The Kjerag road closes for winter

When does the road to Kjerag close for winter?

When the first snow settles on the plateau, usually in November and sometimes already in late October. There is no fixed date.

Fjord Norway puts it plainly: the road between Sirdal and Lysebotn "closes when the first snowfall comes, usually in Oct/Nov, and usually opens in mid-May." The tourist board's own Lysevegen page narrows that to November for the closing and late May for the reopening. Visit Norway says the same: closed in winter, usually from November.

Nobody publishes a closing date in advance, because there isn't one. A dry, mild autumn can keep the road open well into November. One heavy snowfall in the third week of October can shut it overnight. We searched Norwegian news and the road authority for a 2026 announcement and found none as of 19 October.

The road itself explains why. Lysevegen climbs more than 900 metres from Lysebotn in 27 hairpins, then crosses an exposed plateau where nothing stops the wind. It was built in the early 1980s for a hydropower project, not for winter traffic.

What happens to the chains on the Kjerag trail when the road closes?

They come off. The fixed chains on the steep slabs are removed after the road closes and reinstalled shortly after it reopens.

This is the part people miss. Even if you found a way up to Øygardstøl in November, the three steep climbs would be bare granite. Fjord Norway says "the chains along the trail are removed when the road is closed and reinstalled shortly after the road is opened." Those chains are what make the first climb out of the car park manageable for ordinary hikers, and they carry most people up and down the wet sections.

Bare, icy slabs are a different hike. Read our guide to the Kjerag difficulty for how much of the route depends on them.

How do I check if Lysevegen is open today?

Use the Statens vegvesen traffic map and search for Fv500 or Lysebotn. It shows closed roads, warnings and webcams.

The Norwegian Public Roads Administration runs the official road status pages. In English, start at Statens vegvesen traffic information, the page Fjord Norway links to. The live map with road reports (vegmeldinger) is at vegvesen.no/trafikk, in Norwegian. Search for Lysebotn or Fv500 and look for a red closure on the stretch towards Sirdal. Statens vegvesen also has a traffic app.

Check twice: the evening before and the morning you leave. Autumn storms move fast, and a road open at 18:00 can have a closure notice by breakfast. For the weather on the plateau itself, look at yr.no for Øygardstøl, not Stavanger. They are two different climates.

Can I still hike Kjerag in late October or November 2026?

Late October is possible while the road is open, with short days and a real chance of snow. November is a gamble we would not take without a guide.

As long as the road is open and the chains are in place, the hike is the same 11 km and roughly six hours. The days are not. Stavanger gets about 10 hours of daylight in mid-October and under 9 hours by 1 November. Add a 2.5 to 3 hour drive each way and you are leaving in the dark and racing the sunset on the way down.

Fjord Norway's rule is simple: "Do not start your hike if there is a risk of it getting dark before you return." With snow on the mountain, it tells hikers to use a guide and not to go alone. Our winter hiking post goes into what changes once the season ends, and the best time to hike Kjerag covers the months in detail.

If you have a guided day booked for late October, the operator decides on the day. Keep your plans loose: every Kjerag tour on this site cancels for free up to 24 hours before.

Still open on your dates? A small group of up to eight, a guide who knows the route in autumn conditions, and the van from Stavanger.

★ 5.0 · 11 hours

Explore the guided Kjerag day → Tour details

What can I do instead of Kjerag once the road is closed?

Hike Preikestolen, which is open all year and reached from the other side of the fjord, or see the Lysefjord from the water.

Preikestolen is the obvious swap. The road to its car park stays open through the winter, and Fjord Norway says you can hike it all year round, with a guide recommended in winter. It is a shorter day: about 8 km and 500 m of climbing, to a flat cliff 604 m above the fjord. The guided Preikestolen hike picks up at the Stavanger cruise terminal. Our Kjerag vs Preikestolen comparison sets the two side by side.

If you want the fjord without a hike, the electric Lysefjord cruise runs from central Stavanger to below Preikestolen and the Hengjanefossen waterfall. Be clear about one thing: no cruise or RIB from Stavanger reaches Kjerag. They all turn well before it. Check winter dates on each listing before you plan around them.

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