When we planned our first Norway road trip from Rovaniemi, we did what most people do: we looked up “Norwegian Scenic Routes,” downloaded the map, and assumed we’d drive all 18. We did not drive all 18. We didn’t even come close. What we did do was learn — sometimes the hard way — which routes are genuinely unmissable, which ones are impressive on a map but underwhelming in person, and how to use the official system in a way that actually makes your trip better rather than just longer.

Norway’s Nasjonale Turistveger (National Scenic Routes) are 18 specially designated stretches of road chosen for their natural scenery and architectural rest stops. The program has been running since the 1990s and has become one of Norway’s biggest tourism draws. But the routes vary wildly in character, length, and practicality. This guide explains all 18 — and tells you which ones to actually plan your route around.

What the Norwegian Scenic Routes actually are

The routes were created by the Norwegian government to draw visitors beyond the main highways and into landscapes that most tourists would otherwise miss. Each route is marked on regular road signs with a brown scenic route symbol, and the stretches are accompanied by a series of tourist facilities — rest stops, viewpoints, toilets, and walkways — designed by some of Norway’s most celebrated architects. These facilities alone are worth seeking out: many are genuinely striking pieces of landscape architecture.

The official system at a glance

The 18 routes span the full length of Norway, from Jæren in the south-west to Varanger in the far north-east, just a few hundred kilometres from the Russian border. Combined, they cover roughly 2,000 kilometres of road. Some routes are short loops you can knock out in 90 minutes; others take a full day. They are not a single connected trail — they are individual stretches scattered across the country, and getting between them requires driving on regular roads.

Who they’re designed for

• Road trippers who want to slow down and take intentional detours rather than racing between cities.
• Photographers — the rest stops are positioned at viewpoints that have been scouted specifically for composition.
• Cyclists — several routes (particularly Hardanger and Gaularfjellet) are popular with cyclists in summer.
• Anyone who wants to feel like they’ve discovered Norway rather than just passing through it. The routes do a genuinely good job of this.

How to navigate and use the route system

The routes are well-signposted once you’re on them, but finding the start points requires a little homework before you leave the car park at the hotel. Here’s how we approach it.

The official app and website

The Norwegian Scenic Routes program has its own app (Nasjonale Turistveger) and website at nasjonaleturistveger.no. Both list every rest stop, viewpoint, and facility along each route with GPS coordinates. The app works offline once you’ve loaded the route data — which is essential, because mobile signal on several routes is either patchy or non-existent.

Brown signs and what they mean

• Brown scenic route sign: you’re on an official Scenic Route stretch.
• White viewpoint symbol on brown background: a designated viewpoint or rest stop ahead. Pull in. It’s worth it.
• Facility icons: toilet, picnic table, parking. These are reliably accurate — the program maintains them well.
• Route start/end markers: blue-and-white signs at each end of the designated stretch. Some routes start from a roundabout; others from a ferry terminal.

Practical driving notes

• Some routes have sections that are closed in winter — Sognefjellet and Gamle Strynefjellsvegen typically open in May. Check the route website for opening dates.
• Sheep and reindeer on the road are real. Drive slower than you think you need to, especially on mountain sections.
• Toll roads: Norway uses an automatic tolling system (AutoPASS). Most foreign rental cars are registered and the toll will appear on your credit card. Check with your rental company before you go.
• Petrol stations are sparse on several routes. Fill up in the nearest town before you start a route — we learned this the hard way on Jæren.

All 18 Norwegian Scenic Routes: quick-reference overview

Here’s what you actually need to know about each route — name, region, rough length, and our honest one-line verdict. We’ve marked our top picks with ★.

Our top picks and honest warnings

If you have one week and want to drive Scenic Routes, we’d combine Atlanterhavsvegen, Trollstigen, and Hardanger into a west-coast loop based out of Ålesund or Bergen. That gives you three of the four best routes in a logical circuit. If you have two weeks, add Sognefjellet and either Lofoten or Senja depending on how far north you’re willing to go.

Routes worth prioritising

• Atlanterhavsvegen: The bridge photos look better in person than in photos. Do this one even if you only have time for one.
• Hardanger: Best in late May (cherry blossom season in the orchards, rare in Norway) or August.
• Lofoten: If you’re going to northern Norway for any reason, there’s no excuse to skip this. The Lofoten route is the E10 — it’s literally the only road through the islands.
• Senja: Increasingly on the radar, but still far less crowded than Lofoten. Go now while it’s still quiet.

Honest warnings

• Trollstigen in July: Beautiful, but the car park at the top can have a 45-minute queue in peak season. Go before 9 am or after 7 pm.
• Varanger and Havøysund: These are exceptional if you have the time, but they require a commitment — you’re genuinely remote up there. Don’t do them unless you’re comfortable with unreliable infrastructure and very sparse services.
• Jæren: Flat is not a synonym for boring, but manage expectations if you’re coming from a week of fjords.
• Gaularfjellet: Underrated. If your route passes anywhere near it, add the detour for the Utsikten viewpoint alone.

Scenic Routes vs regular Norway driving

A question we get a lot: is it better to stick to the main roads and cover more distance, or slow down and drive all the Scenic Routes you can fit in? Our honest answer: neither extreme works. Here’s how we think about it.

• The main roads are fine. Norway’s regular highways are already scenic by most countries’ standards. If you’re driving north from Bergen toward Flam, for example, the E16 is already jaw-dropping before you’ve hit a single brown sign.
• The Scenic Routes add time — plan for it. Each route adds 30 minutes to 2 hours to a journey. If you’re trying to drive 400 km in a day, don’t add three Scenic Routes. You’ll be driving in the dark and miss everything.
• The rest stops are the secret ingredient. The Scenic Routes program has spent serious money on these stops. The viewing platform at Utsikten (Gaularfjellet), the twisted observation tower at Skredhammer (Trollstigen), the cantilevered staircase at Stegastein (Aurlandsfjellet) — these are worth stopping for even if you’ve seen a hundred fjords.
• Scenic Routes are not tourist traps. There’s nothing for sale at most rest stops. No ticket booth, no souvenir shop. Just architecture and landscape. This is rare and worth appreciating.
• For a first Norway trip, we’d choose depth over breadth. Drive two or three routes slowly and really stop at things. A Norway trip where you drive 2,000 km but barely leave the car isn’t a Norway trip — it’s a windscreen.

Mistakes we made on the Norwegian Scenic Routes

We’ve made enough mistakes across multiple Norway road trips that this section writes itself. These are real, specific things that cost us time or ruined an otherwise good stretch of road.

• Not downloading the Scenic Routes app offline before losing signal. We arrived at the start of Gaularfjellet with no data and no idea where the viewpoints were. We drove straight past Utsikten because we didn’t see the sign. Download the route data before you set off.
• Underestimating drive times between routes. Atlanterhavsvegen and Trollstigen look close on a map. They are not close when you factor in the roads, the mandatory stops, and Norway’s ferry crossings. We added a day to our trip mid-way through because we’d planned too ambitiously.
• Arriving at Trollstigen at midday in July. Absolute chaos. The car park was full, the viewpoint was packed three-deep, and the coffee queue was 20 minutes long. This route is incredible before 8:30 am or after 7 pm in peak season.
• Forgetting that some routes close in winter — and in late autumn too. Sognefjellet closes as early as October some years. Check the website, not just general seasonal guides.
• Not filling up before Andøya. There are very few petrol stations on the northern routes. We were watching the fuel gauge on Andøya in a way that added stress to what should have been a beautiful drive.
• Skipping the rest stops because “we’d seen enough viewpoints.” A rookie error. The architectural rest stops are not just viewpoints. The one at Akkarvikodden on Lofoten has a spiral staircase into the sea. You can’t see this from the road.

FAQ: Norwegian Scenic Routes

A final word from Rovaniemi

We’ve been driving Norway from our base in Finnish Lapland for years now — sometimes as a long summer road trip south, sometimes as a targeted run to a specific part of the country we haven’t covered yet. The Norwegian Scenic Routes have made every one of those trips better. Not because they’re a checklist, but because they’re permission to slow down on a road that would otherwise be a transit route and notice what’s actually there.

If we had to give you one piece of advice about the routes, it’s this: don’t try to do too many in one trip. Pick three or four, plan the driving time honestly, and go deep rather than wide. Norway rewards the patient traveller. The people who are most disappointed by it are usually the ones who tried to see everything in ten days from a motorhome with a packed itinerary. The people who loved it most were the ones who sat at Utsikten for an hour and watched the clouds move through the valley.

We’re always planning the next Norway leg from our kitchen in Rovaniemi. If you’re working through a similar route, get in touch — we’re happy to share notes.