Storseterfossen (Stranda, More og Romsdal, Norway)

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Storseterfossen

Storsæterfossen

Storseterfossen (or Storsæterfossen) was one of the more memorable waterfalls in the Geiranger Fjord area because of a couple of things. One was that it couldn't be seen on one of the fjord cruises and that we had to hike to it, because it sat hidden in the Vesterås Valley (Vesteråsdalen). But the other was that we were able to go behind the 30m falls. As a bonus during our hike, we were also able to catch views towards the imposing knob of Vinsåshornet where the cascading Grinddalsfossen tumbled beneath it.

But the thing about this hike was that it was relentlessly uphill, hot, and sweaty. It took us about two hours return, but there were still quite a few people who partook on this excursion attesting to its popularity despite its hidden nature.

From the car park (see directions below), we had to walk back down the unpaved road for a few minutes to get to the actual trailhead. It was during this part of the walk that we were able to down towards Hole ("HOO-luh") and the imposing knob of Vinsåshornet (VIN-sohs-horn-uh") where the profile of the cascading Grinddalsfossen showed itself.

Julie on the trail near the start Next, we followed the demandingly steep but clearly marked path uphill for what seemed like an eternity. In some spots, we had to keep an eye out for painted red Ts on rocks (courtesy of the Norwegian Touring Association DNT or Den Norske Turistforeningen), especially where there were trail junctions. Fortunately, the trail gradually reduced in steepness the higher we went.

After nearly an hour of climbing nearly 230m, the trail finally started to relent and flatten out. Not much later, we were finally able to start seeing Storseterfossen through the bush beckoning us for both better and closer looks. But unfortunately, as we proceeded further along the trail, our view of the falls started to disappear as the trail curved around the gorge and headed to the falls' top.

Julie continuing on the climbing trail to the top of Storseterfossen Once we were up at the top, we had a choice of continuing into the Vesterås Valley or scramble around of a safe path to get behind the waterfall. It turned out that there was such a path (to the right of Storseterfossen as we were looking downhill) with rocky steps and railings for relatively safe access. There was also an unprotected path on the left side of the falls (as we look downhill), but it looked real dangerous, and I'd imagine might've had something to do with past fatalities here.

Directions: To start the hike, we had to look for a small single-lane road leading from the main road Rv63 to the Vesterås Restaurant (it was near the top of the switchbacks as we left Geiranger due south about 2.5km from the ferry area). This turnoff was near the Hole Hyttas. The single-lane road was a little scary because there were limited passing opportunities so things might get hairy if there was someone headed the other way (which fortunately wasn't the case on our trip). The car park was near the Vesterås Restaurant (about 1km from Rv63) a few paces beyond the official trailhead.

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Looking back down towards Rv63

Sign made it seem like this wasn't too bad of a hike

Direct look at Storsæterfossen and its context Direct look at the falls and its context

Looking at the top of the falls

Looking upstream deeper into Vesterås Valley

The path approaching the backside of the falls

Profile view of Storsæterfossen Profile view of Storseterfossen

Looking out from behind the falls

Looking down towards bottom of the falls from its backside

Downhill descent almost back at the car park

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Top down sweep from right behind the falls