Laugarbakki: Culture, River Trail and Accommodation

Laugarbakki offers several points of interest to consider when planning your trip: Grettisból and the stories surrounding Grettir the Strong, trails along the Miðfjarðará and an annual festival in July. There is also Hotel Laugarbakki, housed in a building with a history of its own. If you are looking for a hotel, you can weigh up accommodation and your interests in Laugarbakki together, without treating the different places and activities as if they were the same.

Hotel Laugarbakki

Hotel Laugarbakki is located in the municipality’s former boarding school and has 56 rooms. The building’s former purpose gives the hotel a concrete connection to local history, while the number of rooms also conveys a sense of the size of the property.

Grettisból and Grettir the Strong

Grettisból is a recreational area and complex of buildings in Laugarbakki in Miðfjörður, managed by Grettistak ses. Outdoor activities include guided tours and various Viking games. The focus here is therefore on both guided activities and games. If you are interested in the connection to Grettir the Strong, you can find further local connections in the history and surrounding area: Bjarg í Miðfirði lies nearby, about 10 km south of Laugarbakki. Remains associated with Grettir the Strong have been preserved there. Grettisból and Bjarg are thus different points of reference for this subject, one in Laugarbakki and the other farther south.

Grettishátíð is also associated with Grettisból. The annual festival is held mainly there in Laugarbakki from 25 to 27 July. Individual program details may vary; check the dates for the relevant year and the current program before your trip. The historic horse competition in the story of Grettir the Strong also took place at Langafit. This connection makes Langafit interesting not only as a walking trail but also as the setting for a story passed down through the ages.

Langafit and the Miðfjarðará

Laugarbakki lies just east of the Miðfjarðará. The Langafit walking trail starts in front of the Ásbyrgi community centre in Laugarbakki, leads to the riverbank and then runs south along the river. A path from the community centre leads down to the Miðfjarðará. Both a specific starting point and the course of the river are therefore useful landmarks for finding your way. The birdlife along the Langafit Trail is varied in summer. If you are considering this trail as part of your plans, be aware that trail conditions can vary and check them before setting out for a walk.

Summer market and local products

A farmers’ market is held at Grettisból in summer. Regional food and handicrafts with a historical connection are sold there. Spes-Sveitamarkað and Bardúsa-Verslunminjasafn take part in the market. Laugarbakki is also home to the Langafit craft market, featuring handicrafts made by people from Laugarbakki and the surrounding farms. The two markets therefore differ both in location and in the selection described: the farmers’ market takes place in summer and includes regional food, while the Langafit craft market focuses on handicrafts from the village and surrounding farms.

River, road and geothermal energy

The surrounding area can also be understood through specific geographic features. The road to the Arnarsvatnsheiði heath passes through Laugarbakki. Hot water from Laugarbakki’s geothermal area is used to heat homes in the village. This use is part of how geothermal energy features in local daily life. Together with its location just east of the Miðfjarðará, this creates a picture of a place shaped in different ways by the river, the road and geothermal water.

Other types of accommodation

There is a campsite and sleeping-bag accommodation for groups and individual travellers in the area around the Ásbyrgi community centre. If you are looking for a hotel, it is best to distinguish these types of accommodation from Hotel Laugarbakki: the hotel is in the former boarding school and has 56 rooms, while the campsite and sleeping-bag accommodation are located around the community centre. This allows you to consider the type of accommodation first when planning your trip, then explore Laugarbakki’s cultural, local or landscape-related attractions.

Discover more destinations: Lækjamót, Blönduós, Miklibær, Ríp, Skagaströnd, Hvammstangi, Varmahlíð, Svínavatn.

See the wider travel overview: Northwest Iceland.