Trip Report: Paddling Norway

Destinations

Although the northern half of the country is becoming more popular, most of the classic paddling spots are clustered in Norway’s southern half. The town of Voss is an extreme-creeking mecca; the Sjoa river is the country’s rafting center with plenty of class III-IV, and Rauma river has big pool and drop rapids.

There are also plenty of runs to hit while driving in between these central paddling hubs. In fact, I found it difficult to make good time on the roads due to a constant desire to stop and investigate every river we passed.

And if you are the type who prefers to take the road slightly less traveled, the Telemark region offers up some extremely high-quality whitewater as well.

Due to the topography of the steep-walled glacial valleys, roads tend to follow the bigger rivers through valleys, crossing the tributaries as they go. I haven’t done the work to confirm, but I suspect that you’d be hard pressed to get more than a few miles from a river in most of Norway. And that river probably has good whitewater.

The rivers are so plentiful and tightly grouped, I was able to paddle six different rivers in my recent three-day stay in the country. And there is so much daylight in June, we even had time to repeat a few sections.

During my stay, I was based in the Otta Valley, where Blister reviewer David Spiegel is currently working as a raft guide. The Otta Valley is somewhat of a forgotten paddling destination ever since its classic play spot, the Skjåk wave, washed away in a flood several years ago. But there are still more than ten class III-V+ runs within 40 minutes of the Otta River and its tributaries.

We spent two of the three days paddling in the Otta Valley near the town of Bismo. In spite of being less popular, we were able to paddle an amazing variety of whitewater within just a few minutes drive of David’s house just outside Bismo. Some of the highlights included the Skjoli (steep and difficult boulder gardens for miles), Donfoss (a great park and huck), and the rafting sections of the Otta (excellent class III bigwater).

Thirty minutes of driving got us to the Bøvre river, which held some excellent class II-IV bigwater. On my last full day in Norway, we traveled a bit further afield and headed north and east to the Rauma and the Valldola rivers, which both offered up extremely high-quality class IV+ to V+ pool-drop rapids. Some of the rapids on the Lower Rauma were truly massive.

There are too many rivers and destinations to touch on here, but that’s what guidebooks are for. Suffice it to say, despite its reputation for harboring class V+ hair boating, Norway actually has nearly infinite class IV options, and plenty of class III.

Often the lower gradient sections are above or below the big stuff, but, even in the bigger sections, many runs in Norway are not tightly locked in gorges, and provide good opportunities for scouting and portaging.

Weather, Flows, and Timing

Norwegian summer is somewhat of a joke, because the weather is often slightly chilly and a bit rainy. That said, the period between late June and mid July will typically afford at least a few days of sunshine and warm temperatures. If you are unsure about whether to bring your drysuit or drytop, bring the drysuit. If it’s nice out, a drytop is great to have, but water is typically glacial melt in the higher drainages, so a drysuit provides a bit more versatility.

Another nice thing about planning a trip to Norway is that something will almost always be running. If the high creeks have too much flow (e.g., when it’s hot and the glaciers are melting fast), then the bigger rivers down in the valleys will be fun and bouncy. If the big-volume rivers are low, then the creeks will be prime for action.

Norway is one of the few places where paddlers tend to spend more time waiting for the creeks to come down rather than up, so many sections remain good until late into the summer.

The first trip I made to Norway was in late August-early September, and it had just started to drop down below freezing at night in the Otta Valley. This meant that the glaciers that fed the higher elevation creeks weren’t contributing much flow, but there was still great boating on the rafting section of the Otta river, and we were able to make it up high in a tributary of the Otta called the Skjoli and run a few falls that are normally too high when the canyon section is at a good flow.

This last trip (in mid-late June), the Skjoli was only low enough to run the canyon section for part of the trip, but we were able to easily adjust our day’s schedule to accommodate the fluctuations in flows without driving hours on end. If one river is too high or low, you can almost always find something more suitable a short drive away.

Having said all that, as a general rule, you’ll probably want to plan your trip for late June to mid July if you’re looking to challenge yourself with flows that are on the high side of runnable.

If you want to paddle some of the classic drops and sections at bit more mellow water levels, plan to arrive in the second half of July and paddle into early August.

Again, this is just a general rule. Weather and flows vary from year to year, but it is near impossible to get skunked by flows on a trip to Norway.

Bottom Line

Norway is one of the premier paddling destinations on the planet. It is closer than you think, and logistically, it is relatively simple. The scenery is stunning, and despite its reputation for class V+ waterfalls, it has plenty to offer intermediate and advanced paddlers who aren’t looking to live on the hairy edge.

Have any questions? Add a comment below and we will do our best to help!

But for now, take a look at some more shots from our time in Norway.

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