Hallormsstaðaskógur
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Hallormsstaður National Forest () or Hallormsstaðaskógur is located in Fljótsdalur east Iceland, about 25 kilometers inland from the town of Egilsstaðir. It is one of the larger forests in Iceland, covering 740  hectares (ha), and includes the only village in Iceland that is located in a forest. The forest is a recreation area in a varied landscape. There are over 40 km of marked trails and footpaths as well as an
arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...
, two camp-sites, picnic areas, a hotel, and boat and horse rentals.


History

The birchwood remnants at Hallormsstaður farm were protected in 1905 and thereby became Iceland's first national forest. Birch forest and woodland now covers about 350 ha within the original fenced area and a variety of tree species have been planted on another 200 ha. Large areas have been annexed to the forest more recently, both to the north and south, and either planted or allowed to regenerate naturally with birch. A total of 85 tree species can be found in the forest from over 600 places around the world.


Nature

The forest provides food, nest sites and protection from predators for several bird species. Year-round residents include common redpoll,
wren Wrens are a family of brown passerine birds in the predominantly New World family Troglodytidae. The family includes 88 species divided into 19 genera. Only the Eurasian wren occurs in the Old World, where, in Anglophone regions, it is commonly ...
, goldcrest,
rock ptarmigan The rock ptarmigan (''Lagopus muta'') is a medium-sized game bird in the grouse family. It is known simply as the ptarmigan in the UK. It is the official bird for the Canadian territory of Nunavut, where it is known as the ''aqiggiq'' (ᐊᕿ ...
, and common raven. In summer the forest fills with redwings,
snipes Snipes may refer to: * Snipe, a wading bird * Snipes (surname) * ''Snipes'' (film), a 2001 film * ''Snipes'' (video game), a 1983 text-mode networked computer game * Snipes Mountain AVA Snipes Mountain AVA is an American Viticultural Area l ...
and meadow pipits along with Eurasian woodcocks and wagtails. Besides birding, the forest offers opportunities for botanizing and picking berries and mushrooms. Edible mushrooms include
larch bolete The name larch bolete is used to describe a number of fungi in the order Boletales which occur in association with species of larch, conifers in the genus ''Larix''. These fungi include: *members of the genus ''Suillus'': **''Suillus cavipes, S. ...
, birch bolete, and slippery jack. Rock bramble is common and raspberries and
redcurrants The redcurrant or red currant (''Ribes rubrum'') is a member of the genus ''Ribes'' in the gooseberry family. It is native to western Europe. The species is widely cultivated and has escaped into the wild in many regions. Description ''Ribes r ...
can be found in parts of the forest. Clear streams form a characteristic part of the forest and the water in all of them is drinkable.


Hiking trails

The Part Yellow trail – 3 km The trail starts at the car park by the road at Hafursá stream and leads up a gravel road, then under and along a power line. The Knolls Blue trail – 5 km The trail leads up from the old home economics school (now a guest house in summer), past a rock outcrop called the ''Old Woman'' and north through the forest. It goes through the ''Flat Forest'', which is a tall (by Icelandic standards) birch forest and thence to ''Falcon Cliffs'', which provides a view over the forest. Then, down through a
spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...
forest to an open area that was once the farm ''Ormsstaðir'', from where the trail leads back to the start. Hallormsstaður Moors Orange trail – 7 km An easily followed and relatively easily hiked trail between Hallormsstaður Forest and the farm ''Geirólfsstaðir'' in the next valley to the east. The trail is the same as the blue trail to begin with, then along the old horse trails under the cliffs above the forest and up onto the moors. The trail provides mountain vistas on a clear day. Road Forest Brown trail – 2 km The trail starts at the north end of the camp-ground ''Höfðavík'', below the main road and along Lagarfljót (the big lake) through a forest of old birches. This is the forest that was here in 1905. Atlavík Campground – Arboretum – Shop Light blue trail – 1,5 km The trail leads up a steep slope from the campground at ''Atlavík'' and along a footpath to the
arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...
. From the arboretum, a footpath leads to the shop by the road. You can also walk across the Höfðavík campground to the brown trail. Hallormsstaður Cliffs Light green trail – 4 km The trail is the same as the orange trail up to the cliffs but then turns right instead of left and passes under the cliffs and back. The trail traverses the big rock slide that much of the forest grows on. The Strain White trail – 1,8 km ''Remba'', or the Strain, is an old trail over the mountain to the next valley and was considered rather difficult. The trail starts at the gymnasium and is fairly steep to begin with. It leads up to the ''Chest Cliffs'' and then to the 21 m high ''Lamb'' waterfall. A little farther up the stream, you come to a dam that provided water to a 27 kW hydropower plant that was operated from 1936 to 1955. Caution is required as the trail passes along the edge of a small
canyon A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...
. The trail then leads back the same way. Atlavík Corral Red trail – 1,5 km The trail starts at the main road, leads through a larch stand planted in 1937 with 20 m tall trees and past the ruins of a Viking-age horse corral. The trail passes through more older stands of trees, including lodgepole pine and
Douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...
planted in 1940 and exceptionally straight larch from 1957. The trail winds on through the forest and finally down to the road across from the arboretum. Glacier Stream Brown trail – 200 m A short footpath from the main road up to a mini arboretum that includes
Norway spruce ''Picea abies'', the Norway spruce or European spruce, is a species of spruce native to Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. It has branchlets that typically hang downwards, and the largest cones of any spruce, 9–17 cm long. It is very close ...
and mountain pine planted in 1908 and a variety of species planted in 1963, including: subalpine fir, Engelmann spruce, western hemlock, white spruce,
Douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...
,
dragon spruce ''Picea asperata'' (dragon spruce; ) is a spruce native to western China, from eastern Qinghai, southern Gansu and southwestern Shaanxi south to western Sichuan. Description It is a medium-sized evergreen tree growing to 25–40 m tall, and with ...
, lodgepole pine and western red cedar. Unusually good (for Iceland) Scots pine grows along the path. Light River Slope Yellow trail – 850 m The trail leads up a forest road, through stands of Siberian stone pine, lodgepole pine and white spruce to the 16 m high ''Light river waterfall'' (''Ljósárfoss''). On the north side of the trail is some of the straightest growing larch in the forest.


Icelandic National Forests

Lands managed by the Icelandic Forest Service are called National Forests. They are open to everyone, year round, and are located in all parts of Iceland. Many are easy to reach and have a variety of facilities for outdoor recreation. Others require a 4-wheel drive vehicle or hiking up steep hillsides in order to access them.


References

*


External links


"Hallormsstaðaskógur"
(in Icelandic).
"Icelandic Forest Service"
Official website of the Icelandic Forest Service (governmental).
"Hallormsstaður"
Tourist Information site.

TripAdvisor ref. {{Authority control Forests of Iceland Valleys of Iceland Forestry initiatives Nature conservation in Iceland Tourism in Iceland Tourist attractions in Iceland Hiking trails in Iceland Arboreta