The best time to visit Preikestolen

May and early June: it depends on the year

The trail comes clear of snow somewhere between May and June, and which of those it is depends entirely on the winter that has just happened. Some years the upper sections are walkable in early May; some years there is still hard snow in the hollows in June. April and May are statistically the driest months in this part of Norway, which is a genuine argument for late spring, but do not assume a clear trail from a dry forecast. Ask at the trailhead before you set off in May.

June to August: the good months and the crowded ones

This is when Preikestolen works without qualification. The ground is dry more often than not, the seasonal bus runs up to nine times a day, the light lasts absurdly late, and everything is open. It is also when roughly a third of a million annual visitors are concentrated, the car park fills, and the stone staircases become a single-file queue between about ten in the morning and three in the afternoon. None of that ruins it. It does mean the hour you start matters more than the month: best time of day and how to miss the crowds.

September, which is what I would tell a friend

The trail is still in summer condition, the bus is still running into the middle of the month, the light is still adequate, and the crowd drops away sharply once the school holidays end across Europe. I walk it in September more than in any other month. The one thing to watch is that October is the wettest month here and September is the slope down into it, so the weather is less reliable than August even though the trail is not.

October: the awkward month

The wettest month of the year, the bus season finished, the light going, and no snow yet to make it a winter trip. It is walkable and locals do walk it. It is the month I would least recommend to a visitor who has one day and has flown a long way, mostly because wet rock and low cloud together take away both the footing and the reason you came: weather and rain.

November to March: the guide season

The trail never formally closes. There is no gate to shut. What changes is what the trail is. Snow hides the cracks, the streams and the boulder edges; the rock ices; crampons become normal kit; and the usable daylight is short enough to plan the whole day backwards from sunset. Both Visit Norway and the trail's own operators say to go with a guide, or at least not alone, and I agree with them without reservation. Staff at the car park will advise against walking in dangerous conditions and visitors are asked to respect that, which in practice is the only closure Preikestolen has. See whether you need a guide and the winter hike.

Booking by season

The guided day below runs in the main season. For the months when the bus has stopped and the snow has arrived, the winter format is the one to look at: the winter hike.

A reminder about what that widget is. It books the ride out of Stavanger and, on most of these, a guide. It does not book Preikestolen. Nobody sells a ticket to the trail: it is free, open and unguided, and you can walk up it without paying anyone a thing.

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