Vaglaskógur - Forest

Vaglaskógur forest is Iceland's largest birch forest of aprox 300 hectar and a popular destination for Icelanders for camping, hikes or pick-nicks.
It is thought to be one of the most beautiful forests in Iceland. Due to strategic conservation for over a century, the birch trees in Vaglaskógur forest have distinctive characteristics. The trunk is light in color, and the trees grow straighter and taller than most other birch species in Iceland.

It's a good place for picking berries and mushrooms and the forest has many great walking trails. Many species of birds can be found in the forest including redwings, wrens, common snipes, ptarmigans, common redpolls and goldcrests. For map of trails see link to the right.

Several campsites are in the area along with a children‘s playgrounds and picknick benches.

At the northern perimeter of the forest there is arched bridge. Built in 1908, it was the first of its kind in Iceland. Quite ambitiously, it was the longest arch bridge in Scandinavia at the time, 55 meters long. It was designe for horses and wagons, but got used for cars until 1993 but since then it was turned into a footbridge.