Kverkjökull at the Kverkfjöll Geothermal Area

An outlet glacier on the northern margin of Vatnajökull at Kverkfjöll: the national park's ice-cave warning, the visitor trails, the hut facilities and the mountain-road distances.

Updated November 6, 2026Published by Iceland.orgWriting & review

Region

Northern margin of Vatnajökull (USGS)

Park warning: do not enter the unstable ice cave.

Kverkjökull is an outlet glacier on the northern margin of Vatnajökull, and every route to it from Reykjavík in Vegagerðin’s distance tool goes over mountain roads open part of the summer and not passable for passenger cars. Vatnajökull National Park urges people visiting the Kverkfjöll mountains not to enter the unstable ice cave, because ice fall is frequent and poisonous gases in the cave can increase quickly. USGS PP1746: Kverkjökull entry (source checked 2026-11-06) Vegagerðin: Reykjavík to Kverkjökull (source checked 2026-11-06) Vatnajökull National Park: K5 trail (source checked 2026-11-06)

Key takeaways

The USGS glacier-name reference (Professional Paper 1746) describes Kverkjökull as an outlet glacier on the northern margin of Vatnajökull, named for the Kverk canyon out of which it descends. USGS PP1746: Kverkjökull entry (source checked 2026-11-06)
Vatnajökull National Park urges people not to enter the unstable ice cave in the Kverkfjöll mountains, because ice fall is frequent and poisonous gases in the cave can increase quickly. Vatnajökull National Park: K5 trail (source checked 2026-11-06)
Vatnajökull National Park lists its K2 route from Sigurðarskáli hut to Kverkjökull at 4.1 km one way, 2–3 hours and 200 m of elevation, with ice falling and crevasses as the warning. Vatnajökull National Park: K2 trail (source checked 2026-11-06)
Vegagerðin’s distance tool lists 18 routes from Reykjavík to Kverkjökull, the shortest 459 km (201 km paved, 258 km gravel), and notes on every route that it goes over mountain roads open part of the summer and is not passable for passenger cars. Vegagerðin: Reykjavík to Kverkjökull (source checked 2026-11-06)
Ferðafélag Fljótsdalshérað and Ferðafélag Húsavíkur run Sigurðarskáli hut in Kverkfjöll, where Vatnajökull National Park lists a camping area, water toilets and showers but no shops, restaurants or gas stations. Vatnajökull National Park: Sigurðarskáli (source checked 2026-11-06)

Kverkjökull at a glance
Fact	Detail	Notes
Location	Northern margin of Vatnajökull	USGS Professional Paper 1746, printed page 136, which prints the position as 64°43′N., 16°39′W. (checked November 6, 2026)
Visitor trail (K5)	About 800 m, about 45 minutes, from the parking lot	Vatnajökull National Park, which urges people not to enter the unstable ice cave (checked November 6, 2026)
K2 route from Sigurðarskáli hut	4.1 km one way, 2–3 hours, 200 m elevation	Park data table; the park's text calls the hut-to-car-park trail about 3 kilometers; warning: ice falling and crevasses (checked November 6, 2026)
Access	Mountain roads; not passable for passenger cars	Vegagerðin: every listed route goes over mountain roads open part of the summer (checked November 6, 2026)
Distance from Reykjavík	459 km on the shortest of 18 listed routes (201 km paved, 258 km gravel)	Vegagerðin distance tool; the route ends on F910 Austurleið and F902 Kverkfjallaleið; no drive time given (checked November 6, 2026)
Sigurðarskáli hut	Run by Ferðafélag Fljótsdalshérað and Ferðafélag Húsavíkur	Park: camping area, water toilets and showers; cabin information on www.ferdaf.is, whose hut list says Sigurðarskáli has hut wardens in summer and is locked in winter
Shops and fuel	None in Kverkfjöll	Park: no shops, restaurants or gas stations in Kverkfjöll
Rangers	In Kverkfjöll during the summer	Vatnajökull National Park; no dates given
Road status	umferdin.is (Vegagerðin)	None of the sources used states whether the roads to Kverkjökull are open on November 6, 2026

Sources and page update

Updated: 2026-11-06

Kverkfjöll has serious hazards including unstable ice caves and crevassed glacier terrain. Do not enter the unstable ice cave.

For sourcing standards and how to report an error, see the editorial policy.

Official sources to check

What is Kverkjökull?

Kverkjökull is an outlet glacier on the northern margin of Vatnajökull, according to the USGS glacier-name reference (Professional Paper 1746), which prints its position as 64°43′N., 16°39′W. and says it is named for the Kverk canyon out of which it descends. USGS PP1746: Kverkjökull entry (source checked 2026-11-06) The same reference also lists Kverkjökull as an abandoned name for a different outlet glacier, now called Kverkkvíslarjökull, east of Eyjabakkajökull. USGS PP1746: abandoned-name entry (source checked 2026-11-06)

Outlet glacier on the northern margin of Vatnajökull, according to the USGS
Named for the Kverk canyon out of which it descends, according to the USGS
Not the glacier now called Kverkkvíslarjökull, which the USGS says once carried the abandoned name Kverkjökull
Ice caves on the edge of the glacier in the Kverkfjöll Mountains, shaped by geothermal hot water in the river Volga, according to Vatnajökull National Park

Vatnajökull National Park’s Krepputunga page says one of the country’s most powerful geothermal areas is located in the Kverkfjöll Mountains, and that geothermal hot water in the river Volga shapes the ice caves on the edge of the glacier. Vatnajökull National Park: Krepputunga fire and ice (source checked 2026-11-06)

What is near Kverkjökull?

Vatnajökull National Park’s Krepputunga page, which lists the K2 trail from Sigurðarskáli hut to Kverkjökull, names six destinations in the area: Kverkfjöll, Hvannalindir, Kreppubrú (the bridge over Kreppa), Askja, Herðubreiðarlindir and Holuhraun. Vatnajökull National Park: Krepputunga destinations (source checked 2026-11-06) The park’s page gives no distances between these places and Kverkjökull, and Iceland.org has not verified distances or drive times between them.

Kverkfjöll
Hvannalindir
Kreppubrú (bridge over Kreppa)
Askja
Herðubreiðarlindir
Holuhraun

Iceland.org also has separate guides to Dettifoss, Herðubreið, Bárðarbunga, Dyngjujökull and Vatnajökull; the sources used for Kverkjökull give no distances to them.

What does Vatnajökull National Park say about the ice cave at Kverkfjöll?

Visitors to Kverkjökull and the Kverkfjöll mountains are urged by Vatnajökull National Park, now under the jurisdiction of the Nature Conservation Agency of Iceland, not to enter the unstable ice cave, because ice fall is frequent and poisonous gases in the cave can increase quickly. Vatnajökull National Park: K5 trail (source checked 2026-11-06) Vatnajökull National Park: jurisdiction notice (source checked 2026-11-06) The park gives no safe viewing distance.

“We urge people to be careful and not to enter the unstable ice cave as ice fall is frequent and to be aware of poisonous gases in the cave can increase quickly.”
— Vatnajökull National Park, Vatnajökull National Park: K5 trail (source checked 2026-11-06)

Vatnajökull National Park’s Krepputunga page adds that meltwater collects in small lagoons that can empty suddenly, creating a hazard. Vatnajökull National Park: Krepputunga fire and ice (source checked 2026-11-06) The park’s K2 route data for the walk to Kverkjökull gives ice falling and crevasses as its warning. Vatnajökull National Park: K2 trail (source checked 2026-11-06)

How long are the walking trails at Kverkjökull?

Among its Kverkfjöll trails, Vatnajökull National Park lists the K5 visitor trail, an educational trail of about 800 m and about 45 minutes that starts at the parking lot, and the K2 route from Sigurðarskáli hut to Kverkjökull, listed at 4.1 km one way, 2–3 hours and 200 m of elevation. Vatnajökull National Park: K5 trail (source checked 2026-11-06) Vatnajökull National Park: K2 trail (source checked 2026-11-06) The park’s own K2 text calls the hut-to-car-park trail about 3 kilometers and does not reconcile the two figures.

Vatnajökull National Park trails for Kverkjökull, as the park lists them Vatnajökull National Park: K5 trail (source checked 2026-11-06) Vatnajökull National Park: K2 trail (source checked 2026-11-06)
Trail	Starts at	Distance	Time	Elevation	Park warning
K5 visitor trail	Parking lot	About 800 m	About 45 minutes	Not stated	Do not enter the unstable ice cave
K2 Sigurðarskáli hut to Kverkjökull	Sigurðarskáli hut	4.1 km one way (text: about 3 kilometers, hut to car park)	2–3 hours	200 m	Ice falling and crevasses

The park’s K5 interpretation trail page lists stops including dead ice, dirt cones, a geothermal area surrounded by glaciers and the ice cave. Vatnajökull National Park: K5 trail (source checked 2026-11-06) On the K2 route page, the park warns that “the terminus of the glacier is always changing and over the summer time block of ice can fall down.” Vatnajökull National Park: K2 trail (source checked 2026-11-06)

Vatnajökull National Park says rangers are in Hvannalindir and Kverkfjöll during the summer and offer visitors information and interpretation about the area; the park gives no dates. Vatnajökull National Park: Krepputunga rangers (source checked 2026-11-06)

Sigurðarskáli’s accommodation page says Ferðafélag Fljótsdalshérað and Ferðafélag Húsavíkur run the hut, with a camping area by the lodge, water toilets and showers, and that there are no shops, restaurants or gas stations in Kverkfjöll. The park refers readers to the Ferðafélag Fljótsdalshérað website, www.ferdaf.is, for all information about the cabin. Vatnajökull National Park: Sigurðarskáli (source checked 2026-11-06) Iceland.org gives no season dates, booking terms or prices for the hut.

How do you get to Kverkjökull?

Vegagerðin’s distance tool lists 18 routes from Reykjavík to Kverkjökull; the shortest is 459 km, 201 km paved and 258 km gravel, via Sprengisandur, ending on F910 Austurleið and F902 Kverkfjallaleið. Vegagerðin: Reykjavík to Kverkjökull (source checked 2026-11-06) Vegagerðin notes on every route that it goes over mountain roads open part of the summer and is not passable for passenger cars, and the tool gives no drive time.

Every route in Vegagerðin's distance tool ends on F902 Kverkfjallaleið (checked November 6, 2026)
Some listed routes leave Route 1 (Ring Road) for F88 Öskjuleið and F910 Austurleið (checked November 6, 2026)
Vegagerðin: mountain roads open part of the summer, not passable for passenger cars
Sigurðarskáli is run by Ferðafélag Fljótsdalshérað and Ferðafélag Húsavíkur
No shops, restaurants or gas stations in Kverkfjöll, according to Vatnajökull National Park

Vegagerðin routes from Reykjavík to Kverkjökull, all 18 rows in the tool’s order (no drive times given) Vegagerðin: Reykjavík to Kverkjökull (source checked 2026-11-06)
Length (km)	Paved (km)	Gravel (km)	F-roads on the route
459	201	258	F26, F910, F902
597	102	495	F338, F752, F26, F910, F902
599	253	346	F26, F88, F910, F902
609	163	446	F752, F26, F910, F902
611	292	319	F752, F26, F910, F902
617	317	300	F752, F26, F910, F902
618	283	335	F26, F88, F910, F902
634	479	155	F88, F910, F902
641	504	137	F88, F910, F902
643	302	341	F338, F88, F910, F902
646	335	311	F338, F88, F910, F902
646	352	294	F26, F752, F821, F88, F910, F902
649	506	143	F88, F910, F902
650	368	282	F578, F88, F910, F902
678	541	137	F88, F910, F902
682	510	172	F88, F910, F902
691	554	137	F88, F910, F902
693	536	157	F88, F910, F902

Vatnajökull National Park confirms the two touring clubs that run Sigurðarskáli and that there are no shops, restaurants or gas stations in Kverkfjöll. Vatnajökull National Park: Sigurðarskáli (source checked 2026-11-06)

When are the roads to Kverkjökull open?

Every route to Kverkjökull in Vegagerðin’s distance tool ends on F910 Austurleið and F902 Kverkfjallaleið, and neither road has a row in Vegagerðin’s table of mountain-road opening dates for 2021–2025. Vegagerðin: Reykjavík to Kverkjökull (source checked 2026-11-06) Vegagerðin: Opening of mountain roads (source checked 2026-11-06) Safetravel says of F-roads in general: “They‘re usually closed mid September until June/July.” Highland driving - Safetravel (source checked 2026-11-06)

Vegagerðin’s watch stations publish current road conditions on umferdin.is, and none of the sources used says the roads are open on November 6, 2026. Vegagerðin - Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration (source checked 2026-11-06) The touring club’s hut list at www.ferdaf.is says, in Icelandic, that Sigurðarskáli has hut wardens in summer and is locked in winter. Ferðafélag Fljótsdalshéraðs: Skálar (Sigurðarskáli, Kverkfjöll) (source checked 2026-11-06)

Safetravel: first check whether the F-roads in the area are open
Safetravel: while F-roads are closed, they are impassable for anyone not in a modified vehicle (superjeep)
Vegagerðin's watch stations update road conditions on umferdin.is
Hut list at www.ferdaf.is: Sigurðarskáli has hut wardens in summer and is locked in winter

Planning help

Kverkjokull (Kverkjökull) Glacier FAQs

Quick answers with safety notes where it matters.

What is the Kverkfjöll geothermal area?

Vatnajökull National Park says one of the country's most powerful geothermal areas is located in the Kverkfjöll Mountains, where geothermal hot water in the river Volga shapes the ice caves on the edge of the glacier. Kverkjökull is an outlet glacier on the northern margin of Vatnajökull, according to the USGS glacier-name reference, and the park's trail from Sigurðarskáli hut in Kverkfjöll leads to the car park next to it.

Are there ice caves at Kverkjökull?

Vatnajökull National Park says geothermal hot water in the river Volga shapes the ice caves on the edge of the glacier in the Kverkfjöll Mountains. On its visitor-trail page for the Kverkfjöll mountains, the park urges people to be careful and not to enter the unstable ice cave, because ice fall is frequent and poisonous gases in the cave can increase quickly. The park gives no safe viewing distance.

Can you visit Kverkjökull and Kverkfjöll?

Vegagerðin lists every route from Reykjavík to Kverkjökull over mountain roads that are open part of the summer and not passable for passenger cars, and Safetravel says F-roads are usually closed from mid September until June or July. Vegagerðin publishes current road conditions on umferdin.is. Ferðafélag Fljótsdalshérað and Ferðafélag Húsavíkur run Sigurðarskáli hut, and Vatnajökull National Park says all information about the cabin is on the Ferðafélag Fljótsdalshérað website, www.ferdaf.is. The hut list at www.ferdaf.is says, in Icelandic, that Sigurðarskáli has hut wardens in summer and is locked in winter.

What are the dangers at Kverkfjöll?

Vatnajökull National Park names several hazards: frequent ice fall and quickly increasing poisonous gases in the unstable ice cave, which the park urges people not to enter; ice falling and crevasses on the K2 route to Kverkjökull; a glacier terminus that is always changing, where blocks of ice can fall in summer; and meltwater lagoons that can empty suddenly. Safetravel says F-roads are usually closed from mid September until June or July. (checked November 6, 2026)

Can you bathe in the Kverkfjöll hot springs?

The Vatnajökull National Park pages checked by Iceland.org do not describe bathing at Kverkfjöll or give water temperatures, so Iceland.org makes no bathing claim. The park's Krepputunga page mentions the geothermal area in Hveradalur and the geothermal hot water in the river Volga that shapes the ice caves, without any bathing rules.

All glaciers

Country reference: Iceland statistics.