Sanddalsfossen

Sanddalsfossen is one of the major waterfalls of Norway and is located in the Sanddalen near Byrkjelo in the region Sogn og Fjordane.

In Byrkjelo you have to take road Rv60 (sign Fjellvegen) to Utvik, going to the north. After 900 meter there is a right turn to road Rv 693,  Myklebust. From here it is a 4 kilometer drive into the Sanddalen until a parking shows up at the right side of the road (gps 61.745125, 6.576521). There is a small sign with a P but I missed it totally and parked the car along the roadside, somewhat inconvenient.

Sanddalsfossen-signFrom the parking walk 100 meter down the road until you cross a bridge and see a sign Sandalsstoylen at a red picturesque house. You have a nice view but it better to take the road before the bridge going left. There are construction activities near Sanddalsfossen, so the trail isn’t passable anymore.

Walking at the left side of the river you still walk by construction activities but is was an official trail so I went on. At the end of the path (after 10-15 minutes) you have to find your way through the wilderness (10 minutes). Sometimes you see a trail where people have walked before. I didn’t went on to the base of Sanddalsfossen al the way but I was close.

Sanddalsfossen-constructionI also walked a (private) road at the right side of the river and ended at a building site. Here I couldn’t go further but I had a good view on Sanddalsfossen from a hill.

Sanddalsfossen is a powerful and impressive waterfall with a single drop of appr. 160 meter in the river Sanddalselva. Sanddalsfossen is fed by several glaciers from which Myklebust, on an altitude of 1739 meters, is the largest with a surface of 57m2. This is also the source of the river Sanddalselva.

There are several trails that leads to the glacier or to a big lake named Svartebotnen. Trailhead lies somewhat east of the bridge over Sanddalselva.

Sanddalsfossen-viewI visited Sanddalsfossen somewhere around 2001 and in 2017. Both times there where construction activities regarding building a power plant. I don’t know for how long or if the waterfall in ten years time still exists. Too bad, because it is one of the nicest waterfall in the region with good views.

Further up the valley several low stream waterfalls drop down the mountain. One of them is Strupenfossen, also fed by the glacier Myklebust. Not a very impressive waterfall but nice to see. For more big waterfalls you have to go to the neighbor valley where also many waterfalls are fed by the glacier Myklebust breen.

Volefossen viewpointBy far Volefossen is the most beautiful and most impressive waterfall in the Oldedalen. Already from a far distance you can see Volefossen almost in front of the Briksdal glacier. Most of the time it is very crowded (at the viewpoints) with busloads of people coming of a cruise ship. At the end of the valley you can make a short walk to the scenic Kleivafossen and the glacier.


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About Sanddalsfossen

CountryNorway
RegionSogn og Fjordane
LocationSanddalen-Byrkjelo
RiverSanddalselva
Height160m
Latitude61.75681
Longitude6.59330
Best visitEarly summer-summer
Rating

Most nearby waterfalls

WaterfallDistance (linear)Rating
Spirefossen 5 km
Strupenfossen 7 km
Nonsfossen 12 km
Gytrifossen 20 km
Laukifossen 25 km