How to avoid the crowds at Preikestolen

Go in September, or start before eight, or walk in the evening. June to August is the crowded stretch and mid-morning is the crowded hour, and both are avoidable without giving up anything except a lie-in.

Busiest monthsJune to August

Quietest good monthSeptember

Busiest hoursMid-morning

Walkers in 2018288,839

Walkers in 2019309,956

2023, Norwegian reportingAround 354,000

How many people there actually are

288,839 in 2018 and 309,956 in 2019 on the official counts, with Norwegian reporting putting 2023 at around 354,000 and the trend heading towards 400,000. Round it to roughly 350,000 a year and rising. They are not spread evenly: the snow-free season runs about May or June to September, most of the traffic is in the three months of high summer, and most of each day’s traffic sets off between nine and noon because that is when the buses and the tours arrive.

So the plateau at half past eleven on a clear Saturday in July has a queue for photographs, and the same plateau at seven in the morning in mid-September can have a dozen people on it. Same rock, same walk, entirely different day.

The three ways round it

What works

September: the trail still in good condition and far fewer people on it
An early start, before about eight, which also gets you the car park
An evening walk in late June, when the light lasts and the buses have stopped
The back-country route, which joins the plateau from another direction

Worth knowing

May and early June have no seasonal bus, so early season means driving
Evening walks need a headlamp and a plan: walking in the dark
September weather is September weather, and nobody can promise you a view
Avoiding crowds on the trail does not empty the plateau at midday

Timing it inside a single day

The mid-morning wave is a transport artefact. The seasonal bus runs up to nine times a day from around 20 June to around 13 September and the tours leave the city early, so the trail loads from about nine and the plateau fills from about eleven. Start at seven and you meet all of it coming up while you are coming down, which is a reasonable trade. Start at four in the afternoon in June and you have the top in the evening with almost nobody on it. The best time of day goes through the hours properly, and the best time to visit through the months.

The genuinely empty option

There is a rarely used back-country trail through forest and over Neverdalsfjellet that joins Preikestolen from another direction, run as a guided walk with a maximum of eight people. It is roughly 9 kilometres with about 500 metres of climbing, so it is longer and harder than the main path, not a shortcut. What you get for the extra effort is described by the people who have done it as watching the crowds on the plateau from above, away from them: the back-country route.

Local tip

If you are driving and want the quiet version without the early alarm, go late. Arriving at the car park at four on a long June afternoon puts you on the plateau when the day-trip traffic has gone home, and the descent in evening light is the best part of that plan.

What there is to book

Nothing for the trail. What you can book is the transport, a guide, or the back-country route that joins the plateau from another direction with eight people at most. The rest is on the bookings page.

Check dates & book

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Frequently asked questions

When is Preikestolen least busy?

September for the month, and the hours before about eight or after about four for the day.

How many people hike it a year?

288,839 in 2018 and 309,956 in 2019, with 2023 reported at around 354,000 and rising.

Is there a quieter route up?

There is a back-country trail over Neverdalsfjellet, walked as a small guided group. It is longer and harder than the main path.