Hallormsstadur Forest

Larch planted in 1937 along the red trail now stands 20 metres tall, and lodgepole pine and Douglas fir went in beside it in 1940. The same route passes the ruins of a Viking-age horse corral. The blue trail climbs from the old home economics school, past a rock outcrop called the Old Woman, through a tall birch wood and up to Falcon Cliffs, which look out over the forest. Much of the wood grows on a large rock slide, and the light green trail crosses it under the cliffs. Scots pine grows unusually well here by Icelandic standards.

• Trailheads: Several routes start from the car park by the school, and a QR code there lists the options. Other trails meet the main road at pull-ins.
• Water: Clear streams cross the forest, and the water in all of them is drinkable.
• Dogs and children: Dogs are allowed, and the trails work well for children.
• Winter: Snow covers the trails, and after a fall the tracks you follow may be your own.

The forest lies in Fljótsdalur, about 25 km inland from Egilsstaðir, and access is by road. The main road runs through the woods, with several pull-ins where a walking trail meets it. Several trails begin at the car park by the school, so the walking starts at the car park itself, with no approach path to cover first. The campsites at Atlavík and Höfðavík have their own trailheads; the path up from Atlavík climbs a steep slope to the arboretum.

Best: August, for quiet trails, summer birds and picking.

Avoid: the moor routes in low cloud — the orange trail gives mountain views only on a clear day.

Trails are quiet in August and there are few tourists. Redwings, snipes, meadow pipits, woodcocks and wagtails fill the woods in summer. Raspberries, redcurrants and rock bramble grow in parts of the forest, and edible mushrooms include larch bolete, birch bolete and slippery jack.