Can you hike Pulpit Rock, aka Preikestolen with kids? Short answer, yes! Preikestolen, aka “Pulpit Rock,” is one of Norway’s most photographed and famous hikes. With a record 309,956 visitors in its 2019 summer season, this is a busy and crowded hike! Get ready for an unforgettable hiking adventure with your kids!
- Season: The main season in April-September. You can hike Preikestolen on the off season but you need special equipment and preferably a guide. I would not recommend hiking with young children in the off season.
- Miles: 3.9 km one-way (2.4 miles); 7.8 km round trip (4.8 miles)
- Elevation gain: 500 meters (1,640 feet)
- Difficulty: UT.no labels this hike as Blue = medium. These are trips that are suitable for you who have basic hiking skills and are in normal physical shape.
- Route: Return the same way you hike up
- Time: About 4 hours of moving time, and about 5 hours of total time on the trail, including many snack breaks, photo stops, and a lunch break.
- Dog friendly: We did see dogs on the trail but chose not to bring ours so that we could completely focus on the top with the kiddos.
- Bathrooms at trailhead: Yes! There is also a tourist information center and a cafe. There is also the Preikestolen Mountain Lodge where you can stay the night.
- Picnic tables at trailhead: Yes!
- Stroller Friendly: No
- Cost: 300 NOK for parking
We have been working our way up to the 4-hour round trip hike for about a month before attempting it with our kids. Our kids are new to our hiking, outdoor lifestyle and the 5- hour total trail time is the longest trek we have done with them. Not to mention this is the longest Marty and I have had the kid carriers on at one time!
How to get to Pulpit Rock from Stavanger
You can drive from Stavanger city to Pulpit Rock in about 1 hour. From Stavanger city you take the Ryfylke Tunnel, a subsea tunnel that crosses the fjord to just south of the city of Tau.
The tunnel is the longest undersea road tunnel in the world at 14.3 km (8.9 miles) and the world’s deepest at a max depth of 292 meters (958 ft) below sea level.
There are also buses you can take from Stavanger city to Pulpit Rock: https://www.pulpitrock.no/en.
Unforgettable Hiking Adventure
The first section from the parking lot includes some steep switchbacks. Once you get past the first section of switchbacks you are rewarded by views of the ocean and Stavanger city way in the distance.
You continue your way up the stairs through the pines. Yes, Preikestolen has A LOT of stairs. In 2013 a project was started to improve the path up to Preikestolen. For the last ten years Sherpas, whose traditional home is in eastern Himalaya, India, Tibet and Nepal have been improving mountain trails in Norway- Preikestolen being one of them!
Once you have passed the woods, you come out onto a flat area of some marshes. Additional improvements began in 2019 and the wooden raised path is new and shiny here. The day we went it was very sunny- make sure you always have sunscreen, hat or a sun shade on your little ones to protect them from UV rays. Even if you have the sun shade up on the kid carrier, they can still be in the sun; having the extra layer of sunscreen protects their faces.
You are half-way there! On the other side you come to….you guessed it, more stairs! At the top you come across the Neverdalsskaret ravine and you can see your first views of Lysefjorden from afar. The slow gentle rocking motion of constantly climbing stairs put Henry right to sleep, who usually quickly fades once we set out with him in the pack. I always get stares from other hikers and comments on the cute sleeping baby in the child carrier….can someone carry me up like that?
You then begin to work your way around the mountain closer towards Pulpit Rock. You walk across smooth rock and come upon some small lakes. It was too cold for us to get in at this point, but UT.no says during the summer months they can heat up quickly and you can enjoy a dip! Of course we had to stop for a bit to allow MJ to throw some rocks into the lake- his favorite thing to do! We also wanted him to stretch his legs on the flat stretch since he would not be allowed out once we got closer to the top.
As you continue around the mountain you are walking along Lysefjorden with the beautiful blue water and mountains across the fjord to gaze upon. It can get pretty scary along the trail here as the other side of the edge is a pretty steep 604 meters (1,982 ft) to the bottom of the fjord. Finally you see the flat top of pulpit rock in the distance. You have a great view of just how far it juts out from the mountain and the steep drop down.
This is what you hiked all the way up for…that perfect picture! Carrying our 2 little ones, we walked out (far from the edges) and got our family picture to document we made it! While we decided to stay far from the edge, others had no fear! We watched people sit on the edge and dangle their feet and crawl towards the edge on their bellies to look down. We found a spot far from the edge of the cliff and sat down for some lunch and diaper changes. We ate quickly as we didn’t want MJ to get restless and try to walk around.
We got everyone back in the packs and started the journey down after munching on sandwiches, chips and cookies. We don’t have any food rules while we are hiking, so anything goes. We just like to bring the fun things that MJ doesn’t often get at home on a regular day. The boys were a bit cranky on the way down since they had been in the packs for longer than they have ever been. So we stopped in a safe flat area further down the mountain and let everyone rest for a bit and have MJ walk around. That seemed to do the trick to get everyone ready for the rest of the way back down to the car.
We got back to the car around 4:30pm and were home before 6:00pm. Everyone was so tired that we ate dinner and all went to bed and slept in the next morning! Always a win in the parenting book when your kids sleep past 7am.
