Grøa: Garden Blooms, Ancient Traces and Ski Trails

Grøa brings together garden culture and archaeological traces with outdoor trails, river swimming and a floodlit ski trail. These different themes give you a clear choice for your trip: should the garden’s blooming season set the tone, are you interested in history, or would you mainly like to spend time outdoors? You can also use these interests to guide your search for a holiday apartment in Grøa.

Garden blooms in different seasons

Phillipshagen is a garden in the British landscape style, with more than 50 plant species. The oldest rhododendrons have grown almost into a forest, with blooms reaching several metres high. In the wider destination of Sunndal, the garden was created in the 1890s by the Briton Ethelbert Lort-Phillips. The garden’s history and plant collection give a visit its own cultural and botanical character.

The plants bloom especially in June and July, although the exact timing may vary. In autumn, Phillipshagen is known for the colours of its foliage. The two possible seasonal highlights are therefore quite distinct: the abundance of summer blooms and the autumn colours. When planning your trip, you can consider which of these garden moods appeals to you most.

Archaeological traces at Leikvin

In the wider destination of Sunndal, Leikvin Cultural Heritage Park includes Sunndal bygdemuseum as a visitor centre, an Iron Age burial ground, a botanical garden, a mill house and the Løykja cemetery. The museum was founded in 1935 under the name Leikvin Bygdemuseum and has grown to include 13 buildings that showcase many aspects of Sunndal’s history. This provides a broader historical context for the individual traces you can discover at Løykja.

The Løykja burial ground contains more than 200 grave monuments of various kinds. The finds date from the Roman period to the end of the 10th century. Barbara Arbuthnott and other people connected with her life are buried in the Løykja cemetery. The burial ground and cemetery tell the story of the past in different ways: one through the long timespan covered by its finds, the other through the history of specific people.

Walking trail, winter loop and river

The Knutsliøya (Grøa) hike follows a clearly visible trail parallel to the river to the ruins of an old settlement. It has a specific destination, whereas the Grøa IL floodlit trail is a loop for cross-country skiing in the darker months. It runs between the steep foothills of Trollheimen and the flat valley floor, with farmland and residential areas.

After the first short climb, a floodlit ski-play area lies along the trail. The landscape around the loop thus brings together the steeper mountain slope and the open, inhabited valley floor. Unlike the hike to the settlement ruins, the loop itself is the focus here. Which option suits your trip better depends on whether you prefer a trail with a historical destination or a winter loop.

Water is another experience to enjoy: you can swim in the River Skorga near Grøa and see the Vinnu, Fossa and Skorga waterfalls. This offers a different focus from the gardens and cultural sites, and adds to the choice of outdoor activities. Together with the hike and ski trail, it provides another option for planning your day.

Sunndal as the wider setting

The wider destination of Sunndal lies between Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park and Trollheimen Landscape Protection Area. The national park has several access points in Sunndal; Grøvudalen and Torbudalen are starting points for hikes in the national park. This regional perspective raises a different planning question from Grøa’s local garden, history and river themes: whether you would also like to plan hikes in the national park as part of your trip.

When searching for a holiday apartment in Grøa, you can start by deciding which aspect of your trip matters most: gardens and blooms, archaeological history, outdoor trails, a winter loop or swimming in the river. If hikes in the national park are also part of your plans, you can include Sunndal as a wider regional setting. This way, you can begin choosing accommodation with the experiences you want to shape your trip in mind.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Sunndalsøra, Ålvundeid, Øksendal, Gjøra, Ålvundfjord.

Go to the wider travel guide: Sunndal.