Hestavaðsfoss

Take Highway 1 east from the town of Hvolsvöllur for 47km, then turn left where signs point prominently to Skógafoss (the falls are visible and very obvious at this point). In half of a kilometer take the next left and follow the road to its end adjacent to the camping area. The trail to the top of the falls begins adjacent to the grass field at the camping area, climbing up several hundreds of stairs for about one-third of a kilometer to a viewing platform at the top of the falls. From here the trail uses a stile to cross a sheep fence, and then proceeds gently for another 200 meters to a wide open, head-on view of the falls.The Skógá features dozens of waterfalls as it cascades down from the saddle between the Eyjafjallajökull and Katla volcanoes where it originates. The vast majority of visitors to the area are (understandably) satisfied with the spectacular Skógafoss just above the Ring road, but those looking for further satisfaction can hike the famous Laugavegur trail upstream along the river and pass many more waterfalls. Hestavaðsfoss is the first of these waterfalls encountered as one hikes upstream is found just 200 meters above Skógafoss. Here the river sheets out across a broad shelf of volcanic bedrock and cascades 28 feet in a two-stepped fall, with the largest step dropping about 20 feet by itself. A large chunk of rock divides the river immediately at the base of the falls and in doing so partially obstructs the view of the falls from the trail, but as it is so close to the waterfall itself there really isn't any way to circumvent the obstruction.