About

Mjølkevegen is a long distance cycling route through beautiful mountain landscapes and mountain pastures between Vinstra in Gudbrandsdalen and Gol in Hallingdal, across large parts of Valdres. It is signposted in both directions from Ruten Fjellstue in Espedalen to Storefjell Resort at Golsfjellet. Mjølkevegen has been voted one of Norway's finest cycling tours and is part of National Cycle Route No. 5. 

Tour description

Vinstra - Ruten (29 km; 1090 m elevation gain) or Lemonsjø - Ruten (59 km; 970 hm elevation gain) 
Your cycling tour along Mjølkevegen can start at Vinstra Train station or, alternatively, the Mountain Lodge Lemonsjø Fjellstue along road 51. 

From Vinstra: Follow the cycling route over the river and out of town towards Skåbu, and then follow the Trollsykling route via Fefor and Lomsætra to Dalæter. Exit to the right onto road 255 to Ruten Fjellstue.

Alternatively, from Lemonsjø Fjellstue, follow the driveway through the cabin center and the old road towards Randsverk (take to left at the containters!). Just before Randsverk Camping, in the forest, turn left and follow the cycling signs to the main road Heidalsvegen. Exit onto Heidalsvegen to the left and follow it for 2 km until the exit towards Murudalen (signed). Pay attention to the exit into Murudalen just after the bridge over the river! Follow the whole Murudalen Valley until the intersection with Jotunheimvegen. Turn left and then follow the signage to Ruten Fjellstue along Lake Olstappan.   

Tip: Ruten Fjellstue offers pick up at Vinstra train station (prebooking only). There's also a local bus service from Vinstra via Skåbu and Ruten towards Espedalen. 

We recommend to start at Lemonsjøen if you are arriving in your own car and need to be able to get back to the car after the cycling tour, using public transport. The bus service Valdresekspressen connects Oslo, Fagernes and Beitostølen, and Innlandstrafikk serves the route further on to Lemonsjø. In that case, after the last night at Storefjell, either cycle to Fagernes or use the local bus service from Gol to return to Fagernes with connection to the Valdreskespressen bus service.

Reservations for the bus routes:
Valdresekspressen: www.nor-way.no for both persons and bicycles.
Innlandstrafikk: Max. 3 bikes per bus - not bookable, but please call +47 906 34 006 (Trønderbilene who serve Innlandstrafikk's routes in Valdres) in order to notify the bus company about the bikes. 

Ruten - Haugseter (47 km; 935 m elevation gain) 
From Ruten, cycle back along Lake Olastappan towards Jotunheimvegen which you follow to Haugseter. This leg, too, starts with a tough climb until you reach the mountain plateau. Not long before the highest point, at the junction with a road to Nedre Hemdalsvatnet west of Kale Øyangen, you reach a Mjølkevegen restshelter and an outhouse. Shortly after, you ave arrived on the pass between Austhøi and Buhø, and from here the route descends to the northern shore of Lake Vinstre. Haugseter Fjellstue offers good food and accommodation in a beautiful setting on the lakeshore.

Haugseter - Bygdin (14 km; 220 m elevation gain) and Bygdin - Beitostølen (12 km; 150 m elevation gain)
From Haugseter, continue for approx. 12 km along Jotunheimvegen and exit onto the main road fv51 towards Bygdin Høifieldshotel which makes a splendid stop for a bite to eat and a rest, before continuing along road 51 over the Båstskaret mountain pass to Beitostølen  where you will find a wide variety of restaurants and top quality accommodation, including the Radisson BLU Mountain Resort.

Beitostølen - Ryfoss - Syndinstøga (46 km; 1530 elevation gain)
This is the hardest leg of the whole tour, containing two long and tough climbs.
From Beitostølen town centre, turn right down towards Beito, and then follow the signposts towards Slettefjellvegen. There is a good climb up to the top of Slettefjellet (1315 m), which is the highest point of the whole trip. Shortly before Mugnestølen you will find a Mjølkevegen rest shelter. At the top there is a picnic area where you get an amazingly beautiful view over large parts of Jotunheimen. The road now descends steeply towards Vang - another breathtaking view! Drive carefully down here and make a few stops to take in the view!
At the barrier, turn left and follow Høresvegen past Høre Stave Church (worth a stop) and then continue downhill to Ryfoss where you find a gas station, grocery store and cafe. Due to road work on the E16, the underpass for cyclists and pedestrians is torn down, and you need to exit onto the E16 (to the left) and after 200 m, exit to the right towards Syndin. Now you face another tough climb approx. 10 km length and 655 m elevation gain unto the next mopuntain plateau and to your next accommodation, Syndinstøga.

We recommend to make use of the pick-up service offered by Syndinstøga (prebooking).

Alternative route between Bygdin and Ryfoss via Eidsbugarden and Tyin (Eidsbugarden - Tyin - Ryfoss 64,5 km; 915 m elevation gain)
I in the main summer season, from approx. the end of June to the beginning of September, you can take the historic boat M/B Bitihorn from Bygdin to Eidsbugarden. (This is an alternative to cycling via Beitostølen and over the Slettefjell mountain pass). For time tables, prices an reservations (for you and your bike) on the boat, see www.jvb.no/bitihorn. From Eidsbugarden, cycle to Tyinholmen. Tyinholmen Fjellstue is our recommend place to stop for refreshemnts, a meal or a good night's sleep, as well as to explore the beautiful surroundings on your bicycle or on foot. Continue along Lake Tyin and on road 53 to Tyinkrysset where you find a convenience store and the Filefjell Turist office / Intersport store where you can charge your e-bike battery. There's an electricity outlet inside the store and on the wall outside (where the garbage container are) in case you arrive outside the opening hours. They also have chargers for Shimano, Bosch and Yamaha for use on the spot. 
From Tyinkrysset you can choose to follow the signage along the historical Kongevegen to Øye (some trail sections where you might have to push your bike), instead of cycling along the E16. At the intersection of the Kongevegen route and the E16, just north of Øye, be careful to exit onto Vennisvegen and cycle along the northen shore of lake Vangsmjøse. Follow Vennisvegen and later on Liagardsvegen to the intersection with Slettefjellvegen, where you meet the main Mjølkevegen route.
From the Slettefjellvegen intersection, you can choose to cycle back to Beitostølen via the Slettefjell mountain pass or to continue towards Syndin, Vaset and Gol as described. 

Syndinstøga−Vaset (20 km; 230 m elevation gain)
From Syndinstøga, Mjølkevegen continues to Vaset in a friendly and open, undulating mountain terrain. Make sure not to miss the right turn at the southern end of Lake Søre Syndin. You are now entering a 2 km trail section which can have wet parts where it might be necessary to push the bike in some places. From Nørre Trollhovd, the route continues on a firm gravel road to Murkelie and all the way to Vaset, with lake Vasetvatnet on your left hand side.
At Vaset there are several lodging options, such as Vasetstølen and Gomobu Fjellstue. The latter is situated 3 km uphill further along the route towards Brattåsen.

Vaset−Storefjell (via Gauklie 30 km; 600 m elevation gain)
From Vaset, take the exit uphill to Gomobu (if you didn't do this bit already the day before) and continue to the Brattåsen crossing. Here you can choose to take the direct route via Gauklie to Furuset or to make a detour via Tyrishølt and Langestølen (café and small shop). Both routes meet again at Furuset from where you cycle along Naustedokkvegen and cross over the dam at Tisleifjorden (there's a resting area on the dam top with a stunning view over the lake towards distant mountains) towards Oset. The last section leads on tracks through the terrain uphill to Storefjell Resort, situated below the top of Storefjell mountain.

The alternative route via Tyrishølt and Langestølen is 4 km longer and has 20 extra m in elevation gain.

Storefjell−Gol station (24 km; 125 m elevation gain)
From Storefjell, follow the signage via Einarset towards Lauvsetstølen, but keep left downhill to Robru. Use the side road along the northern side of the river (beware a very! sharp exit to the left just before the bridge towards road 52 at Rorbru) to Gol in order to avoid the main road 52. Alternatively, you can make use of the transport between Storefjell and Gol station offered by Storefjell Resort Hotel.

If you make use of the transport services to/from the train stations, the cycle route is reduced to approx. 195 km.

The complete route from Vinstra to Gol via Slettefjellet: approx. 220 km / 4865 m elevation gain
The complete route from Vinstra to Gol via Tyin: 240 km / 4765 m elevation gain

Mjølkevegen can be cycled in both directions, but is somewhat more demanding if you start from Gol than from Vinstra.

Click here to download a Mjølkevegen guide to your mobile device.

Transportation
For trains to/from Vinstra and Gol, see VY www.vy.no
For buses from Lillehammer to Skåbu, see www.innlandstrafikk.no, route 200 (request that the bus stops at Ruten Fjellstue).
For buses from Gol to Fagernes (stop Fjellheim), see www.jvb.no

Transport from Vinstra to Ruten Fjellstue can be requested at Ruten Fjellstue, tel. (+ 47) 61 29 73 20.
Transport from Gol to Storefjell Resort Hotel can be requested at Storefjell Resort, tel. (+ 47) 32 07 80 00.
Taxis are available at the train stations.
For baggage transport, please contact your accommodations or book a tour package.

Bicycle rental
Bicycal rental between Vinstra and Gol is unfortunately not possible. If you need a rental bike, we recommend the route alternative with starting point at Lemonsjøen (as described above). Book your bike at Fjellkjeden and take it over at either Beitosztølen or Lemonsjøen.