Trollstigen (the Troll's Ladder) is the eleven-hairpin climb on Norwegian County Road 63 between Åndalsnes and Valldal, and it is the most photographed road in Norway. It is also the road most likely to be shut. It closed in June 2024 after rockfall, ran only from 11 July to 15 August in 2025 during rock-safety works, and — as verified on the official Norwegian Scenic Routes page in August 2026 — opened for the 2026 season on 29 April, the earliest opening on record. This guide covers what the climb involves, the current closure picture, and how to plan a ride around a road that can shut at short notice.
The ride in one paragraph
Trollstigen is short. The famous section is eleven hairpin bends climbing a steep mountainside at around a 10 per cent incline, with a car park and viewing balconies at the 700 m (2,300 ft) plateau overlooking the bends and the Stigfossen waterfall, which drops 320 m (1,050 ft) down the mountainside. The pass itself sits at roughly 850 m (2,790 ft). What it lacks in length it makes up in density — the road is narrow, the bends are genuinely tight, there is a stone-walled bridge across the waterfall halfway up, and at peak season about 2,500 vehicles a day use it. It is not a road to ride fast. It is a road to ride early, before the coaches and camper vans arrive, when you can actually use the whole lane through a hairpin.
Route at a glance
| Road | Norwegian County Road 63, between Åndalsnes and Valldal |
| Hairpins | Eleven, at around 10 per cent incline |
| Plateau viewpoint | 700 m (2,300 ft), with balconies over the bends and Stigfossen |
| Pass elevation | About 850 m (2,790 ft) |
| Stigfossen waterfall | Falls 320 m (1,050 ft) beside the road |
| 2026 season | Opened 29 April 2026; normal season mid-May to October/November |
| Restrictions | Bus length limited to 13.3 m on this section |
Open the climb in Google Maps — Åndalsnes up through Trollstigen and down to Valldal, so you can send it straight to your navigation before you leave.
Closures, and why this road keeps shutting
Trollstigen has always been a seasonal road — it is closed during late autumn and winter, and a normal operating season runs from around mid-May to October, sometimes shorter or longer depending on the weather. What changed recently is rockfall.
In June 2024 the authorities decided not to open the road without work on the mountain above it, and it stayed shut for the rest of that year after a major rock slide in the autumn. In 2025 it reopened only on 11 July and closed again on 15 August, with rock-safety work filling the rest of the season. The plan reported at the time was to carry that work across several summers with a short open window each year.
The picture for 2026 is better. The official Norwegian Scenic Routes page for Geiranger–Trollstigen records the road as having opened on 29 April 2026, and Fjord Norway's tourist information, last updated 9 June 2026, states that the entire stretch is accessible from late April until October or November, weather and conditions permitting. That was the position when this guide was checked, in August 2026.
The practical conclusion has not changed: check the live status before you commit. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration publishes mountain-pass status at vegvesen.no and through its Vegvesen Trafikk app, and there is a traffic operations line on +47 22 175 175. Even after opening, the road can close at night and in bad weather.
Riding it from Åndalsnes
The northern approach through Isterdalen is the one worth doing first. The valley runs flat between vertical walls, the road stays gentle, and then the mountain face ahead resolves into eleven ramps stacked on top of each other. The climb starts abruptly. The bends are tight enough that a large touring bike will use full lock on some of them, the surface is good but often damp under the rock faces, and the Stigfossen bridge in the middle is the point where everyone slows to look at the waterfall.
The plateau at the top has the visitor centre, parking and the architectural viewing platforms that cantilever out over the drop. It is worth the stop even in queue season — the view straight down the eleven bends is the reason the road is famous.
Riding it from Valldal
From the south the road climbs more gradually from Valldal past Gudbrandsjuvet, a gorge with its own viewpoint, and reaches the plateau without the drama of the northern ramps. Descending the eleven hairpins towards Åndalsnes is the direction that demands more from a rider — gradient plus tight radii plus oncoming camper vans is a combination that rewards engine braking and a very low gear.
Trollstigen sits within the 104 km Norwegian Scenic Route Geiranger–Trollstigen, which runs from Sogge bru in Romsdalen to Langvatnet, tops out at 1,038 m, and includes one ferry, from Eidsdal to Linge. The section between Korsmyra and Indreeide is prone to landslides and may be closed in winter, with a year-round tunnel bypassing it. Riding the full scenic route rather than just the hairpins is the better day out, and we cover the southern half of it in our Atlantic Road and Geiranger guide.
The practical details that decide the ride
Timing within the day. This is the single biggest lever. Fjord Norway's own advice is to start early in the morning or late in the afternoon for a quieter experience, and it is correct — between roughly 10:00 and 16:00 in July the hairpins are a slow-moving queue of camper vans and tour buses. At 07:00 you can have them.
Tolls and payment. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration's guidance for visiting motorcyclists is that you do not need to stop at toll points because motorcycles are normally exempt from tolls. Ferries are a separate matter and are paid for, so budget for the Eidsdal–Linge crossing if you ride the full scenic route.
Weather. The plateau can be in cloud with rain when Åndalsnes is dry. Even after the seasonal opening, the road may close for a period at night and in bad weather. Snow banks beside the road well into June are normal, and the meltwater running across the tarmac in the early season is exactly as slippery as it looks.
Facilities. There is a café and shop at the plateau with seasonal opening hours, and toilets along the route that may not all be open early in the season. Fuel is in Åndalsnes and Valldal, not on the pass.
Traffic behaviour. The road is narrow with many sharp bends and there are bus length restrictions for good reason. Meeting a bus mid-hairpin means waiting. Norwegian drivers are generally patient about it; visitors in hire camper vans are the variable.
Gear notes for Trollstigen
The specific problem with this road is that your plan may change at the barrier. If the pass is shut, the alternative is a long detour through the tunnel network or a completely different day — and you will be making that decision in a valley with limited coverage. Having the region loaded for offline route planning, with the alternatives already stored rather than searched for, is what keeps a closed gate from ending the day. A riding system display is far easier to read than a phone in the drizzle that hangs around the plateau, and our notes on multi-constellation positioning explain why a fix holds better in a steep-sided Norwegian valley than it used to. Cold mornings at 850 m followed by warm afternoons at sea level move tyre pressures more than most riders expect — our guide to cold-weather pressure drops covers the mechanism, and a TPMS sensor saves you guessing at a viewpoint car park. If you are camping through the fjords, a bi-directional fast charger is the difference between a working intercom on day four and a dead one. For the wider trip, our best motorcycle roads in Norway page covers what else is worth the mileage.
FAQ
Is Trollstigen open now?
As verified in August 2026, the official Norwegian Scenic Routes page records Trollstigen as having opened for the season on 29 April 2026, with the normal season running to October or November. It was closed for most of 2024 and open only from 11 July to 15 August in 2025 because of rockfall mitigation, so always check vegvesen.no or the Vegvesen Trafikk app before you ride.
When does Trollstigen usually open and close?
A normal season runs from around mid-May to October, though it varies with the weather and has opened as early as late April. It is always closed in late autumn and winter, and can close temporarily at night or in bad weather even in season.
How hard is Trollstigen on a motorcycle?
Technically it is moderate — eleven hairpins at around 10 per cent. The difficulty comes from the width, the traffic and the damp surface under the rock faces. Descending towards Åndalsnes is harder than climbing.
Do motorcycles pay tolls in Norway?
The Norwegian Public Roads Administration's advice for visiting riders is that motorcycles are normally exempt from tolls, so there is no need to stop at toll points. Ferries are charged separately.
How long should you allow for Trollstigen?
The climb itself is 20 to 30 minutes without stops. Allow half a day for Åndalsnes to Valldal with the plateau viewpoint and Gudbrandsjuvet, and a full day if you ride the whole 104 km Geiranger–Trollstigen scenic route including the ferry.
