Photo: Bjoertvedt·CC BY-SA 3.0· Wikimedia Commons
Islands / Nesodden / Knerten
Islet in the Steilene group off Nesodden. A bird reserve.
Knerten is the smallest islet in the Steilene group in Vestfjorden, west of the Nesodden peninsula. From the water it is a low islet covered in scrub and grass with no buildings on it. It is a bird reserve, so nobody goes ashore here in summer. Keep well clear during the nesting season.
Bird reserve, access and landing banned 15 April–15 July. The boundaries and the rules are in Naturbase, and they are worth checking before you land anywhere outside the marked areas.
Private boat or kayak.
No scheduled boat comes here. You will have to find the nearest public quay yourself, and the rest is your own boat or a kayak. Check the wind and wave forecast before you set out; the open stretches in the outer fjord turn unpleasant in a fresh breeze.
Knerten is part of Steilene, the island group that served as the pilot and lighthouse service's outpost on the approach to Oslo through the 1800s and 1900s. The lighthouse itself stood on the neighbouring islet Fyrsteilene from 1837 until automation in 1984. Knerten has no building or industrial history of its own and has been managed as a natural islet and bird reserve.
Knerten is a bird reserve and a nesting area for seabirds. It lies close to the other Steilene islets but is used differently, since the protection sets it aside for the birds.
Landing is banned in the nesting season, **15 April to 15 July**. Outside that period the ordinary right to roam (*allemannsretten*) applies, but keep your distance anyway and give the birds room. Movement by sea is not covered by the ban, though engine traffic near the reserve should be kept calm. Conservation rules are law, so check the current regulations before mooring.
Of the five islets in Steilene, Knerten is the one set aside for the birds, with a landing ban from 15 April to 15 July.
The name stands out in the cluster: Storsteila, Landsteila and Fyrsteilene all carry the steile element, while Knerten is a knert, a little nub of an islet.
Oslo Sea Experience passes Knerten on its private fjord trips from Tjuvholmen.
The Norwegian version notes which facts were taken from each source: Knerten på norsk.