Mjølkevegen cycling route, complete: Vinstra-Valdres-Gol (230 km)

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, alt. Skåbu Fjellhotell, 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

Alt. 1 Vinstra - Ruten (29 km; 1090 m elevation gain)
Alt. 2 Vinstra - Skåbu (27.5 km; 950 m elevation gain)
Alt. 3 Lemonsjø - Ruten/Skåbu (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. 

1) From Vinstra to Ruten Fjellstue: Follow the cycling route over the river Lågen and then follow the signage towards Fefor/Peer Gyntvegen. Where the road to Gålå exits, keep right towards Fefor/Perr Gyntvegen mot Espedalen. From Fefor, keep going along Peer Gyntvegen. It is now gravel all the way via Lomsætra until you reach road 255 at Dalssæter. Turn right onto road 255 and after a little less than one kilometer, you reach Ruten Fjellstue. 
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: entur.no. 

2) From Vinstra to Skåbu Fjellhotell: Follow the cycling route over the river and then follow road 255 towards Skåbu. In Skåbu, keep straight ahead to Skåbu Fjellhotell and Mjølkevegen. The road up is partly very narrow, steep and windy, so cycle with great care. 

3) From Lemonsjø Fjellstue to Ruten/Skåbu: Follow the driveway through the cabin center and the old road towards Randsverk (take to the 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 either Ruten Fjellstue or Skåbu Fjellhotell.   

Ruten/Skåbu - Haugseter (47 km; 935 m elevation gain) 
From Ruten, cycle along Lake Olastappan towards Jotunheimvegen; from Skåbu, follow Skåbuvegen and Slanglivegen to Jotun­heim­vegen which you then follow all the way 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 have 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 51 towards Bygdin Høifieldshotel which makes a splendid stop for a bite to eat and a rest or, if you feel that the leg to Haugseter is a bit short, an overnight in historical surroundings, before you continue 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/Rogn Camping - Syndinstøga (46 km; 1530 m 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. Turn left onto Ryfossvegen and after 200 m right onto the pathway under the E16. After the bridge over the Begna River, turn left onto Kvednavegen, then, after 550 m, right onto Nordabergsvegen and after 1 km left onto Strøsvegen. Now you face another tough climb approx. 10 km length and 655 m elevation gain unto the next mountain plateau and to your next accommodation, Syndinstøga.

We recommend to make use of the pick-up service offered by Syndinstøga (prebooking) or, alternatively, stay for an overnight in a cabin at Rogn Camping. To get there, after having finished the Slettefjellet mountain pass, or coming from Tyin along Lake Vangsjøse as described below, from Slettefjellet/Dalsbru intersection, follow the signs to Åsvang and descend along Tørpegardsvegen to Rogn Camping (order a breakfast package to be placed in your fridge). On the nest day you need to cycle for approx. 4 km along the E16 - take great care! - until Kvismo, where you tun right onto Nordabergsvegen until you reach Mjølkevegen again at the exit onto Strøsvegen (right turn).

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Alternative route between Bygdin and Ryfoss with boat trip to Eidsbugarden and via Tyin (64,5 km; 915 m elevation gain)
This is an alternative to cycling via Beitostølen and over the Slettefjell mountain pass. From approx. the end of June to the beginning of September, you can take the historic boat M/B Bitihorn from Bygdin to Eidsbugarden. For time tables, prices and reservations (for you and your bike) on the boat, see www.jvb.no/bitihorn. 

From Eidsbugarden, cycle over to Lake Tyin and Tyinholmen. Tyinholmen Fjellstue is our recommended place to stop for refreshments, 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 turn left onto road 53 towards Tyinkrysset. After a little more than 3 kilometers, Mjølkevegen exits to the left on a side road via Opdalstølen to Tyinkrysset. This is the route you follow if you are headed towards Ryfoss, Rogn Camping or Syndinstøga on the same day.
If you stay at Filefjellstuene for the night, however, ignore the Mjølkevegen signage and keep straight ahead along road 53 until you reach the old E16! Exit to the right (Nystøgovegen) and follow it for approx. 400 m until the exit to alpine skiing center. Exit here to the left and cycle uphill to Filefjellstuene. On the next day, continue uphill to Grovstølen and turn left towards Tyinkrysset.  

At Tyinkrysset, you find a convenience store and the Filefjell Turist office / Intersport store where you can recharge 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 (if you choose the latter, exit to the right onto Strøndafjordvegen at Grihamar). At the intersection of Strøndafjordvegen and the E16, just north of Øye, be careful to exit onto Vennisvegen (welcome back to Mjølkevegen signage) and cycle along the northen shore of lake Vangsmjøse. Follow Vennisvegen and later on Liagardsvegen to the intersection with Slettefjellvegen, where you meet the Mjølkevegen route that crosses the Slettefjellet mountain pass.
From the Slettefjellet/Dalsbru intersection, you can choose to cycle back to Beitostølen via the Slettefjell mountain pass or to continue towards Syndin, Vaset and Gol as described above. 

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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−Golsfjellet (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 where there is a 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 Fjellhotell. You can either stay here or continue on tracks through the terrain uphill to Storefjell Resort, situated below the top of Storefjell mountain. Another accommodation option is Kamben Høyfjellshotell.

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

Golsfjellet/Storefjell−Gol station (24 km; 125 m elevation gain)
From Oset, follow Mjølkevegen to Storefjell.
From Storefjell, cycle approx. 400 m downhill. Mjølkevegen exits to the right. 
From Kamben, cycle towards Storefjell until approx. 400 m before the hotel. Mjølkevegen exits to the left. 

Follow the signage via Einarset to Gol. The route avoids the main road almost entirely. Beware of a very! sharp exit to the left just before the bridge towards road 52 at Robru to Gol, onto the side road along the northern side of the river.

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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.

Transportation
App/web page for bus connections across different providers (ticket sales for local bus routes only): www.entur.no 
For trains to/from Vinstra and Gol, see VY www.vy.no
For buses from Visntra to Skåbu, see www.innlandstrafikk.no, route 240 
For buses from Gol to Fagernes (stop Fjellheim), see www.innlandstrafikk.no, route 139
For buses from Oslo via Fagernes and Beitostølen to Gjendesheim, see www.nor-way.no (bicycles must be booked)
For buses from Gjendesheim to Lemonsjø, see www.innlandstrafikk.no, route 204
For the boat on Lake Bygdin, seewww.jvb.no/bitihorn

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 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 or Bike&Hike Jotunheimen. 

FAQ
You'll find answer to frequently asked questions and useful tips, a.o. charging stations for e-bikes, packing list and other useful information at our FAQ-pages.