Lierne: National Park, Hiking Trails and Cultural Landscape

Lierne National Park is located entirely within the municipality of Lierne. Together with adjacent protected areas, it forms a large, continuous wilderness area with few or no technical interventions. Hiking, landscapes and traces of human use offer different ways to shape your trip: you can explore natural features, compare trails, and include museums or cultural landscapes.

Wilderness, Ice Age Landscapes and Wildlife

The national park features Ice Age landforms such as Rogen moraines, drumlins, eskers, meltwater channels and ice-marginal deposits. These technical terms refer to different features associated with the Ice Age. Hestkjøltoppen is a clearly identifiable landmark in the landscape: at 1,390 metres above sea level, it is the highest mountain in Lierne.

Wildlife is also part of the national park’s character. It provides a habitat for birds such as dotterels, purple sandpipers and pomarine jaegers, as well as wolverines, lynx, brown bears and arctic foxes. These species illustrate the range of wildlife associated with the park landscape; the natural environment cannot be reduced to a single point of interest.

Choose Hikes by Distance and Type

For experienced hikers, the hike to Hestkjøltoppen is considered a day trip of 8 to 12 hours. This is quite different from the shorter trail distances listed for other routes in Lierne. If you compare hikes by distance and trail type, you will find different starting points for planning without treating the routes as equivalent.

The Skærvknulen trail from Liernetur in Kvelia is 4.4 kilometres long and has an elevation gain of 386 metres. The marked Folkestien is a 5-kilometre circular trail that starts and ends at Sørli Museum. It is suitable for walks or runs with a stroller. The two routes are similar in length; elevation gain, the circular route and stroller suitability each offer different points of reference when choosing a hike.

One entrance to the national park is at Muru; another approach is via Sørli and Løvsjølia. From the entrance at Muru, a trail runs about 1 kilometre into the park. A large national park monument stands there, 300 metres inside the park. A copper plaque bears an inscription by Crown Princess Mette-Marit, and the monument offers far-reaching views to the west and north. These details provide concrete geographical reference points to help you find your way during your trip.

Cultural Landscapes and Museums

Kvelia UKL is a continuous cultural landscape where agriculture, forest, mountains and bodies of water come together. It preserves cultural heritage sites and biodiversity values shaped by long-standing use. Tours offered there include a trip to Kvetangseteren, which leads to the ruins of six summer farms. In Kvelia, a tour to a bear’s den east of Kvemoen is also offered, complete with bear stories. Another tour goes to Rømmervasseteren, on foot or by boat. Check the tour’s booking availability before your trip.

Sørli Museum is an open-air museum with 16 museum buildings. These include a farm, a summer farm, a forest hut and an outdoor stage. The site is also the start and end point of the Folkestien, linking the circular trail with the option of making a museum visit a focus of your trip. Nordli Museum includes the former municipal building Allheim, with various period-room exhibits, and a village museum with six houses from the 18th and 19th centuries.

Lierne National Park Centre is a visitor centre for Lierne National Park and Blåfjella-Skjækerfjella National Park. It features an exhibition that opened in 2007, titled “Living off Nature – Living with Predators.” The exhibition adds a cultural theme to the landscapes and wildlife, focusing directly on the relationship between people and predators.

An Annual Event

Flyktningerennet is an annual ski race from Nordli to Gäddede. As the dates vary from year to year, check the dates of the relevant race when planning your trip. This lets you consider the event as a possible reason for travelling without confusing it with the year-round landscape and museum attractions.

Discover more destinations: Nordli, Sørli, Namsskogan, Grong, Fosnes, Nærøy, Vikna, Steinkjer.

For the broader travel overview: Nord-Trondelag.