The 10 Best Things to do Good for Kids in Southern Norway, Southern Norway

On the southern part of the island of Tromoy, only 10 minutes from Arendal town by car, bus or boat, there is a beautiful area called Hove. This recreation area is part of a protected moraine that lies along the southern coast. The whole area has been adapted for walks with resting places along the shore. There is a beach and kiosk at Hove camping during the summer season, and several kilometres of smooth rocks. Sundays between September and May, there is a lunch buffet at Hovestua in Hove camp from 12 to 18.  The paths are many and stretches from Hove to Alve, along Spornes beach, consisting of boulders and rocks, and sand when the sea permits. The area is used for hiking both summer and winter, and is suitable for everyone, children and adults. The trip from Hove camping to Alve and back is about 12 kms, and the network of paths allows both short and long trails. Maps for sale at Arendal tourist office, Hove camp, and Bjellandstrand Gard. Parking for instance at Hove camping and Hove camp. Bus no 3 to Tromoy ost leaves Arendal every hour during the day, Monday-Saturday.

Skrelia is the most recommended area for hiking in Lyngdal. The mountain is only 350 meters high but the terrain can easily be associated with the highlands. The wonderful view combined with the view of the waterfall running down the polished mountain, makes a remarkable view. This is an easy terrain for hiking. There are many inviting small lakes for hikers who need to cool down. There are many marked trails in this open terrain, and they are of various lengths. There are trails for most people and most are on polished mountains. Some places you may need to cross brooks and areas of marsh and heather. Heather is Norway’s national flower. The shortest trail starts at the parking lot and goes straight to the waterfall. The hike takes about 10 minutes. You may use this trail as the starting point to the other marked trails in the area. Expect to spend 2-3 hours through Rassveda, around Sandvann and Homso. Here you will find an exceptional viewpoint. At this location you may see the ruins of an old fortress dating back to 500 A.D. It is also possible to walk down the mountain alongside the waterfall all the way to the fjord. On the way you will notice remnants of earlier mills and sawmills. Direction: From the town centre of Lyngdal follow the road to apta. Drive 3 km to you see the sign “Skrelia”. From here it is 9 km on a curvy gravel road to the parking lot. You cannot miss it! From the parking lot walk 50 meters to the gate that marks the beginning of the trails to Skrelia. The trails are marked with red/ yellow paint directly on the mountain. Hiking to Skrelia is reviewed in the book ”Oppdag Lister” from 2009.

What is a smooth rocky shore? Cliffs and sandy beaches are very common, but the polished rocky shores are unique to Norway – almost. They do exist in other places, but not many. Stretches of such rock formations can be found from the Swedish west coast and up to Stockholm’s archipelago, and also in Greenland, Scotland, Alaska and possibly New Zealand. The rest of the world, however, does not have anything resembling these beautiful shores we associate with Southern Norway and the Oslo Fjord. The reason is that not many areas fulfil the two conditions required for such polished, smooth rocks to be formed. High-grade metamorphic rock such as gneiss or granite is required, and this coarse-grained formation must have been scoured and rubbed smooth by a thick layer of ice. As old as time itself! The Norwegian rocky shores originated long before the ice arrived - maybe as much as a billion years. Formation started 1.8 billion years ago and ended 1200 million years later. The time-span is almost incomprehensible! When the ice retreated for the last time, the rocky shores were given a last finish and took their current shape. This is only 10 000 years ago. Since then, the land has risen as much as 200 metres in some areas. Hence, the rocky shorescurrently lining the water’s edge were far below sea level and a thousand metres or more under the ice when they were formed. As the ice moved, masses of sand, gravel and stone were pushed in front and below. These deposits were pressed down and rubbed against the bedrock with immense force. This was how Norway’s rocky shores were formed. Soft elements were scoured away, and the hard rock was left polished, smooth and rounded. In several areas, characteristic scour lines are still evident, and some cracks in the actual bedrock can also be seen.

Naes Ironworks Museum is located in Tvedestrand, Southern Norway. This is the only one of the old ironworks in Norway where most of the production buildings and equipment are preserved. The most important part of the museum is the blast furnace and the forge. The mechanical workshop has historical exhibitions. The operations at Naes date back to 1665. The ironworks gives a unique opportunity to see how an ironworks was organized, how people lived and worked at there, and how iron and steel were produced. Then visitors get a guided tour inside the production facilities, where the guide tell about how the work was done and demonstrate the rebuilt bellows. In addition to regular tours, the ironworks has many events and activities during the season. Nes Verk is a special national attraction, and a walk along the river Storelva, in the park and on the golf course gives a good picture of this historical area. Guided tours every hour from 11-16 in the summer season.

Kristiansand Dyrepark is the number one tourist attraction in Norway, attracting close to 1 million visitors each year. It consists of more than 150 different animal species, entertainment, shows, amusement park as well as a seperate water park called Badelandet.

Welcome to Kristiansand Kannmuseum where the worlds second largest land based canon can be seen. The area around the canon is good for hiking. Please see website for opening hours. We are now closed for the season.

This is a truly unique and popular location as the Lighthouse sits on the southernmost point in Norway. In addition to the lighthouse the site also includes a restaurant, museums, exhibitions, shops, cinema and an appartment for rent to guests. It`s the third largest tourist attraction in Southern Norway.