Rondanestien
NOLive- 227
- km
- 11
- stages
- +4 697
- m ascent
- −4 487
- m descent
Stages, times and the profile follow the direction you pick.
Difficulty
Moderate
avg +427 m/day · 20.6 km/day · 25 km without an overnight · hardest day +881 m
Derived from distance and ascent, not terrain grade — not a SAC or T-scale rating.
Rondanestien is the Norwegian Trekking Association's route from the forests north of Lillehammer to Dovrefjell; this is its mountain part, waymarked with DNT's red T. From Sjusjøen it runs north over rolling fell and moorland, past lakes and summer farms, from one small open hut to the next — Halgutusveen, Lyngbua, Vetåbua, Jammerdalsbu, Veslefjellbua, Eldåbu. At Bjørnhollia it enters Rondane National Park and the high country, crosses to Dørålseter, goes through Grimsdalen to Grimsdalshytta and ends at Hjerkinn on Dovrefjell. Eleven moderate days, every night under a roof.
Your own day-by-day draft. The stages below are the trail's published ones; your plan is set by the days you have.
Places along the way
Overnight network: moderate
25km
Longest stretch with no mapped overnight
km 43–69
25 overnight places
18 shelters · 6 huts · 1 lean-tos
+3 more within 2 km off route
Next longest: km 172–194 · 22 km
No mapped overnight here — carry water and food through.
Statistics
- 1 432
- m highest
- 468
- m lowest
- +4 697
- m ascent
- −4 487
- m descent
- 20.6
- km/day
- 11
- stages
Hardest stage Bjørnhollia → Dørålseter +881 m
Stages
11-stage division of Rondanestien (fjellet; Sjusjøen → Hjerkinn, OSM relation 1572954) on the 2026-10-24 line; every night at a Bivaq hut on the line (open DNT/local huts, then staffed DNT huts from Bjørnhollia); owner A 2026-10-24 · updated 2026-10-24
Good to know
- Route
- Sjusjøen → Hjerkinn
- Season
- July–September
- Daylight
- 18 h 37 mid-July · 12 h 47 mid-September
- Waymarking
- Red T (DNT) on cairns and rocks
- Managed by
- DNT
- Overnight rules: Norway's right to roam (allemannsretten) lets you pitch a tent in uncultivated land at least 150 m from a house or cabin; in the mountains, away from settlements, for more than two nights. Check the national park's rules before camping inside Rondane.
- Huts: the small huts in the south are open or self-service; Bjørnhollia, Dørålseter and Grimsdalshytta are staffed DNT huts in summer. DNT closes the self-service parts of Bjørnhollia, Grimsdalshytta and Rondvassbu permanently after Easter 2026 to protect the wild reindeer — check opening before you go outside the staffed season.
- Wild reindeer: Rondane holds one of Europe's last herds. Stay on marked trails, keep dogs on a lead and give reindeer a wide berth; avoid the high trails in the calving season, early May to mid June.
- Season: the high country is snow-free from about July to September. Weather changes fast on open fell — carry wind and rain protection and a map; the red T is on cairns and rocks.
- Getting there: Hjerkinn has a station on the Dovre railway. Sjusjøen is reached by bus from Lillehammer; check the season's timetable.
Route & elevation: OSM relation 1572954 (Rondanestien, fjellet: Sjusjøen → Dovrefjell) + Copernicus GLO-30, 2026-10-24 · imported 2026-10-24
Elevation figures · full-res GPX, 10 m threshold
© OpenStreetMap contributors · Terrain: © Copernicus DEM GLO-30
Plan your nights on Rondanestien.
The planner lays out your days by where the roofs on the trail are, and shows where you need another option.