Photo: Espen Klem from Oslo, Norway·CC BY 2.0· Wikimedia Commons
Islands / Bærum / Ostøya
Bærum's largest island, about 2,400 dekar (a dekar is 1,000 square metres), in the Oslofjord near Sandvika. Mostly privately owned, with farming and cabins, a golf course from 1964 and a nature reserve from 2002 protecting the forest. Historically worked for farming, forestry, salt extraction, stone quarrying, fishing and hunting.
Bærum's largest island, 2,400 dekar, off Sandvika between Kalvøya and Gåsøya. From the sea most of it reads as farmland and forest, with cabin plots along parts of the coast and the golf course on the northwest side. The rock around it is Cambro-Silurian seabed, shale and limestone. At Store Ostsund the beach is open public ground.
Nature reserve (forest, established 2002); check Naturbase. 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 (much of the island is private land).
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.
Ostøya has been worked for most of what an island can give. Farming, forestry, salt extraction, paving-stone quarries, fishing and hunting have all been carried on here over the years. Stone from the quarries and salt from the sea brought in real money, beyond what the island itself consumed.
Around 2,000 dekar belong to Oust farm, with Hans Oust Heiberg as principal owner. The remaining 400 or so are parcelled out for holiday cabins. The golf course, Oustøen Country Club, was laid out in 1964. Oust nature reserve was established in 2002 and protects the main body of forest on the island.
The island is mostly in private hands, with farming, cabins and the golf course from 1964. The forest has been a nature reserve since 2002. By agreement with Bærum municipality the beach facing Store Ostsund is open as public ground, while the rest of the island remains private. The golf club runs its course through the season.
Access is by private boat or kayak. Much of the island is private ground, with the farm, the cabins and the golf course, so go ashore with care and keep to the shore zone as the Outdoor Recreation Act (*friluftsloven*) allows. The beach at Store Ostsund is open public ground by agreement and is the safe place to land. The forest is Oust nature reserve, protected since 2002; follow the rules and check Naturbase, the Norwegian nature database, for boundaries and provisions before moving inland.
Ostøya is the largest island in Bærum, and it has never been common land. Almost all of it is private farm and cabin ground, and only the beach at Store Ostsund has been opened to the public by agreement with the municipality.
The island has been an industrial site on a small scale: paving stone was quarried here and salt extracted from seawater, alongside the farming and the fishing.
The golf course from 1964 sits on an island with no bridge. Members have to cross the water to play.
Oslo Sea Experience passes Ostøya on its private fjord trips from Tjuvholmen.
The Norwegian version notes which facts were taken from each source: Ostøya på norsk.