SEPTEMBER 2025

We went back and forth on whether we were going to visit the Lofoten islands on our Norway trip. I knew I would love some of the hikes on Lofoten, but I didn’t know if they would be suitable for a kid/toddler. We decided to book the trip and just see whether we would be able to do some of these hikes. Lofoten is gorgeous if you cannot do any hikes as well, we loved just driving around. But I am very happy that we got to do some of those iconic hikes. In this blogpost I will share our experience hiking on Lofoten with a 4-year old.

Hiking on Lofoten with kids

Most hikes on Lofoten are short and steep. We ended up doing three different hikes on our Lofoten roadtrip. I read a lot of conflicting information online, this is the experience we had with our 4-year old. Hugo is a tough child and can be really determined, but he can also be really lazy. You never know which side you are going to get. Full details on our Lofoten itinerary can be found here.

Reinebringen

The elevation gain of the Reinebringen hike is about 450 meters, this is climbed via 2000 Sherpa stairs. The hike is about 1 kilometer one-way. We arrived at around 8.30AM and were able to find parking at the Reine kulturcenter which adds a few hunderd meters to the hike (without elevation). Lots of websites classify the Reinebringen hike as dangerous with kids. However we found the hike reasonably accessible due to the Sherpa stairs, they were quite high for Hugo but he managed to climb them pretty well. As the hike is not very varied and steep, he did complain a lot. We had to bribe him with chocolate to continue. It took us 75 minutes to reach the top, with lots of stops and resting along the way. We spent about 30 minutes enjoying the view and taking pictures, before heading back down. The area on top of Reinebringen is not fenced off, but Hugo stayed next to us all the time and we didn’t let him near the ledge. It is up to you to decide how your kid will behave in a situation like this. The way down also took us 75 minutes. If you are hiking with a taller child, this definitely can go much quicker. Not everything about this hike was fun with a toddler, it really slowed us down and mood was not always great. However, the views makes up for that. Hugo also was really impressed with the views, which surprised me.

Ballstadheia/Nonstinden

The hike to Nonstinden has an elevation gain of about 450 meters, which is spread out over 4 kilometers, so definitely less steep than Reinebringen. This is a lesser known hike, but absolutely beautiful. The hike also starts with Sherpa stairs, so you climb pretty quickly. After this you arrive to an “alpine meadow”, we decided to enjoy the views in every direction and to end with the Ballstad viewpoint. You can also go further up all the way to Nonstinden. On the alpine meadow we encountered some kind sheep, which adds to fun with kids. If you never hiked with your kid before, I would say the hike to the Ballstadheia viewpoint is a good start. We spent over 3 hours enjoying the scenery in every direction.

Offersøykammen

Of the three this was the hardest hike and also the one that Hugo wasn’t able to finish. The hike is 3,5 kilometers in total and again has an elevation gain of 450 meters. I don’t know what made this the hardest hike, but it had some very steep parts on a rocky terrain. I almost couldn’t move my feet anymore and continuously had to catch my breath. When we were about halfway and the steepest part still had to come, Hugo had to quit this hike. He couldn’t focus and I expected that the way down would be even worse. He certainly loved the landscapes and playing with the roots of the moss 😉 Hielke and I finished the hike taking turns as we had to see the views for ourselves. This hike definitely is for older kids, we did speak to some other parents along the way. I would say that a child has to be about 6 and like hiking to finish this one. We did see two parents pull their 4-year old to the top, but he was tripping all the way down, it was sad to see. This hike should take about 3-4 hours if you keep an okay pace.