For years, people pulled off Route 1 wherever they could and walked across the moraine to see the ice. The families who farm below the glacier decided to make the stop safer and easier, and to pay for it in a way that keeps the place in good shape.
Who built the road
The landowners built the access road and the car park on their own land. There was no grant and no outside investor. Visitors already arrive every day, and the road gives them a safe place to leave Route 1.
There is no other funding; every króna goes back into the site.
What the fee pays for
Parking costs ISK 1,000 per car, paid in the Parka app or by card. That money covers four things:
- 01The access road, graded and maintained through winter
- 02The car park itself
- 03Facilities
- 04Paths, signs and upkeep
What the fee maintains. Photos: credits
Why walking in is free
The fee is for parking a vehicle, not for seeing the glacier. If you arrive on foot or by bicycle, from the Breiðármörk trail or along the road, you pay nothing.
What comes next
The fee is how the area keeps developing. A restaurant is planned, and we will post news here as it takes shape. The same approach runs at our sister site, Múlagljúfur Canyon, six kilometres west.
