsnes peninsula.

Contents

Guðrúnarlaug hot spring
Selvallavatn
Stykkishólmur
Helgafell hike
Kirkjufell
Búðakirkja
Arnarstapi cliffs
Lóndrangar cliffs
Djúpalónssandur beach
Rauðfeldsgjá gorge
Lýsuhólslaug Geothermal Baths
Sturlungalaug hot spring
Videos of Snæfellsnes in Winter

The aim of this article is not to list all of the beautiful places. We rather want to show you how some of our most favorite places in Iceland look like in winter. You can then decide for yourself, whether you want to visit a specific place or not, or whether you want to visit the place in summer or in winter, or at both times.

This post is part of our Winter Iceland articles series:

Guðrúnarlaug hot spring

Guðrúnarlaug hot spring in winter

Guðrúnarlaug hot spring is accessible also in winter, just take special care where you leave your car. You can’t park in the middle of the road and neither on a private property. And everywhere else is usually a lot of snow.

Bathing in Guðrúnarlaug in winter

When we visited Guðrúnarlaug in the beginning of March, we were there alone. Water was considerably less hot compared to summer, but still warm. Surroundings of Guðrúnarlaug were even more quiet and peaceful than in summer.

Here is a short video of our Guðrúnarlaug hot spring visit in winter.

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Selvallavatn

Selvallavatn viewpoint is a nice short stop to take a quick look over nearby hills and also to see a nice little waterfall Selvallafoss, which looks like a miniature of famous Seljalandsfoss in the south. Selvallavatn is a nice introduction to Snæfellsnes peninsula.

Stykkishólmur

Stykkishólmur in winter

Stykkishólmur is a nice coastal town worth a short stop if you want to go for a coffee, buy some groceries, refill gas or just chill a bit in a cozy village. There’s nothing special to visit in winter, though, other than soaking up some winter Icelandic atmosphere.

Wind playing with horses’ hair. One of our favorite shots.

We’ve caught not only a fairy-tale like weather on our way to Stykkishólmur, but also a group of amazingly beautiful Icelandic horses. These two factors combined resulted in one of our favorite series of horse pictures we’ve made in Iceland.

Here is a short video of our meeting with horses in winter.

Helgafell hike

Helgafell hike in winter

Helgafell is one of the easiest and most beautiful hikes we’ve done in Iceland in winter. And a pretty underrated one. We’ve actually discovered Helgafell hill only thanks to our accommodation, which was located just around the corner. Almost no foreign visitors know about Helgafell. Hike to the peak of Helgafell takes only about 10 minutes and on a nice day guarantees beautiful views all around the area. Helgafell is accessible also in winter and with some effort almost everyone can climb a few hundreds of meters up to the summit.

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Here is a short video of our Helgafell hike in winter.

Kirkjufell

Kirkjufell in winter

Kirkjufell, the most photographed mountain in Iceland, is of course well accessible also in winter. And very touristy too. Kirkjufell is undoubtedly one of the most touristy places in Iceland. Nevertheless, if you haven’t been there yet (at all, or just not in winter), it’s totally worth a visit, because it’s beautiful regardless of the crowds.

Here is a short video of our Kirkjufell visit in winter.

Búðakirkja

Búðakirkja in winter

Búðakirkja is well accessible also in winter, if roads on Snæfellsnes are, of course, accessible too. Once again, check www.road.is for that. Búðakirkja is one of the most picturesque churches in Iceland, and probably also in the world. Its black colors contrasting with white snow are a perfect setup for an amazing winter picture.

Arnarstapi cliffs

Arnarstapi cliffs in winter

Arnarstapi is a beautiful coastal village and cliff area well accessible also in winter. A stroll around Arnarstapi coast was one of our most favorite easy walks in winter Iceland. We were lucky to catch a day with nice weather so we could enjoy the cliffs fighting with the winter sea waves to the fullest. It took us around 30 minutes to walk around entire Arnarstapi.

Arnarstapi in winter

Here is a short video of our Arnarstapi visit in winter.

Lóndrangar cliffs

Lóndrangar cliffs in winter – eastern viewpoint

Lóndrangar cliffs are well accessible also in winter. Lóndrangar is definitely the most famous cliff in Snæfellsnes peninsula and most likely also the most picturesque one. There’s a viewing deck both east and west of the cliffs. The best view of Lóndrangar cliffs is in our opinion from the eastern deck, ideally before lunch, when the sun is shining to the west, not from the west (into your face).

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Londrangar western viewpoint

Here is a short video of our Londrangar visit in winter.

Djúpalónssandur beach

Djúpalónssandur beach in winter

We visited Djúpalónssandur beach only in winter and the beach is well accessible in winter. We think Djúpalónssandur is a bit overrated, it’s just a nice black sand beach – as are many other beaches (or here, or here) in Iceland. Just this one is usually accompanied with many visitors.

Rauðfeldsgjá gorge

Rauðfeldsgjá gorge is the most popular gorge in Snæfellsnes and one of the most popular gorges in Iceland too. Rauðfeldsgjá gorge is mostly not accessible in winter, due to narrow trail often covered by snow, which can be dangerously slippery.

Lýsuhólslaug Geothermal Baths

Lýsuhólslaug hot spring

Lýsuhólslaug is open regularly only during summer. Lýsuhólslaug is open in winter only on selected weekends, announced on the facebook page of the baths.

Sturlungalaug hot spring

Sturlungalaug hot spring is a wild hot spring working, of course, all-year-round. The main issue about getting to Sturlungalaug is the road, though. Or, better said, a track. The only way to get to Sturlungalaug (other than hiking for about an hour) is by driving a Sturlungalaug dirt track. And this dirt track is most of the time unmaintained in winter. This means, Sturlungalaug is not accessible in winter for regular 4wd cars, only for big jeeps or for hikers.