Hvammstangi: Seals, local history and a marked hiking route

Seals, wildlife and culture

Seals, birdlife and a marked hiking route offer different ways to explore Hvammstangi. The Seal Museum provides information about seals on Iceland’s coasts and in its coastal waters, as well as seal species from around the world. Its exhibitions on the wildlife around Hvammstangi focus in particular on birds and marine life. The museum also offers a cultural perspective, covering the role of seals in Icelandic culture and traditions, including seal hunting. Nature topics are thus presented alongside the history of how people have interacted with seals.

A marked route to a church, a mill and a viewpoint

The marked Hvammstangi–Kirkjuhvammur hiking route starts beside the Kaupfélag grocery store in Hvammstangi and leads to the old Kirkjuhvammur church. An information board there describes the church and the settlement of the surrounding area. Shortly after the church, the route offers a view over the town. If you are interested in local history, this trail combines a specific destination with information about the church and the settlement.

The route also leads to Iceland’s only water-powered grain mill. The mill offers a different focus from the church: here, the emphasis is on a historic building and its water-powered function. Together with the information board at the church, these provide two specific reasons to take the hiking route, which offers insights into the history of the surrounding area as well as the landscape.

Swimming pool and more local history

Hvammstangi’s swimming pool offers a different focus during your stay. Its outdoor pool measures 25 m × 11 m. There is also a hot tub with water massage and a steam bath. In addition to the pool, these are two more facilities that shape the swimming experience. When planning your trip, you can weigh an outing involving exercise and local history against time at the swimming pool, without treating them as the same kind of experience.

Bardúsa adds a connection to trade to the area’s history: the remains of an old trading post from the early 20th century have been preserved there. These are the remains of a trading post, not a broadly described commercial district. This specific historical connection distinguishes Bardúsa from the Seal Museum’s topics and the hiking route’s destinations.

Getting your bearings and choosing where to stay

The Seal Museum is at Hvammstangi harbour, four minutes from Route 1. The Icelandic Seal Center, also at the harbour, houses a tourist information office. The museum and tourist information office thus provide two different points of reference: the museum focuses on seals, wildlife and culture, while the Icelandic Seal Center houses the tourist information office.

If you are considering Hvammstangi as a place to search for a holiday apartment, you can base your choice on the experiences that matter to you on your trip to Iceland. The options range from seals and marine life to a marked hiking route with historical destinations and the swimming pool. For a travel group with varied interests, you can consider whether exhibits, a trail with historical stops or time at the swimming pool is more likely to make Hvammstangi the right choice.

More local pages: Miklibær, Lækjamót, Laugarbakki, Hólar, Ríp, Undirfell, Vidhidalstunga and Hofsós.

For the broader travel overview: Norðurland Vestra.