Bjarnarfoss (literally: Bears’ Waterfall) is a slender two-tier waterfall in the southern part of the Snæfellsnes peninsula. You can easily spot it from road 54, without even slowing down.
Want to see the most beautiful part of the waterfall?
Bjarnarfoss is fed by the Landakotsgil river, and its two tiers together measure 79 meters (260 feet). That makes it a tall waterfall by Icelandic standards, though not one of the tallest – those are over 100 meters (330 feet). What Bjarnarfoss does have is an open view: nothing blocks it even from far away, and you can follow the whole line it cuts down the mountainside.
The best part of it is the basalt columns flanking the fall halfway down, in the middle of the cascade. That part sits fairly high on the cliffs, though, and reaching it takes some effort – it means climbing the steep slope past the end of the marked path.
The basalt columns halfway down Bjarnarfoss
The real distinguishing feature of Bjarnarfoss is exactly that: you can take it in from a long way off. So if you are short on time, look at it from the road or from the parking lot and drive on.
How to get to Bjarnarfoss
The parking lot at the start of the short path (500 meters, about 1,600 feet) to the foot of Bjarnarfoss is only about 2.5 km (1.5 miles) north of the famous black church Budakirkja, and only about 400 meters (1,300 feet) northeast of the junction of roads 54 and 574 (their second, northern junction is near Olafsvik).
Coming back to road 574 after seeing the Budakirkja church, you have Bjarnarfoss almost exactly in front of you – it is impossible to miss, even though it can look small from a distance.
Bjarnarfoss seen from the road
