Guvåg: Trails, Water and History

Visitors who choose Guvåg as a destination encounter different sides of the place: the history of Oksnesan, marked trails and activities on the water. An important point of reference is the unstaffed DNT cabin Guvåghytta. It is located by the Eidsfjord on Langøya in Vesterålen, in Guvåg in the municipality of Bø in Nordland county.

Guvåghytta and the history of Oksnesan

The quickest route to Guvåghytta starts at a car park in Guvåg and follows a trail marked with the T symbol. The walk is about 700 metres long and takes approximately ten minutes. Check the latest access information for the cabin before setting out.

Guvåghytta has an information booklet and an information board presenting the cultural and natural history of Oksneset over time. Oksnesan and Oksneset refer to the same place, with Oksneset being the dialect form. Until well into the 20th century, Oksnesan was a husmannsplass, a smallholding or cottar’s farm. The last people to farm the site were Mathias Olsen and Tea Kristensdatter. Oksnesan is also a state-protected outdoor recreation area. The cabin is thus connected to a landscape whose history can be explored both through the information board and through the site’s former use.

Marked trails and activities on the water

Marked trails lead to Breitinden, a 598-metre-high summit, from Guvåg or Haugnes. Trail conditions may change with the seasons; take this into account when planning and check the latest conditions before setting off.

There are also several activities on the water: around and beyond Oksnesan, there is a lot of rowing, paddling and fishing on the route from the quay in Guvåg to Guvåghytta in connection with the cabin’s activities. Rowboats and life jackets in various sizes are available in Guvåghytta’s Mathiasnaustet boathouse. Information about hiking and water activities offers different ways to focus your stay, without having to limit yourself to just one way of exploring.

More to discover in the wider destination of Bø

In the wider destination of Bø, the coastline stretches for 294 kilometres and is deeply indented by fjords. Steep, rugged mountains shape the landscape, especially in the northwest and east. The Nyke/Tussen nature reserve features a different kind of coastline: it protects one of the largest and geomorphologically most well-developed boulder beaches in Nordland. The continuous beach is 3.5 kilometres long.

Bø also offers a range of cultural points of interest. The Friluftsgalleri in Vinjesjøen presents all 36 sculptures in the Skulpturlandskap Nordland project. Bø Church houses five late medieval sculptures from Lübeck; stone cists, burial mounds and standing stones can be seen at the Føre archaeological site. The fishermen at Buholmen specialised in “rav og rekling”: fatty strips of halibut that were dried and then smoked or salted. At low tide, you can walk to Svinøya, home to Northern Norway’s largest recorded collection of Iron Age burial mounds.

Plan your stay around your interests

When looking for a holiday apartment, your travel interests can help you decide: would you like to focus on the history of Oksnesan, a marked hike to Breitinden, or activities around Guvåghytta? If you would also like to include other landscapes and cultural sites in the wider destination of Bø, you’ll find more ideas there to help plan your trip.

Discover more destinations: Bø i Vesterålen, Hovden, Steine, Straumsjøen, Bø

Go to the main travel overview: Bø.