Hiking Preikestolen in the rain
The odds, so you can plan honestly
Stavanger gets something like 1,310 millimetres of rain over about 162 days a year. October is the wettest month; April and May are the driest. On a week-long trip you should expect rain on some of it and build the day around a forecast rather than a hope. If you only have one possible day, take the one you have and prepare for it. The monthly picture is on weather and rain.
What wet rock actually does
The last part of the walk is bare granite along the fjord edge, and the middle of it is boulder field. Wet, those surfaces are considerably more slippery than they look, because granite does not change colour much and there is no visual cue. Lichen and the smooth worn patches where three hundred thousand people a year put their feet are the worst of it. On the descent, tired and moving faster, that is where people go down, which is the subject of the injuries page.
Low cloud is the other half. The plateau sits at 604 metres and cloud sits on it regularly. I am not going to tell you how often, because that is not documented and I have seen made-up percentages for it. What I will say is that walking four to five hours to stand in a grey nothing is a real outcome, and that the fjord sometimes opens up for thirty seconds and closes again, and that some of my favourite times up there were in weather nobody would photograph.
When to turn back
What works
- Steady rain, decent visibility, and a party in proper boots: a good day, walk it
- Rain that starts halfway with the wind staying down: keep going, take the edge seriously
- Cloud with no wind: the walk still works, expect no view
- Turning round at any point, which nobody will judge and the official advice encourages
Worth knowing
- Wind strong enough to push you on the open rock: that is a turn-back, not a challenge
- Ice, or the temperature dropping towards it while you are on the boulder field
- Visibility short enough that you are looking for the next T rather than seeing it
- Anyone in the group already cold at the halfway point: the clothing problem
Staff at the car park will advise against going up in dangerous conditions, and visitors are asked to respect that. In practice that advice is the only closure Preikestolen has, and it is worth more than your plan for the day.
November to March
Rain becomes a different question in winter. Both Visit Norway and the trail’s own operators say to go with a guide, or at least not alone, because snow hides cracks and streams, the rock ices, and the daylight is short. Crampons are normal kit. Wet and cold together on an unfenced plateau is the combination that catches people out: the winter hike and when you need a guide.
And if the forecast has written the day off entirely, the Lysefjord cruise still runs under the cliff with a roof over your head, which is not the same experience and is a good deal better than a wet car park.
Put the waterproof on before you are wet, not after. The mistake I watch people make is walking the first climb in a fleece because it is only drizzle, arriving damp at the boulder field and then being cold for the rest of the day with dry clothes in the bag.
What there is to book
Not the trail. Nobody sells a ticket to Preikestolen and nobody can, so anything you pay for is something else: the ride out of Stavanger, the guide who walks it with you, or the boat that shows you the cliff from the water. Which of the three you actually need is set out on the bookings page and in the comparison.
Frequently asked questions
Is it safe to hike Preikestolen in the rain?
People do it constantly. Wet granite is slicker than it looks, so the descent needs care, and strong wind on the open rock is a reason to turn back.
Does the trail close in bad weather?
It never formally closes. Staff at the car park will advise against walking in dangerous conditions and visitors are asked to respect that.
Will I see anything in cloud?
Possibly not. The plateau sits at 604 metres and cloud sits on it regularly. No page can promise you the view.