OSLO FJORD ISLANDS A REFERENCE WORK

The coastal trail cabins

40 cabins · 16 islands

The lighthouse keepers’ houses stood empty once the lights were automated. The same happened to the officers’ quarters and the mine workshop on Bergholmen when the armed forces pulled out of Drøbaksundet. Kystled Oslofjorden is the scheme that lets them out again, and anyone can book.

It is run by Oslofjordens Friluftsråd, the regional outdoor recreation council, together with around twenty voluntary organisations, and it started in 1997. Fyrsteilene off Nesodden was the first cabin. By the summer of 2026 the network counts 75 cabins once the sites along the Halden waterway and Vansjø are included, and Bukkenes in Sarpsborg was the latest to join. 40 of the cabins sit on the Oslo fjord itself.

The buildings are what makes the scheme worth knowing about. You sleep in a lighthouse on Gullholmen, in the old village shop on Langåra, in a listed fog-bell station on Søndre Langåra, or in the officers’ quarters on Bergholmen. Standards vary sharply from one cabin to the next: some have running water and a shower, others a well and a gas ring. Bedding you bring yourself, and on several of the islands you should expect to carry both food and drinking water ashore from the boat.

Three separate booking systems

Cabins in the coastal trail are booked with Oslofjordens Friluftsråd. The exception is Håøya in Færder, which belongs to the coastal trail but is run by DNT Tønsberg og Omegn and booked with them. Lågøya sits outside the scheme altogether and has its own site, lagoya.no. Hunting for the Lågøya cabins in the coastal trail listing is wasted time.

Prices sit with the operator and change from year to year. So does the season: most of the cabins are open from late April to early October. The whole year’s calendar goes up on a single date in February, and anyone who is an «Oslofjordvenn» gets in a day ahead of everyone else.

Weekend planner Which of these cabins are free, and which can you reach without a boat? All 40 calendars at once, sorted by distance from Oslo, with the operator’s own directions for getting there.

The cabins, island by island

Sorted by distance from Rådhusbrygga

Hovedøya

1.9 km 2 cabins
Hovedøya Tiern Former military building 9 beds Book
Hovedøya Sjøbua A ticket kiosk from the Ekeberg tramway, moved out to serve as workshop and shelter by the old main quay 4 beds Book

Persteila

12.7 km 1 cabin
Bestyrerboligen Swiss-chalet-style villa, once the manager’s house, restored by Nesodden council 14 beds Book

Fyrsteila

13.0 km 1 cabin
Fyrsteilene Former lighthouse keeper’s house; the light is decommissioned 6 beds Book

Langåra

13.2 km 1 cabin
Butikken The old village shop, from the years of the tent camp 20 beds Book

Søndre Langåra

19.8 km 1 cabin
Søndre Langåra tåkeklokke Listed fog-bell station of 1896, in service until 1967 5 beds Book

Håøya

26.6 km 3 cabins
Håøya Gamlegården Historic farmhouse with 17th-century parts, the oldest building on the island 16 beds Book
Håøya Eldhuset Cabin beside Gamlegården and the bath house 7 beds Book
Håøya Badstua Single-room log cabin in the dragon style 4 beds Book

Bergholmen

27.5 km 3 cabins
Bergholmen Befalsboligen Former officers’ quarters, part of the Oscarsborg minefield installation 22 beds Book
Bergholmen Jacobinebua Former military store, refurbished in 2015 12 beds Book
Bergholmen Mineverkstedet Former mine workshop for Oscarsborg’s mine service, in use until 1989 6 beds Book

Gullholmen

53.6 km 2 cabins
Gullholmen Fyrvokteren Lighthouse keeper’s house; the light was lit in 1894 and automated in 1984 21 beds Book
Gullholmen Naustet Old boathouse converted into a coastal trail cabin 5 beds Book

Mellom-Bolæren

78.3 km 1 cabin
Rønningen Restored coastal smallholding, around 1850 11 beds Book

Østre Bolæren

79.2 km 1 cabin
Kommandantboligen Historic military quarters 25 beds Book

Strømtangen

84.5 km 2 cabins
Strømtangen Fyrbua Lighthouse keeper’s cabin on the quay 6 beds Book
Strømtangen Fyrvokterleiligheten Lighthouse keeper’s flat 16 beds Book

Veierland

87.7 km 1 cabin
Veierland skole Schoolhouse in the Swiss chalet style 10 beds Book

Struten

88.1 km 1 cabin
Struten Lighthouse station of 1907, automated in 1985, let as a whole 16 beds Book

Spjærøy

93.2 km 3 cabins
Brottet Stenhoggerhytta Old stonecutter’s cabin 4 beds Book
Brottet Klyven Old stonecutter’s cabin 4 beds Book
Brottet Mundastua Purpose-built coastal trail cabin, opened spring 2016 4 beds Book

Homlungen

100.8 km 1 cabin
Homlungen Fyr Listed lighthouse station of 1867 12 beds Book

Nordre Lauer

101.3 km 1 cabin
Lauer Farmyard; the first coastal trail cabin in Østfold, opened 2008 4 beds Book

Elsewhere

15

Cabins on the mainland, or on islands without an article here.

Svartåshytta Krokstrand, Vestby 8 beds Book
Fiskerhytta Sandspollen, Hurumlandet, Asker (tidl. Hurum) 4 beds Book
Ytre Vassholmen Ytre Vassholmen, Bærum 6 beds Book
Vestli Nordre Ommen, Nesodden 4 beds Book
Ommen Hovedhuset Søndre Ommen, Nesodden 13 beds Book
Ommen Veslestua Søndre Ommen, Nesodden 6 beds Book
Rødstua Nesoddtangen, Nesodden 6 beds Book
Ranvikholmen Ranvikholmen, Hurum, Asker (tidl. Hurum) 4 beds Book
Kjeholmen Kjeholmen, Bærum 17 beds Book
Bestemorstua Svartskog, Bunnefjorden, Nordre Follo (tidl. Oppegård) 10 beds Book
Heidehaugen Svartskog, Bunnefjorden, Nordre Follo (tidl. Oppegård) 6 beds Book
Akerøya Akerøya, Hvaler 10 beds Book
Rekefabrikken Papper, Vesterøy, Hvaler 6 beds Book
Brekke skole Kirkøy, Hvaler 6 beds Book
Bukkenes Søndre Karlsøy, Sarpsborg 7 beds Book

Booked elsewhere

DNT and Lågøya
Håøya Godset (Hummer'n/Krabba/Krepsen) DNT 13 (Hummer'n 5 + Krabba 5 + Krepsen 3) Book
Håøya Oppsynsmannboligen (Blåskjellet/Østers'n) DNT 7 (Blåskjellet 5 + Østers'n 2) Book
Lågøya (21 utleiehytter, samlet) Sameiet Lågøya 123 sengeplasser totalt (21 hytter; 19 normalt bookbare) Book

Sources

Bed counts and seasons were taken from the operators’ pages in July 2026 and may change. Prices sit with the operator and are not repeated here.