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Travel · 24 September 2026 · 4 min read

Reinebringen and Northern Lights

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The forecast promises the nicest day of the week, so we climb the Sherpa staircase up Reinebringen, together with plenty of others. On the way we stop for reflections and in Hamnøy, and in the afternoon we photograph Reine, Sakrisøy and Hamnøy in the low light. At night the northern lights appear, faint at first and then very strong once more at 02:15.

View from Reinebringen over Reine, the small islands and the bridges in the fjord, a steep rock mountain on the left

The tour in numbers

Walking time
about 15 min from the car park to the trailhead, then about 45 min up the stairs
Ascent
448 m
Difficulty
demanding, almost entirely steps
Start
Steffenakken car park on the E10 south of Reine
Season
May to September. Climbing in winter is strongly discouraged because of avalanche and rockfall risk.
Getting there
By car on the E10. The Steffenakken car park is free. At the Lofotodden National Park visitor centre in Reine, parking via EasyPark costs about 8 Swiss francs an hour, and the rate is not shown in the app beforehand.

According to the forecast, today is the nicest day of the week. We use it for Reinebringen, the best-known viewpoint mountain in the Lofoten. We were up there once before in August 2022, when the weather held just long enough.

On the way to Reinebringen we first stop for a beautiful reflection. The grey peaks, the orange autumn leaves and an orange house on the shore are mirrored in the calm water.

An orange house on the shore, the orange autumn slopes and grey peaks mirrored in the still water

We also stop briefly in Hamnøy and take a few photos from the bridge of the red rorbuer standing on stilts over the rocks by the water.

The red rorbuer of Hamnøy on stilts above the rocks, the steep grey rock mountain behind, seen from the bridge

In Reine we first stop at the tourist shop in the Lofotodden National Park visitor centre, because we need the toilet. After our 15 minute stop we are surprised: EasyPark shows a little over 8 Swiss francs. The rate there is about 8 francs an hour, and the app does not show the price before you park.

So our tip: for the Reinebringen hike, it is better to park at the Steffenakken car park on the E10 south of Reine. It is free. From the car park it is about 15 minutes along the road to the trailhead.

Rocky shore and blue water on the E10 near Reine, houses below jagged mountains in the distance, a steep rock face on the left

The way up leads over 1976 steps. The stone staircase was built by Sherpas and climbs steeply almost without a break. It does take some energy. The climb up the stairs takes us about 45 minutes. Thanks to the beautiful weather we are not alone, though, there are plenty of people on the stairs and at the top.

The view is worth it a thousand times over. Below us lies Reine with its small islands, linked by bridges. On the other side a long fjord reaches inland between the mountains, and towards the sea you can see the road running along the coast. We stay up there for a long time and take photos of each other against this backdrop.

From Reinebringen onto a long fjord between dark mountains, clouds above Nicolas in an orange shirt with a backpack on Reinebringen, Reine and the islands in the fjord below him Annina with a blonde ponytail looking from Reinebringen at the mountains and the fjord near Reine From Reinebringen along the coast to the open sea, the road winding along the slope below

Back down, we drive to Reine, Sakrisøy and Hamnøy and take a few more photos in the fading sunlight. In Sakrisøy the sunbeams fall over the mountain onto the rorbuer by the water. In Hamnøy the red cabins on the rocks now glow in the warm light.

The rorbuer of Sakrisøy on stilts by the water, sunbeams over the mountain behind A red rorbu on the rocks in Hamnøy, autumn twigs in front, a pointed mountain behind The red rorbuer of Hamnøy in the afternoon light on the rocks below the steep rock mountain

Then we stop at Anita’s Café in Sakrisøy for cinnamon buns and chocolate cake. On the drive back we make one more short stop at Rambergstranda. We want to photograph the red house, and the very last sunlight is reflected in the pools of water on the beach.

Sunbeams behind a dark mountain above the sea at Rambergstranda The red house above Rambergstranda, the pale beach and the mountains in the evening light behind A dark mountain and pink clouds reflected in a pool of water on Rambergstranda A flat wave running over the wet sand at Rambergstranda, the mountains in the last light behind

In the evening we make fajitas in our cabin. The Aurora Pro app predicts good chances of northern lights tonight, so afterwards we head euphorically to a viewpoint right next to our Airbnb.

We really do see northern lights. But they are very faint, we have seen much stronger ones before. The camera with a long exposure shows the green more clearly than we see it with the naked eye. Even so, we really enjoy seeing them again.

Faint green northern lights above the sea and a dark mountain, rocks and small pools in front A green arc of northern lights above a mountain by the sea, the light reflected in a pool in the foreground A green band of northern lights above a flat island in the sea, rocks and grass in front Green bands of northern lights in the starry sky above the rocks and the sea

Later in the night, at 02:15, we actually see very strong northern lights. They only last a short while, so we only captured them with the phone and not with the camera. And right by our cabin, in the middle of the night, a few very large wild hares are sitting and eating herbs.

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