Winter, when a guide stops being optional
What actually changes
The trail never formally closes. There is no barrier, no sign that says no, and staff at the car park will advise against walking in dangerous conditions and expect visitors to respect that. In practice that is the only closure there is, and it puts the decision on you.
What changes under snow is that the ground stops telling you the truth. A smooth white surface over a boulder field is not a smooth surface. Streams keep running under it. The bare rock of the last stretch, which is the easiest walking in July, becomes the part that needs crampons. Add daylight that runs out in the middle of the afternoon and a plateau with no railing, and the case for going with someone who has walked it a hundred times in these conditions makes itself.
Nine hours, and the reviewers on it
LIN, from Taiwan, found the scenery great and the guide friendly, and said the timings felt tight. A Norwegian reviewer described eight kilometres there and back with sections that climb a lot, and called it not easy for a complete beginner. Another praised the guide, Hege, for her patience. Take all three at face value: this is a long, serious winter day, run by people who are good at it, and the clock is part of the challenge rather than an accident.
If that reads as a warning, it is meant to. Winter here is genuinely worth doing, on a clear February morning with the fjord black below the snow, and I would not talk anyone out of it. I would talk them out of doing it alone.
Included
- A Lysefjord cruise and a guided hike, in one nine-hour day
- A guide who walks the route in these conditions regularly
- Crampons provided when the ice requires them
- The transport out and back
Not included
- Warm, windproof layers and above-ankle waterproof boots of your own
- A headlamp, which in these months is not optional kit
- A guarantee of conditions: winter days get called off and that is correct
- A view: the plateau sits in cloud often enough in any season
- Children under five, who should not be taken up in winter conditions
What works
- Removes the one real hazard of the off-season, which is judgement about the ground
- Crampons are provided rather than something you have to source in Stavanger
- The fjord in winter, from a boat, is worth the ticket on its own
- Far fewer people on the trail than in any summer month
- A guide who will turn the group round, which is harder to do on your own
Worth knowing
- Nine hours, in the shortest daylight of the year
- One reviewer found the timings tight, and that is worth planning around
- Only twenty published reviews
- Not a beginner’s walk, whatever the summer photographs suggest
Tell someone your plan before you go, even on a guided day, and carry a headlamp whatever the forecast says. In an emergency in Norway the number is 113. That is the standard advice for this trail in every season and it costs nothing to follow.
Book the winter day
Live availability is below. If the walking half is more than you want in these months, the cruise on its own shows you the cliff from the water in three and a half hours, with no ice involved at all.
If this one is not right
No hiking at allStavanger: Electric Fjord Cruise to Lysefjord & Preikestolen
From the cruise terminalStavanger: Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock) Hike with Local Guide
8 people maximumStavanger/Sandnes: Preikestolen Guided Hidden Nature Hike
Those dates don’t work?
Browse the other Preikestolen hikes and Lysefjord cruises running from Stavanger, and pick the day that suits you — instant confirmation.
Frequently asked questions
Can you hike Preikestolen in winter?
Yes, and the trail never formally closes, but from November to March the advice is to go with a guide or at least not alone: why that changes.
Is the trail closed in winter?
No. Staff at the car park advise against walking in dangerous conditions and visitors are asked to respect that. The seasons are compared on this page.
Do I need crampons?
In ice, yes, and this tour provides them when conditions call for it. The rest of the winter kit list is on the clothing page.
How short is the daylight?
Short enough that a nine-hour day is planned around it. Rogaland is well south of the Arctic Circle, so this is winter dark, not polar night: when to start.