Skapet is the best hike in Norway you’ve probably never heard of. You’ll walk through the gorgeous Norwegian mountains to a remote sauna on the edge of a lake which makes for a truly unforgettable experience. The relatively easy trail takes you alongside crystal clear streams surrounded by mountains, far away from the crowds of the more popular hikes near Stavanger.

We’re big fans of the Nordic sauna culture and the one at Skapet is seriously special. The wood fired sauna is right beside an icy cold creek so you can go fully native with the hot/cold plunge experience.

You can also opt to spend the night at one of the amazing cabins beside the lake, though we personally only visited as a day trip.

Here’s everything you need to know to plan your visit, starting with the sauna experience and followed by the hiking trail notes.

The Skapet sauna experience

Skapet is a collection of six gorgeous cabins and a large shared kitchen space which has small bunk rooms attached. There are communal non flush toilets and water is retrieved from the creek for hand washing and washing dishes.

The sauna is located a hundred or so metres away from the other buildings so it feels very private. The view is absolutely glorious even on the most overcast of days like we had.

Hopping between the heat of the sauna and cold of the creek is guaranteed to make you feel alive! You could even go down to the lake for a dip, but it looked shallow and rocky around the edges so I preferred to dunk myself in the creek, it’s also shallow but it does the job!

You need to book the sauna ahead of time to secure your spot. Bookings are for one hour and only begin after 5pm (we’re still not sure why it starts so late!). There are 5 time slots, between 5pm and 10pm.

We opted for the first slot of 5pm as we were visiting for the day and wanted to get back to Stavanger at a somewhat reasonable time after doing a couple of very late night hikes at Pulpit Rock and the Kjerag!

If you come for the first time slot, you need to arrive an hour in advance because you will be heating the sauna yourself.

All the wood is supplied, so you just need to get the fire going and then keep it cranking throughout your session.

Fire starters are supplied as well as a small amount of kindling. It took the sauna around 40 ish minutes to get going so if you take this early slot you get a little more sauna time than the later slots - though if no one comes in behind you, you can no doubt stay longer.

Even if you take one of the later slots, you should still arrive an hour early on the off chance that no one is in the sauna before you and you still need to heat it up.

There is a shower you can use attached to the sauna which you fill up yourself, you can opt for cold water straight from the creek or mix it with water you’ve heated from the sauna (remember to put the cold water into the sauna water tank while the fire is not going).

The sauna is pretty big, positively huge for two people, so you could definitely come with a group if you wanted to. When you’ve finished you simply sweep it out and head off.

Bookings for the sauna are made through the DNT (Norwegian Trekking Association) which you can do here. Alas, it’s more expensive for non members at 425 NOK (approx USD $45 or 39 Euros) but well worth it for the experience. The price is for the entire sauna not per person.

Strangely, no matter how into the weeds I go, I can’t see the max number of people you’re allowed in the sauna on one booking, so if you’re planning to go with a group, it’s probably best to contact the DNT first.

Definitely book ahead of time because we didn’t have phone signal at the site and there were no cabin attendants either (though they are usually there on weekends and public holidays).

If you’re staying at the hut you are still supposed to pay for the sauna, but based on our experience I am not sure if that really happens or not!

The cabins: what to expect and which have the best views

We were hoping to stay at one of the gorgeous cabins on the lake, but in the end they proved to be a little out of our budget. However, we did have a thorough explore so we can offer some advice if you’re interested in staying.

There are six individual cabins that are slightly separated from the communal kitchen and bunk rooms.

The cabins cost 2415 NOK for non members (approx US$255 or €222). This is the total cost for the cabin, so if there are more of you it will work out much better value. It would be very cosy with more than two people but you would probably spend most of your time outside or in the communal areas anyway.

Two of these cabins are dog friendly and they are clearly marked as such on the DNT website. All have lake views but not all views are created equally.

If you have the chance to pick any of them you want to opt for cabin 1 or 2, these have uninterrupted lake views. Cabin 3 is next best with unobstructed views but angled more towards rock than the lake.

Cabins 4. 5 and 6 are set slightly further back so you have the first three cabins in your line of sight, partially obstructing the water view. That’s not to say the view isn’t great but it’s not as good if you have the luxury of choice.

The cabins have five single beds, two on the ground floor and three in the eaves, accessed by a ladder (the top ones are mattresses on the floor).

They also have a table and two chairs as well as a fireplace to keep things toasty. You should bring a sleeping bag, your own linen, or a sleep sheet to cover the duvets and pillows as they are not changed between guests……..

The toilets are located less than a minute’s walk away and are sort of commode style and ‘flushed’ with sawdust. Water from the creek was in bowls for washing hands. The only shower is down by the sauna which you fill yourself and will be ice cold if you haven’t heated the water on the sauna fire first.

The shared kitchen, living and dining room is phenomenal, I thought we’d seen some good ones on the Great Walks of New Zealand, but Norway takes it up a notch.

There are sofas beside the gigantic windows and even candles to create a cosy vibe at night. The kitchen is more well equipped than 99% of Airbnbs we’ve ever stayed in, with all the crockery and cutlery you’d expect as well as pots and pans, whisks, a grater, I mean they even have a lemon squeezer…. need I go on?

Previous guests had also left a few helpful bits such as salt and pepper.

There are two bunk rooms off the main kitchen as well as a loft sleeping space which cannot be prebooked. These are small but functional, and the same deal applies when it comes to linen.

The whole site runs on solar so if it’s been very gloomy for a while it is recommended you have a torch and battery pack with you.

Everyone staying at the cabins is expected to clean them after use, as well as keep the kitchen tidy and water filled for the next guests. All rubbish must be carried out with you.

Cabins are booked via the same website as the sauna.

The walk to Skapet

The stats

Distance: 6.9km return
Elevation gain: 240m
Difficulty: Easy - moderate
Trailhead: Skapet Parkering, Forsand

Summary: The walk to Skapet does have some uphill sections, but also a fair amount of flat track. There are no long steep climbs, the elevation gain is all gradual.

I would estimate around half the track is on rocky terrain. It wasn’t slippery, but it did mean you had to watch your step, or at least I did, Joe always skips across rocks with ease.

When it’s not rocky it’s mainly walking along boardwalks or occasionally in a bit of marshy terrain (however, we were walking after huge amounts of rain so it may be better in drier times!).

This would be an easy walk without the rocks, but with the rocks it’s more like easy - moderate. It took us 1 hour and 10 minutes to get to the sauna, though Joe would have been quicker, as I am always slow on rocks!

Starting the trail: through the forest

There is no set car park for the trail, but room for a number of cars to pull almost fully off the road close to the trailhead.

We will detail the full parking info at the end of the post, including where to pay the parking fee as it’s very unusual!

You’ll pass the little honesty box for honey and cross over the small wooden bridge to start the hike. The views are stunning from the off with the cascades and forest backed by mountains.

From the other side of the bridge you will enter the forest and the path has a lot of tree roots and some muddy sections, but it’s still easy enough.

You’ll begin walking gradually uphill, passing a couple of small red huts after 300m.

You have just over 200m of the better path left before you hit the first rocky section. The rocks weren’t slippery even though they were wet, but I still took it slowly to avoid twisting an ankle.

I walked the track in trainers but I do think hiking shoes would be better for a bit of support on the rocks.

You’ll pass a waterfall and another wooden bridge with possibly even more glorious views than the first one.

You’ll keep climbing on rocks for another 250m before the path flattens and you get a bit of reprieve from the rocks.

Well, from the uneven rocks, after a short stretch of dirt track you’ll walk along a flat rock path, but this bit is easy as it’s nice and smooth.

Along the marshland to the sauna

After 300m on the smooth rocky track you’re back to rock hopping again, but only for a few hundred metres when you will then hit the boardwalks (around 1.6km into the track).

They aren’t continuous, but there are a lot of them and they will take you safely over the worst of the bog.

Bits inbetween can still be marshy, but it’s not too bad, and as mentioned, if you’re hiking in drier times over summer it might be almost non existent.

Some of the boardwalks were slightly flooded, but by and large you could manoeuvre around these bits. The views along this whole open stretch through the marshland are spectacular, with mountains surrounding you and some pretty waterfalls - although these might be seasonal!

It was also so incredibly quiet, we couldn’t believe we had this whole beautiful landscape all to ourselves. Alas, after around 800m of largely rock free terrain you’re back to it again, but it’s broken up a little more with sections of boardwalk.

Around 2.3km into the track, when it gets rocky again, you will start ascending, but not steeply. The track oscillates between rocks and gravel, though it’s definitely more on the rocky side!

You’ll finish on a bit of a dirt track leading uphill before you spot your first building between the trees - it’s the toilet but it’s still scenic!

You will then arrive onto a rocky outcrop and see the sauna off to the right and the main building and cabins off to the left, just over 3.4km after leaving the car park. The toilets are in the second building opposite to the main cabin.

If you’re setting the sauna up it’s best to head straight there and get that sorted first as it does take a while to heat up unless someone has been in there before you.

Other walks from Skapet

If you’re staying the night or wanting to do a longer walk there are various trails which branch off from Skapet. Some are multi day walks but you can get to a view over Lysefjord (at 666 masl) in around an hour. Or at least that’s what I read as we decided to stop at the lake, though I would have loved to continue if we’d had more time.

Getting to the trailhead for the Skapet walk

The trailhead for the walk to Skapet is in Forsand, you can see the location on Google maps here. Around 6ish kilometres before you reach the trailhead you will pass a signpost about the parking. Although it’s not especially clear, you need to stop and pay for the parking here. The machine accepts cards.

The fee is 100 NOK (approx USD 10.50 or 9.20 Euros) and lasts for three days. It will give you a paper ticket to display in your car. There is no way of paying this fee at the trailhead so definitely stop when you can to avoid backtracking!

The journey from Stavanger takes around 1 hour and 15 minutes and the road is excellent the whole way. However, after passing through the area where you need to pay for parking the road becomes very narrow and windy, luckily we didn’t have to pass anyone! The road is exceptionally scenic so even the journey is a delight.

There are no facilities at the trailhead, the closest toilet will be when you arrive in Skapet.

Winter access

Winter access to Skapet is much more difficult and though it remains open it will require the use of snowshoes and you will likely have to walk an extra 6km as the part of the road closes when the snow comes in.

Where to stay in Stavanger

We’ve stayed at a few different places in Stavanger, for a mid range option, the Scandic hotel was comfortable and reasonably priced. The decor in all the Scandics we’ve stayed in has been minimal but the beds are always good, as well as the shower and brekkie, so we often opt to stay in them.

If you want an apartment, try Hatty’s Habitat Penthouse Apartment (it’s midrange despite the fact it has penthouse in the name!). I contacted the owner to ask about parking but by the time I heard back it was booked up and I tried to get in for the whole following week and couldn’t.

All of that to say, it looked by far the best price vs quality place to stay in Stavanger, with a full kitchen including dishwasher, washing machine and dryer and really nice modern decor. We had to book somewhere else for more money and less amenities so get in quick if your dates are set.

Check the latest prices and availability on:

Booking.com

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