St. Olav's Way, Oslo to Trondheim

St. Olav's Way
Distance
about 643 km (400 miles)
Country
Norway
Difficulty
Moderate to challenging
Type of trip
Hiking trail

St. Olav’s Way is a network of nine pilgrim routes that all end at Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, built over the grave of King Olav II, who died at the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030. This page follows the main one, Gudbrandsdalsleden: 643 km from Oslo, through the Gudbrandsdalen valley, over the Dovrefjell mountains and down through Oppdal to Trondheim. It was the main route to Nidaros in the Middle Ages.

The official route planners reckon on about 32 days at around 20 km a day. Soon after Oslo the trail splits to run either side of Lake Mjøsa, and the two branches meet again at Lillehammer. You sleep in pilgrim hostels, farm rooms, cabins, campsites or hotels. Buy a pilgrim passport (50 NOK) and collect stamps along the way. If you walk at least the last 100 km, the pilgrim reception in Trondheim gives you the Olav Letter.

Highlights along the way

  1. Lake Mjøsa: Norway’s largest lake, 117 km long. The route passes Hamar, where the medieval cathedral was burnt by the Swedish army in 1567, and Lillehammer.
  2. Dovrefjell: the high plateau, at about 1,300 m, between eastern Norway and Trøndelag. Mountain inns housed pilgrims here from the Middle Ages, and it’s one of the few places in Europe with wild reindeer and musk oxen.
  3. Oppdal: more than 700 grave mounds from the Viking Age and earlier, a sign of how long this has been a through route.
  4. Pilgrim centres: six regional centres along the way, in Oslo, Gran, Hamar, Hundorp, Dovre and Trondheim, for advice and passport stamps.
  5. Nidaros Cathedral: built from 1070 to 1300, the northernmost medieval cathedral in the world. Olsok, Olav’s feast day on 29 July, is the big day for pilgrims.

Distance

About 643 km (400 miles) from Oslo to Trondheim on Gudbrandsdalsleden. St. Olavsleden, the route from Selånger near Sundsvall in Sweden, is 580 km.

Best time to go

1 June to 1 September, the season the pilgrim office recommends. The section over Dovrefjell is officially closed until 10 June because of snow and closed facilities. Musk oxen can be dangerous, so keep well clear of them.

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