Krafla Lava Fields Trail

i Image by Svetlana

How would you rate Krafla Lava Fields Trail?

Tap a star to share your experience and help other hikers.

Krafla Lava Fields Trail: Short Walk Through an Active Lava Field

Published 17 July 2025 Updated 5 June 2026

880

Ranked #880 of 974

See the Top 100 →

HikeList Score

Krafla Lava Fields Trail scored 71/100 on HikeList's trail-quality metrics.

Good

See score breakdownHide breakdown

Ideal length 55
Balanced challenge 64
Scenery & wildness 78
Varied terrain 71
Accommodation 83
Food & support 61
Path quality 98
Season flexibility 76

Computed from length, challenge, scenery & wildness, terrain variety, accommodation, food & support, path quality and season flexibility.

The Krafla Lava Fields Trail is an easy 3.5 km loop from the Leirhnjúkur car park in north-east Iceland, in the Mývatn region. It is a 1 to 2 hour day walk, not a trek, through the active Krafla volcanic caldera, passing steaming fumaroles, bubbling mud pots and black lava from the Krafla Fires. It suits hikers, families and road-trippers who want a short, marked volcanic walk, but firm footwear and strict path discipline are essential.

Route Overview

The loop starts and finishes at the Leirhnjúkur car park inside the Krafla caldera, reached from Lake Mývatn via Route 1 and Route 863 north past Reykjahlíð; the drive from Mývatn takes about 30 minutes. From the car park, the marked route crosses boardwalks around the most active geothermal ground, then continues onto gravel and uneven hardened lava across the Leirhnjúkur lava field. Key features include Leirhnjúkur ridge, steaming fissures, solfataras, mud pots and the black Krafla Fires lava flows. Nearby Víti crater and Krafla geothermal power station are short drives away, not part of the loop. For another short Mývatn volcanic walk, see the Hverfjall Crater Loop; for a more remote Icelandic volcanic objective, compare the Askja Trail.

Krafla, the Krafla Fires and Iceland’s Rift Zone

Leirhnjúkur lies inside the Krafla caldera on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the North American and Eurasian plates pull apart. Much of the lava underfoot was produced during the Krafla Fires of 1975–1984, a sequence of nine eruptions over nine years along the fissure swarm. An earlier eruptive episode, the Mývatn Fires of 1724–1729, opened the nearby Víti explosion crater. The Krafla geothermal power station has used the area’s heat since 1977.

Notable highlights

Leirhnjúkur geothermal field: The most active part of the Krafla caldera on this walk, with fumaroles, solfataras and grey-blue mud pots beside ochre and sulphur-yellow ground. The name means “clay peak”.
Krafla Fires lava flows: Black lava erupted between 1975 and 1984. The ground remains warm in places, so staying on the marked route is both a safety rule and a way to protect the fragile surface.
Víti crater: A short drive from the loop, this explosion crater on the caldera’s northern rim holds a milky turquoise-to-green geothermal lake. Its name means “hell”, and it was formed during the Mývatn Fires.
Krafla caldera and rift setting: The walk sits within a roughly 10 km-wide caldera on the boundary between two tectonic plates, with a fissure swarm extending north-east to south-west.
Boardwalk-to-lava terrain: The route begins on raised boardwalks near the hottest ground, then moves onto marked gravel and rough lava, giving a compact cross-section of Krafla’s geothermal landscape.

Challenges to expect

This is an easy walk with little sustained climbing, but the surface is not casual pavement: expect uneven lava rock, gravel, clay and short boardwalk sections. The main hazard is geothermal heat. Do not step off the marked path; burns and melted soles are real risks, and the surface is fragile. In winter, snow can cover marker posts and make safe navigation difficult.

880

Ranked #880 of 974

See the Top 100 →