Skógafoss
About Skógafoss
Get the inside scoop on Skógafoss from local experts, travel creators, and tastemakers. Browse genuine trip notes, Skógafoss reviews, photos, travel guides, and itineraries from real travelers and plan your trip with confidence.
What people say
Lisa Dahl
"💦 Skógafoss is one of the most famous and fabulous waterfalls in Iceland.
💦 Glacial water from the Skógá River dramatically drops over the 60-meter cliff.
🚌 Skógafoss is on ALL South Iceland tours, so arrival is planned after the tour buses leave, but the sunlight is still good.
🚗 The free parking lot is short drive from Route 1, and a quick walk to the waterfall.
☔ You can get quite close to the bottom of the waterfall, so be prepared to get wet!!
🌈 If you're lucky, this is a good spot to see rainbows.
👆 Take the +500 metal steps up to the observation platform. The top view is good, but the best photos are from below.
❄️ Skógafoss is beautiful in all weather...but would avoid taking the metal stairs in the winter.
🚾 There is a free restroom near the parking lot.
⏰ HOURS: Always open!
📸 PHOTOGRAPHY NOTES:
🥲 The first time I visited, I got so excited by how close I could get, I only took close-up photos.
😊 Don't miss taking a long shot to get the full view, especially in the summer when the cliff is covered with bright green moss.
🚌 Visiting later in the day means fewer tourists in your photos."
Read more in:
Nally Preseault
"Skógafoss is another impressive waterfall that you can see from right from the Ring Road. It's actually one of the biggest waterfalls in Iceland. Its water flows from the Skógá, a river that originates from the Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull glaciers. Skógafoss used to flow over sea cliffs and plummet into the Atlantic Ocean. But the coastline has receded about three miles, so the waterfall now marks the boundary between the Highlands and the coastal lowlands.
You can walk quite close to this waterfall--or right up the side of it to an observation platform. Fimmvörðuháls, a fifteen-mile trail (one way), starts here and heads up Thórsmörk (a mountain ridge in between the Eyjafjallajökull and Tindfjallajökull glaciers), passing lots of smaller waterfalls along the way. Prepare to get wet and be wowed."
Read more in:
Kristen Mackiewicz
"Skogafoss is a major waterfall on the South coast. Its impressive height of 60 meters/200 feet and 25 meters/82 feet wide. Its name means "Forest Fall". There is a legend that says the first Viking settler at Skogar stashed a chest of gold coins in a cave behind the waterfall.
You can climb to the top of Skogafoss. Once at the top, there is a path that begins to follow the river behind the waterfall. Above this path is part of a 15 mile hike that takes people 1-3 days to complete with 20 plus waterfalls to see.
30 minutes to 1 hour to explore. "
Read more in:
