Innerdalen in Trollheimen is known to be Norway’s most beautiful valley. Innerdalen is located in Sunndal in Nordmøre, just northeast of the Romsdalsfjord. Map to use: Trollheimen Sør DNT Hiking Map 1:50000.
The beautiful and idyllic Innerdalen valley is part of the Trollheimen Protected Landscape Area. Mt Innerdalstårnet and Renndalskammen are two popular mountain hikes that you can take starting from the mountain cabins in Innerdalen.
About season and other important information
OFFICIAL HIKE DESCRIPTION – Tour descriptions from fjords.com may be incomplete and inaccurate, errors and omissions may occur. Therefore, it is important to look for updated information from official information sources. You can search for most of the mountain hikes in Norway in the website UT.no. There you will find more accurate hike descriptions with maps, elevation profiles and other useful information. Unfortunately, UT.no has only Norwegian text and does not cover all the hikes on this website. Here is a hike description from UT.no to Innerdalen. Read about your own responsibility and about how to explore the Norwegian nature in a safe way. We recommend using a guide.
GRADING – Medium. ALTITUDE DIFFERENCE – This hike goes along a well-maintained gravel road and starts from the parking lots in Nerdalen (altitude unknown). Innerdalshytta Mountain Cabin is located at approximately 410 meters above sea level. See hike description in the article.
SEASON – Innerdalshytta is manned from approximately June 20th to September 30th, it is unmanned the rest of the year (locked with a DNT key). Renndølsetra is manned from approximately June 21st to August 17th (2025 season). These are approximate dates, check the websites of the tourist cabins for more information about season, accommodation and opening hours.
Hiking season – June to mid September, these are approximate dates that depends on the weather, temperature and the amount of snow in the mountains.
SAFETY IN THE MOUNTAINS – You should follow the Norwegian Mountain Code when hiking in Norway. It can change from summer and sunny weather to winter and frost in minutes! Always check the Weather Forecast before you go hiking. For safety reasons it is recommended to avoid hiking in Thunderstorms, in fog, in bad weather and when it is snow and ice on the trail and in the mountain! Always bring good clothes and hiking shoes. And have enough food and water in your rucksack.
WHEN YOU ENCOUNTER LIVESTOCK IN THE WILD – Leave animals that are staying and grazing in the wild alone. Avoid scaring cows, sheep and goats. Keep your distance and do not make sudden movements that could scare the animals. Remember to always close gates behind you. Dogs must be on a leash. Dogs must be on a leash in Norway for much of the year. Read more about how to behave when you encounter livestock in the wild…
The hike along Innerdalen valley
It is about three and a half kilometers to walk from the parking lots in Nerdalen to Rennsølsetra Mountain Cabin in Innerdalen. If you walk another five hundred meters, you will arrive at Innerdalshytta, which is a DNT cabin (DNT = The Norwegian Trekking Association) that is manned during the summer season and unattended the rest of the year.
The walk from the parking lot in Nerdalen to the mountain cabins in Innerdalen is like walking in a national romantic postcard. You walk along a beautiful gravel road all the way to the tourist cabins.
The first part of the gravel trail is partly steep and winding. When you reach the highest point of the trail, it continues gently downhill until you reach lake Innerdalsvatnet. The trail then follows Innerdalsvatnet until you reach Rennsølsetra Mountain Cabin.
At the highest point of the trail, there is a rusty metal sign indicating that you have now entered the Innerdalen Protected Landscape Area. There you can take a short detour along a path to the right until you reach a great viewpoint where you can see the entire lake Innerdalsvatnet, which is surrounded by magnificent mountains and beautiful nature.
The Mountain Cabins in Innerdalen
The Renndølsetra and Innerdalshytta mountain cabins in Innerdalen welcome you to visit during the summer season. Renndølsetra is the first cabin you come to when you walk from Nerdal and along lake Innerdalsvatnet in Innerdalen.
At Renndølsetra you both stay and eat well. The waffles served with jam and sour cream are legendary.
Innerdalshytta is a DNT cabin. It is manned during the summer season and unmanned the rest of the year.
Remember to book accommodation in advance, both at Renndølsetra and at Innerdalshytta.
Season: Summer. See the websites of the mountain cabins for more information about season and opening hours.
Innerdalen Valley – The Gateway to Trollheimen
Innerdalen is known as one of Norway’s most beautiful valleys. There you will get the national romance served on a silver platter. The entire area, from the parking lot in Nerdalen and further on the gravel trail along lake Innerdalsvatnet, is like walking in a beautiful postcard.
Around the mountain cabins Renndølsetra and Innerdalshytta, cows and goats roam the pastures, and the scenery with beautiful cultural landscape, steep mountains, lakes, rivers and waterfalls is like something out of a Disney movie.
From the mountain cabins in Innerdalen, you can hike to nearby mountains or further into West-Trollheimen, on trails that go in all directions.
Mt Innerdalstårnet is the most well-known and famous mountain in Innerdalen. The hike to Innerdalstårnet is long, steep, demanding and airy and is not suitable for everyone. You must be used to mountains and be able to walk along steep, narrow and airy mountain ridges to get to the top of mt Innerdalstårnet. This involves scrambling and partial climbing in steep terrain, and it is recommended to use a guide on this mountain hike.
Other popular mountain hikes from Innerdalen are the hike to mt Renndalskammen and the hike around Snøfjell. There are also many marked summer hikes that go in all directions from Innerdalen. From Innerdalen you have Trollheimen as your playground, and you can hike to Bårdsgården and Kårvatn which are two other mountain cabins located in West-Trollheimen. The hikes between the mountain cabins are long and demanding, read more on DNT’s website for more information about hiking in Norway.
Romsdalsfjord – What to See and Do
From snowy mountains to beautiful coastline of islands and reefs. Experience all this in one day due to the short distance from mountains to coast. Trollstigen, Trollveggen and Rampestreken are great places to visit in the inner part of the Romsdalsfjord, where the fjord meets the spectacular and alpine Romsdal mountains. The Romsdalsfjord is located in the county of Møre og Romsdal, north in Western Norway.
Visit Northwest
Visit Northwest is the official destination company for the Romsdalsfjord, Romsdal and Nordmøre area.
Parking
There are two parking lots in Nerdalen, which is where the gravel trail to the Innerdalen valley starts. The parking lots are subject to a fee. See the map below to see where the parking lots are located.
Accommodation in Innerdalen
Renndølsetra Mountain Cabin
Innerdalshytta Mountain Cabin (DNT-hut)
References
Renndølsetra in Innerdalen
DNT (The Norwegian Trekking Organization)
UT.no