Trollafoss

Mossfell, Capital Region (Höfuðborgarsvæði), Iceland

About Trollafoss

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Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Trollafoss (Tröllafoss or Troellafoss; I think is pronounced “TRUHT-luh-foss”) was kind of a locals waterfall as it seemed to only be visited mostly by domestic visitors.

Perhaps the reason for its lack of notoriety outside of Iceland is that there wasn’t any tell-tale signage pointing towards it on the Golden Circle route even though it was close to the Thingvallavegur Road (one of the roads on the route).

Trollafoss_003_06212007 - Trollafoss (or more accurately Tröllafoss or Troellafoss) meaning Troll Falls
Trollafoss (or more accurately Tröllafoss or Troellafoss) meaning Troll Falls

Even once on the unpaved roads leading closer to the waterfall, I found it wasn’t trivial to figure out how to even experience this falls, especially for a first-timer.

In fact, it took me three tries before finally experiencing Tröllafoss properly, which I’ll share in this write-up.

As you can see in the photo immediately above, I only managed to get partial top down views of the falls on my first visit back in 2007 as I couldn’t figure out how to safely get in front of it.

However, that changed when my Mom and I returned 14 years later, but even on that trip, we had to endure one unsuccessful attempt before finally finding success.

Figuring Out Where To Start Hiking To Tröllafoss

Trollafoss_008_08192021 - Close-up look at the rough road as we opted to walk down from the upper trailhead towards the lower trailhead
Close-up look at the rough road as we opted to walk down from the upper trailhead towards the lower trailhead

Because of the relative lack of signage pointing the way to the Tröllafoss Waterfall, I found it confusing to figure out where to even start the hike.

Heck, we even made an unsuccessful attempt to reach Trollafoss from the Hrafnholar Farm as we had incorrectly thought there was a way to reach the bottom of the falls that way.

To make a long story short, it turns out that there were two possible trailheads on the same unpaved road to start from (see directions below).

There was an upper trailhead on a small clearing at the top of a hill that vehicles with neither high clearance nor 4wd could park at.

Trollafoss_043_08052021 - Looking towards the context of the lower trailhead for Trollafoss, where there was one car parked there
Looking towards the context of the lower trailhead for Trollafoss, where there was one car parked there

Then, there was a lower trailhead at the bottom of the same hill near a small lake or pond after 700m on a muddy, steep, rocky, and rutted tractor road.

Even with high clearance and 4wd, I preferred to stop at the upper trailhead and hike the extra 1.4km round trip because of the risk of a flat tire or getting stuck in the mud given the steep slope, especially when it threatens to rain.

That said, I did manage to drive to the lower trailhead on my first two visits (as I wasn’t even aware of the upper trailhead at the time) so it’s not totally out of the question.

There’s just a risk versus reward consideration to make as there always is on any hike or excursion in general.

Following Leirvogsá to Tröllafoss

Trollafoss_046_08192021 - Mom continuing along the 4wd path as we went searching for the proper way to experience Tröllafoss
Mom continuing along the 4wd path as we went searching for the proper way to experience Tröllafoss

From the lower trailhead, we then pretty much followed the continuation of the 4wd road.

There were a handful of unsigned spur trails leading closer to the rim of the gorge carved out by the Leirvogsá River.

One such spur trail (roughly 100m from the lower trailhead) skirted the canyon another 300m further to a sign that said “Ketilshylur”, which overlooked an old dam or fish ladder by a cascade.

Nevertheless, all of these spur trails were just use-trails along the rim of the canyon that pretty much offered more varied scenery as opposed to the less interesting scenery along the 4wd road.

Trollafoss_030_08192021 - Looking down at the Ketilshylur at the bottom of this steep canyon next to what appeared to be an old fish ladder and a cascade as seen from a cliffside spur on the way to the elusive Tröllafoss
Looking down at the Ketilshylur at the bottom of this steep canyon next to what appeared to be an old fish ladder and a cascade as seen from a cliffside spur on the way to the elusive Tröllafoss

That said, the 4wd road ultimately led about 1.1km to a precarious lookout peering down across the top of Tröllafoss.

While the temptation was great to try to find a way down on my first visit back in June 2007, I didn’t have enough presence of mind to look for safer access further downstream.

When I came back in August 2021, Mom and I found use-trails that curled around the outcrop we were on and descended a steep path towards Kerfoss, which was nothing more than a couple of cascades on the Leirvogsá.

Further upstream from Kerfoss, we skirted along the river’s banks before ultimately reaching the bottom of Tröllafoss and its lower tier.

Trollafoss_092_08192021 - Finally reaching the bottom of Tröllafoss and its lower cascade
Finally reaching the bottom of Tröllafoss and its lower cascade

From down here, we managed to carefully scramble onto the top of the shelf holding up the lower cascade before Tröllafoss, and that was when we noticed a rather deep and scary-looking pothole submerged in water.

With such slippery footing, we made sure not to fall in as we continued scrambling up the shelf and towards the plunge pool fronting the main 20m drop or so.

Overall, according to my GPS logs, it was roughly 3.6km round-trip to the waterfall from the upper trailhead.

But going to the bottom of the falls added another 600m round trip, and that was where we appreciated wearing good hiking boots while bringing our trekking poles.

Trollafoss_113_08192021 - Looking downstream at the context of the deep pothole and the Leirvogsá as seen from the shelf that gave rise to the lower cascade fronting Tröllafoss
Looking downstream at the context of the deep pothole and the Leirvogsá as seen from the shelf that gave rise to the lower cascade fronting Tröllafoss

And starting from the lower trailhead, the overall hike could be as little as 2.2km round trip.

Getting to the Other Side of Tröllafoss

With the Tröllafoss Waterfall and its lower cascade kind of facing away from the side of the river with the trail, I was very tempted to try to find a way to get to the other side for a more contextual view.

Unfortunately, I didn’t figure out a way to get across without wading across the Leirvogsá, which I found to be the most straightforward way to do it.

Even though I had brought my Chacos and carried two trekking poles, I just didn’t feel up to getting there given the risks involved.

Trollafoss_085_08192021 - Looking upstream towards the lower cascade and a partial look at the main drop of Tröllafoss as I looked for a safe way to get across the river for a more frontal look at the waterfall
Looking upstream towards the lower cascade and a partial look at the main drop of Tröllafoss as I looked for a safe way to get across the river for a more frontal look at the waterfall

You see, even though there were submerged bedrocks that I might be able to use to stand on, the current was strong, the bedrock was very slippery, and there were lots of deep sections where I’m pretty much swimming if I missed a step or slipped and fell.

There was also the threat of rain and flash flooding during my visit, which was another reason why I opted to not take the risk.

That said, I also noticed that there were indeed trails on the other side of the canyon (though there was also fencing perhaps to prevent trespassing).

So I’d imagine that it might have been possible to keep scrambling further up along the rim of the canyon from the precarious overlook.

Trollafoss_064_08192021 - Looking downstream at the context of the canyon where it seemed painfully clear that trying to get down to the canyon from the other side of Trollafoss wasn't the right answer
Looking downstream at the context of the canyon where it seemed painfully clear that trying to get down to the canyon from the other side of Trollafoss wasn’t the right answer

Then, at a flatter and less rugged section of the river, perhaps it might have been possible to cross the river and finally backtack downhill to the falls again.

I can’t really speak to doing that since I didn’t do it myself, but from the way the trails were coming into the canyon on the other side, it certainly seemed to suggest that.

Finally, we also made the attempt to start the hike from the other side of the Leirvogsá at Hrafnholar Farm.

However, it eventually turned us around at Ketilshylur where the canyon was too steep to proceed without straight up going into the water or clinging onto cliffs.

Authorities

Trollafoss (Tröllafoss) resides in the Capital Region of Iceland near Reykjavík. It is administered by the municipality of Mosfellsbær. For information or inquiries about the general area as well as current conditions, you may want to try visiting their website.

Maps and Routing Content are for annual subscribers. See Membership Options.
Content is for subscribers. See Membership Options.
Tagged with: trollafoss, laxa, kjos, reykjavik, mossfellsbaer, thingvellir, capital region, iceland, waterfall, hard to find, mossfell, thorufoss



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Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
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