Summary
Issued 12th December 2018
Strong winds are expected over the next few days in South Iceland.
Now that we have winter, snow and

Weather:
Strong wind in South Iceland t he next 2-3 days, less wind in other parts of the country. Rain in South Iceland but more or less dry i n other parts. Temperature mostly abov e 0°C in South Iceland but can be freezing in the north.
Road conditions:
Winter conditions on roads in the Westfjords, North Iceland (Borgarnes to Akureyri), North East Iceland (Akureyri to Egilsstaðir) and other roads around the country . Winter tires are recommended and slow down when driving in winter conditions; icy/slippe ry roads, snow on the roads, p oor visibility, etc.
General conditions in the high lands:
Tourists often mistake 4×4 for a vehicle that can take on all terrain, which is of course not the case and this must be explained as damages can cost thousands of dollars. Drivers who get stuck in rivers, snow or mud have to get themselves out at own expense – there‘s no insurance in the world that covers damage linked to crossing a river. GPS devices also tend to lead drivers on to closed roads. For this reason, it’s very important they know where to access information about road conditions/closures. It is illegal to drive off-road, including on sand!!
All F-roads are now closed bec ause of snow!
Þórsmörk/Goðaland: Closed/ impassable!
Fjallabak: Closed/impassable!
Kaldidalur: Closed/impassable!
Kjölur: Closed/impassable!
Lakagígar: Closed/impassable!
Askja: Closed/impassable!
Snæfell: Closed/impassable!
Sprengisandur: Closed/impassab le!
Kverkfjöll: Road is closed/im passable! VERY important to follow instr uctions by the icecave and not go near it all year around !
Conditions in popular tourist sites:
Conditions depend entirely on the weather so that must be ch ecked every day.
Reykjanes: Krísuvíkurvegur (42) part of it is gravel road has been fixed a bit, but drive slowly though. Construction going on by Gunnuhver where they are fixin g the decks and more. Valahnjúkur is closed due to dangerous con ditions! The road to Selártangar is in very bad shape.
Þingvellir: Nothing remarkable about the conditions.
Geysir: The paths can be icy/s lippery in the morning because of nightfrost. Please stay on marked paths.
Gullfoss: The paths can be ic y/slippery in the morning beca use of nightfrost. Please stay on marked paths.
Western Iceland: Dangerous area around the landslide in Hítardalur. Please do not go there! Trails everywhere can be icy/slipper y in the morning because of ni ghtfrost. The nature is wet an d muddy now. Important to stay on marked paths.
Snæfellsjökull National Park: It has snowed on the Snæfellsjökull glacier and the fresh snow hides the old crav asses, so going there without a guide is highly not recommen det. Road 570 closed/impassab le. Important to show caution at/around sea cliffs.
Westfjords: In general winter conditions can be expected on roads higher than 100-200 m above sea level. The mountain pass over Dynjandisheiði (and other gravel roads) are in very bad condition, big potholes and when it rains/snows it gets muddy. Note that at bridges are sharp edges and deep holes, show caution because it’s easy to damage cars.
Látrabjarg and Rauðisandur: Th e road to Látrabjarg has no wi nter service so it can become impassable very qui ckly. Worth mentioning that in heavy rain Látrabjarg becomes very slippery and trails beco me muddy. The road to Rauðisandur is ver y steep, threads the mountain with out protective rails which can be challenging for inexper ienced drivers.
Hvítserkur: The road has lots of potholes. The walking path can be icy/sl ippery at this time of year.
Goðafoss: Winter conditions so it can be icy/slippery around the waterfall. Microspikes are rec ommended.
Mývatn: When there is ice on Lake Mývatn it is very thin and big danger of falling through. Important not to walk onto it! The road to Krafla/Víti is closed. The road to Hverfjall is impassable.
Dettifoss og Selfoss: Road 864 is closed, 862 is open entering from road #1 but closed north of Dettifoss. Please notice that 862 has no winter service such as snowplowing so it can get impassable any time.
Hengifoss: Paths can be slippe ry in the mornings because of night frost and muddy after ra infall. Microspikes are recom mended.
Reynisfjara: The beach can always be dangerous due to the unpredictability of the waves. It‘s not every wave – it‘s every 7th or 10th or 12th wave that goes a lot further up the beach than the rest making it difficult to assess danger upon arrival. There are no rocks in the ocean that break the waves and only a few meters of shore there‘s an underwater cliff so the pulling factor of these already powerful waves becomes even greater. On top of this the sand is very fine ash which makes it extra difficult to get away from these waves. Rocks have also been fa lling by the cave. Same applies to Djúpalónssandu r in Snæfellsnes Peninsula and Kirkjufjara beach but it‘s CLOSED for this reason.
Svínafellsjökull: Civil Protection advises against travel on Svínafellsjökull due to landslide danger and guided tours on the glacier are discouraged. Travelers are advised to stop only for a short while at viewpoints by the glacier tongue.
Dyrhólaey: The road to Háey is only for 4×4 vehicles. Show caution close to the clif fs edges when walking around. Show extra caution when it’s windy.
Seljalandsfoss: The trail behind the waterfall is wet/icy/slippery and one must be careful when going back up the rocks on the west side. Some days the trail behi nd the waterfall is closed bec uase it’s too dangerous. Micro spikes are recommended and it’ s necessary to wear good walki ng shoes.
Fjaðrárgljúfur: Important to stay on the trails and not go over ropes that indicate closures as nature is very vulnerable. Paths are muddy and sometimes icy, very slippery. Important to wear good shoes. Hiking boots and microspikes are recommended.
Conditions on hiking trails:
Hiking in Iceland requires proper equipment even on shorter hikes as trails are often not like the ones travelers are used to. Please study our equipment list as preparation is key for successful travel in Iceland. The way down can often be harder than the way up so hiking poles are a good tool to help tired knees.
Esja: Important not to underestimate the elevation gain. At this time of year the trails can be snowy and/or icy and even though the weather is nice at the bottom start, it can be extremely windy and cold in upper parts. It’s important to be dressed/equipped for that. It’s also important to stay on the marked trails. Microspikes are recomm ended.
Reykjadalur: Important to stay on marked trails because the nature in the area is very sensitive, plus there are dangerous hot springs around.
Básar: Trails are slippery bec ause of frost and/or mud.
Fimmvörðuháls: Winter is ther e with snow and bad weather co nditions are a fact. The huts have closed. A challenging hike and conditi ons vary a lot on the weather and at this time of year only go there if the weather is ver y good! Fog on the top and eve n snow is common which limits the visibility. Snow for some kms at the top. Foot prints in the snow should never be 100% relied uppon. I mportant to keep in mind that access to water is very limite d after the river, on the pass itself.
Þórsmörk: Trails are slippery because of frost and/or mud.
Landmannalaugar: Trails are co vered with snow. Hut is closed.
Laugavegur: The huts between Landmannalaugar and Þórsmörk h ave closed so it’s not recomme nded to do the hike. Winter co nditions with lots of snow and as huts have closed there’s n o shelter for bad weather.
The hut in Langidalur has clos ed. Básar (Þórsmörk) is closed and the warden only comes to open for reserved gro ups and/or at weekends. The hut in Landmannalaugar is closed. Volcano Huts in Húsadalur is open all year round.
Þakgil: Campsite has closed.
Kjalvegur: Road F35 is closed.
Kerlingafjöll: Road F35 is closed. Snow in the mountai ns.
Skaftafell: Trails are open b ut can be slippery/icy in the mornings because of night frost.
SE of Vatnajökull: Trails can be sli
Víknaslóðir: Huts are closed.
Ásbyrgi: Lot of snow in the ar ea and some roads are impassab le. Microspikes are recommende d for icy/slippery trails.
Dettifoss: The area is icy/sli ppery and snow as well. Micros pikes are recommended. Importa nt to show caution by the cany on.
Jökulsárgljúfur: The hiking trail between Ásbyrgi and Dettifoss is closed because of winter conditions.
Hljóðaklettar: The hiking trail between Ásbyrgi and Dettifoss is closed because of winter conditions.
Mývatn: When there is ice on L ake Mývatn it is very thin and big danger of falling through. Important not to walk on it! Lots of snow in Dimmuborgir, the pa ths can be slippery. Microspik es are recommended. The road t o Krafla/Víti is closed. The road to Hverfjall is impassable.
Hornstrandir: The scheduled bo ats have stopped sailing there . Winter conditions and no hik ing.
Glymur: Log has been removed so there is no way but wade through the river. The current is quite strong and river very cold so wading through is not for everyone.
Best regards
Safetravel team