Highlands Bikepacking
Gravel roads and black-sand plains cross the heart of Iceland before the summer crowds arrive. Ride between steaming vents, glacial rivers, and rhyolite hills under vast spring skies — a bikepacking loop through the island’s raw interior.
Weather
Spring averages 5–12°C, summer 8–15°C, autumn 2–8°C, and winter −5 to 2°C in the Icelandic Highlands. May–June brings lingering snow on passes and long daylight for this bikepacking route. Wind across Sprengisandur can be fierce and unrelenting. River crossings run high with snowmelt early in the season — check conditions daily.
Activities
Gravel bikepacking links Landmannalaugar’s rhyolite trails with the Sprengisandur desert track across Iceland’s interior. Ride 60–80 km days on F-roads between mountain huts, with optional foot detours to hot springs and lava fields. The loop suits experienced tourers comfortable with river fords and self-supported camping.
Culture
The highlands are Iceland’s empty quarter: no shops, no petrol stations, just huts spaced a day’s ride apart. Bikepackers share shelter with hikers on the Sprengisandur and Laugavegur corridors. A tradition of leaving hut donations keeps the mountain associations running.
Natural history
Sprengisandur is a 200-square-kilometre volcanic desert between the Hofsjökull and Vatnajökull ice caps, crossed by ancient horse routes. Landmannalaugar’s rhyolite ridges glow orange and green against black lava fields. Steam vents and hot springs dot the landscape — evidence of Iceland sitting astride the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
Local food
You carry what you pack: dehydrated meals, nuts, and chocolate for the track. Restock in Reykjavík before departure — Bæjarins Beztu pylsur hot dogs for the bus ride, then trail rations from Hagkaup or Bonus. First proper meal after the loop is often lamb soup back in town.
Fun fact
Sprengisandur takes its name from a saga episode meaning “the trail that bursts open” — a reference to how the route appears to split the volcanic wasteland in two.
- Fly into: Keflavík (KEF)
- Day 1: Reykjavík, bike fit + route briefing
- Day 2–3: Landmannalaugar gravel traverse
- Day 4–5: Sprengisandur track, hut camps
- Day 6: Return to ring road, depart
- Est. total: ~$2,400