Iceland Travel GuideLOCAL TRAVEL AGENCY IN ICELAND
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Iceland Travel GuideLOCAL TRAVEL AGENCY IN ICELAND
My trip
Talk to a local
Fosslaug is a small natural hot spring in Skagafjörður, North Iceland, on the river bank just above Reykjafoss waterfall, about 7 km south of Varmahlíð. The water is around 40°C all year. Important: the landowner closed access to both Fosslaug and Reykjafoss on 29 June 2026 and no reopening date has been given, so check the current status before you drive out.
Fosslaug means "waterfall pool", and the name fits. It is a small, old-style Icelandic hot pot with rock and turf walls and a mud and gravel floor, set in open farmland with no buildings around it. Geothermal water keeps it at around 40°C all year, which is warmer and steadier than many natural pools in Iceland.
The pool sits on a strip of land between the Húseyjarkvísl river and a man-made side channel, a short walk upstream from Reykjafoss, a waterfall of about 20 metres that drops in broad steps. The cold river runs about 50 metres from the pool, so you sit in hot water with the sound of the falls below you and wide views across the flat valley to the mountains of Skagafjörður.
It is a small place. Depending on who you ask it holds six to ten people, and it feels full well before that. There are no changing rooms, toilets or showers, so people have always changed at the car or on the bank.
Access changed in summer 2026. For some years a fee of about ISK 1,500 per car was collected at the car park. On 29 June 2026 the landowner closed the route to both Reykjafoss and Fosslaug, put up signs and fencing, and asked tour companies to stop bringing guests. Icelandic news reports say the reasons were growing visitor numbers and a dispute over the parking charge. No reopening date has been announced.
We have kept the directions and the description below so the guide is ready if the pool reopens, and so you know what you are looking at on the map. Until the landowner opens it again, please do not cross the fence or look for another way in.
These directions describe the usual route as it was before 29 June 2026. While the landowner's closure is in place, the path is fenced off and should not be used. Ask at the tourist information in Varmahlíð for the latest news.
Fosslaug and Reykjafoss are on private farmland, and visitors have only ever been there with the landowner's goodwill.
On 29 June 2026 the landowner announced that access to both the waterfall and the pool was closed. Signs were put up and the route was fenced. According to reports in Vísir, Heimildin and the local paper Feykir, he pointed to several reasons: visitor numbers that had grown far beyond what the land could take, and his objection to a parking fee being charged by a neighbour for attractions that sit on his land.
He has not said whether the closure is temporary or permanent. Some travel sites still describe Fosslaug as open with a parking fee, because they were written before the closure.
If you are planning a trip around this pool, have a second option ready. Grettislaug on the coast north of Sauðárkrókur and the swimming pool in Hofsós are the closest alternatives for a hot soak with a view.
Respect the closure. Climbing the fence damages the chances of the pool ever reopening to visitors.
Fosslaug is a little off the main road and not signposted from the Ring Road, so it helps to know the turns. This is the route as it was used before the closure.
The whole walk from the car park is about 800 metres on flat or gently sloping ground. It can be muddy after rain and icy in winter.
This is a traditional pool, not a spa. The bottom is soft mud and small stones, the walls are stacked rock and turf, and there is nothing built around it. That is exactly why people like it.
The water stays near 40°C through the year, so it is warm enough for a winter soak. Some bathers walk the 50 metres to the river for a cold dip between rounds in the hot water. The river is fast and very cold, so stay at the edge and keep well away from the top of the waterfall.
In summer the sky stays light all night in the north, and an evening bath in the long twilight is the quietest time to come. In winter you may sit under heavy cloud, falling snow or, on a clear night, the Northern Lights. Bring a camera for the falls on the way in; the steps of Reykjafoss with the valley behind are worth a few minutes before you reach the pool.
Whatever the season, check first whether the landowner has reopened the route. The closure from 29 June 2026 applies all year.
None at the pool or the car park: no changing rooms, toilets, showers or bins. Fuel, a shop, a swimming pool and tourist information are in Varmahlíð, about 7 km away.
Varmahlíð is the closest base for this part of Skagafjörður, with a small range of accommodation and services.
Not at the time of writing. The landowner closed access to Fosslaug and Reykjafoss on 29 June 2026 and has not given a reopening date. Check locally before you go.
Before the closure, a fee of about ISK 1,500 per car was collected at the car park. The landowner has said he does not charge visitors himself, so any future arrangement may be different.
Around 40°C all year, a comfortable soaking temperature even in winter.
From Varmahlíð take Route 752 south for about 7 km, turn left for Vindheimar on Route 753, cross two small bridges, turn right onto the gravel road and park at the fence. The pool is a short walk past Reykjafoss.
About 800 metres each way, 10 to 15 minutes, on an easy path from the car park past Reykjafoss waterfall.
It is small. Six to ten people fill it, and it is more comfortable with fewer.
No, there are no facilities of any kind, so plan to change outdoors or at your car.
The water stays warm all year, but the path can be icy and daylight is short. Bring ice grips and warm clothes, and check that access is open.
