Þingvallahreppur, 11 Aug 2026

We completed the Golden Circle by going to Þingvallahreppur, or Thingvellir National Park. We did some hiking in the morning, had lunch, then did another hike in the afternoon.

Once we were up and about, we went to find breakfast at the restaurant at the farmhouse. Most of the group was already getting food, so we joined the line for the buffet and joined others to eat.

After breakfast, the vans got loaded and we headed out to Þingvallahreppur and found our parking lot. For the morning, we were hiking for less than a couple of hours to explore one of the upper trails in the park. We began by descending into another fissure, the first of many that we would come across during the day.

After going along a boardwalk for a while, we came across Oxarafoss, a large waterfall that we would see quite a bit of while we hiked in the afternoon.

We then went down to the main trail and went up towards the Visitor Center, taking in the views. It was time to turn around, so we made it back to the vans, where some people ate but the rest of us headed to the next stop so we could find a more scenic place to eat.

Our next destination was the main parking lot, and it was completely full. We ended up parking about a five-minute walk away, but found spots and we split into two groups, three people who were going snorkeling, and the rest of us who were going to eat lunch. We found a picnic table and in a field and enjoyed our lunches.

We made it to the parking lot and decided to once again split into two groups, three people who were going straight to the Visitor Center, and the rest of us who were going on a hike. Before we started, we went to look at a small church (Þingvallakirkja) which we saw from the upper trails. It wasn’t open, but we could look inside the windows. As it ends up, the group that went to the Visitor Center went back to the church later, and they were able to walk around inside.

The rest of us started our hike, which was going to be a big loop. The first segment was a long leg over lava fields, making the trail a bit slower to hike. We then got to the far point of the loop, and then switched to a path that was also meant for bicycles, so it was a lot smoother.

All the way on the first long leg and the second leg which brought us back to the main area, we saw Oxarafoss in the distance, which gave us an indication of how close we were.

The trail took us into a small grove of trees (we haven’t seen a lot of trees where we’ve been) and just as we got there, we saw a half dozen sheep going along the path into the trees. We gingerly went in, and the sheep had moved along, but they did look to make sure we weren’t chasing them.

Back on the trail we were on in the morning, we worked our way up to the Visitor Center, and this time went in to have a quick look around. There was a move that showed film clips from 1924 of various parts of the park, and next to each clip was a video from 2024 which showed exactly the same viewpoint so we could see how the park as both changed and stayed the same.

Once we were done, we walked back down to the vans. Because the time was getting a bit tight, we moved the vans to the main parking lot where there were now spaces, and the snorkelers showed up right on time.

We asked the snorkelers how things went, and they seemed to have a great time. There was an orientation, then they got fitted for dry suits. After that, they needed to wait in a line to actually get into the water, which ended up being about an hour wait. Our three group members were grouped with another set of three people, and when the time came, they went into the water with a guide. They were in a lake which is in a fissure between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates, and the water was very cold (thus the dry suits). They were in the water for about half an hour.

After everyone was in the vans, we headed back towards Reykjavik to check into our hotel for the night. We had a bit of time to clean up, then we headed into the city for dinner, where we were meeting up with a couple of other members of the hiking group who happened to be in town.

After dinner was over, we drove back to the hotel, and it was late enough that everyone was ready to settle in for the night.